Song Selection

 Let's begin with a purpose statement so that we have a place to start. Our Purpose in Leading Worship is lead people into worship with God, so that His heart is moved. The Focus is on God Himself.

 In order to lead people to move the heart of God, we must first be there our selves. We can not lead someone where we are not or where we have never been.

 With that said, let's look at what stages a believer goes through as they move into worship of God.
  • The first thing is FOCUS. To worship God a person must think about Him. This seems simple enough. But often times people will have any number of things on their minds. Problems, the big game on TV, lunch, girls/boys, etc. The person's attention must be moved to think about God.
  • Secondly, a person WORSHIPS / PRAISES God as they think about Him and attributes about Him. His love, grace, mercy, strength, help, etc.
    • WORSHIP - tends to be more intimate and quiet. The 'Be still and know that I am God' idea. It can also be more of a one on one 'conversation with God' time.
    • PRAISE - tends to carry with it more of the 'I've got great news' or 'Have you heard the good news' feeling. It tends to be more corporate and little less one on one with God, and moves to corporate, or congregation to God.
  • Third, a person CELEBRATES the goodness and greatness of God. The best example of this phase is 'Shouts of Joy!' Where people can not keep from lifting up Jesus without giving all their strength.

 OK, so what I try to do in worship leading is to support the natural flow of emotions/thoughts that a worshipper goes through as they move into worshipping God. Specifically I select songs by two key attributes. The Lyrics, or message of the song, and the arrangement of the song. Usually a song's arrangement that you may hear on a tape or CD fits the lyrics well. For example you would probably not hear the hymn, 'Be Still and Know' with heavy drums and electric guitar. It begs for a simpler more intimate arrangement, and would fit very well during the WORSHIP Phase of your worship service.

The first thing I do is take the songs I have and list them according to their arrangement style, then by their their content or message. (It is important to note that this is not an exact science, but rather a guide to keep the flow of the service moving smoothly. Some songs could very well fit in several of the worship phases given a different arrangement.) The reason I feel this arrangement thing is so important, is because I have seen worship leaders loose their audience by placing two songs together that had similar messages, but drastically different arrangements. I call this worship whiplash, and it can distract your audience. Now let's get to a few suggestions/recommendations:
  • Musical arrangements in worship might follow this basic format:
    • Focus songs are for the start of the worship set.
    • Praise songs follow Focus songs and precede Celebration songs.
    • Worship songs can follow and precede Praise songs.
    • Celebration songs follow Praise Songs.
    • To move from Celebration/Focus to Worship, transition with a prayer/verse/etc

Here is a graphical picture of what this looks like:.
  • Try to change instrumentation every 4 to 7 minutes. I have found that the same sounds for longer than 7 minutes can cause boredom. I have heard some praise bands where all the instruments play on all the songs and everything begins to sound the same after a while. A better set might look like this:
    • Focus: 4 Minutes (Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums (Here the drums drive the song.))
    • Praise: 5 Minutes (Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums (Here the drums are light/supportive)
    • Worship: 6 Minutes (Piano and/or Guitar)
    • Praise: 2 Minutes (Piano then add Guitar then Bass then Drums)
    • Celebration: 5 Minutes (Piano, Guitar, Bass, Drums)

 I hope to add more here in the future. Let me know if this seems clear. I have struggled to figure out the best way to write it down. I will note that this is a place to start. It is not the only way to select songs, but a way I've found for those new to leading that helps them get a grasp on instrumentation and the importance it plays in worship, without getting too deep in theory.