I have a great friend of mine who is a 'casual' college basketball fan. When I say 'casual' I mean he watches it one month out of the year, March. So, of course, he knows little to nothing about the teams.
Because of his limited knowledge, he has to find a good way to fill out his bracket. And, as we ALL know, there is no right way to eat a reese's cup, or pick your teams. His preferred method is mascot selection. He opens his laptop and pulls up the mascots from each team for each game and lets his kids (three of them aged 2-5) pick their favorites. Needless to say, the nut from Ohio State named Brutus does not do well!
Because of his limited knowledge, he has to find a good way to fill out his bracket. And, as we ALL know, there is no right way to eat a reese's cup, or pick your teams. His preferred method is mascot selection. He opens his laptop and pulls up the mascots from each team for each game and lets his kids (three of them aged 2-5) pick their favorites. Needless to say, the nut from Ohio State named Brutus does not do well!
When it comes to song selection for our worship services, how do we make the selections? Typically, most churches will give about 4 songs, or twenty minutes. So each week, you're narrowing it down to your final four. Do you have a system that helps you to select them? Do your throw them all in a hat and draw four song names? Do you pick them based on 'like' names like "Bring the Rain", "Let it Rain", or "Washed by the Water", and pray for a thunderstorm that morning?
Always be in prayer for God to show you what will glorify His name. Here are 4 quick tips on song selection that have helped me tremendously:
1. The Pastor - Who better to help you select some songs for a sermon series than the leader of the church? Look to him for the church's vision, and to help guide the direction of your worship set. For example, if you're church is really concentrating on mission work, try to work in some mission oriented songs each week to help drive home the message. "Until the Whole World Hears" by Casting Crowns is a great one that we use.
2. The Content - This is a constant struggle for me. There are some songs that I absolutely love and connect with, but they seem to tell a story more than magnify God. For example, "Washed by the Water" by Needtobreathe is a fantastic song, and our band LOVES playing it, but the first half of the song is a personal story. We tend to use the chorus and bridge of this song, "Even when the rain falls....", as a tag to another song. A word to the wise, if you're unsure about it, skip it until you find peace with using it in your set. There have been quite a few songs like that for me.
3. The Connection - Does it connect with you? Do you feel worshipful about it in practice and rehearsal? This is a big one for us worship leaders. How can we lead someone else into the presence of God, when we ourselves can't get there with the songs we choose? Will it also connect with the congregation? Sometimes this is a trial and error process. I've laid to rest quite a few great worship songs that just didn't engage the congregation in worship. I typically give the songs a couple of weeks to pan out.
4. The Church - What is your church's demographic? If you have more young adults than older folks, you may not want to pull out the church organ and bang out a few bars of "Why Me Lord" by the Gaither Vocal Band. I'm all for 'updating' songs and hymns to make them current, but take a look at what generation you are trying to reach.
Plan each week to reach the unchurched as well as those that are a part of the congregation. Above all though, be a God pleaser not a man pleaser, and follow His spirit above all.
So how do you guys go about selecting your worship sets each week? Are there any songs that have/haven't worked for you recently?
