Developing A Team: Without Musicians

After high school I served a worship leader as a part of a church plant. It was new and exciting, getting to choose the songs that would make up the catalogue of our services, think through our structure and liturgy, casting vision about who we were and what our gathering would look like. The only problem? My mother and I were the only two musicians committed to serving as a part of the launch team for the church. Often people have a hard time envisioning what you are going to do until they see it. So trying to gather people and musicians before the launch was often met with, ‘sounds great, let me know when you start…’ It was the first (but not the last) time I had struggled to find other musicians to serve as we led corporate sung worship.

It can feel overwhelming simply to accomplish a weekly service when you are struggling to find Godly, gifted, and consistent musicians for your worship team. Like everything, we must start where we are: who do you have? If you are the only musicians willing and available to serve, that is still a good place to start. Here are other things to consider as you try and develop a team:

Make it a hospitable place to serve. Early communication with set lists, keys, chord charts and lyrics, and rehearsal times are essential. You have to establish a healthy, stable culture even if you’re the only team member. Showing up early and prepared, being considerate of those serving, being gracious and appreciative are small things that can make your team a more hospitable environment - a place where people would delight to serve.

Have conversations. Do you know other musicians and worship leaders in the area? Ask if anyone would be willing to help you out on a consistent basis, maybe once a month, or for a few months at a time. What seems like an obstacle to overcome could actually birth opportunity for co-laboring, partnership, and seeing the Kingdom continue to advance in your context.

Hidden musicians. I have often been surprised how many people sing or play instruments that do not put themselves forward to serve on the worship team. Maybe it is their season of life, they are already committed to a specific area of ministry within the Church, or simply because they have not been asked. Raise the question, be specific: ‘We are looking for guitar players, piano players, vocalists who can help us not only sing, but worship God through song, are there those a part of our community already that have the gifts and the desire to serve in this way?’

Pray. In one church where I served, as our team grew, one of our pastors asked me, ‘what does the team need, what do we need to pray for?’ For many months we prayed for more worship leaders, to my surprise, what God brought was not more people like myself (young guys playing guitar/piano who sang), but many gifted female leaders who could lead the band through rehearsal, and the congregation through the service, but did not play instruments.

Be creative. Pray specifically, but be attentive and aware of the ways God may be answering your prayer in a different way than you had anticipated. God answered my prayer for more worship leaders, but what a blessing to the team and the congregation I would have missed had my specific pray request required my specific answer.

If you are struggling to find Godly, consistent, and gifted musicians, take heart. I am often comforted by the reality that God does not need us to accomplish what He desires, but He chooses to use us. The worship of God does not start or stop based on our team - or lack thereof. Because of Christ, all of our broken offerings are perfected before the Father.

Well Done

New beginnings are often accompanied by anticipation, excitement, and anxiety. We welcome 2021 from a different place than we did in 2020. Looking back a year ago, no one could have imagined what the new year would hold. Many of our most earnest plans, our prayed over desires, spirit-led goals, and personal resolutions had to be adjusted, or completely abandoned. Maybe 2021 finds you unsure of how to lead and cast vision for the team you serve. What I hope and pray for you, and for me, is that we are people who live what we have known to be true all along:

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

    but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” - Proverbs 19:21

‘Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”’ - James 4:13-15

Set goals, make plans, or dream of what could be, but live surrendered to the Lord. Open-handed, and attentive to what He wants to do in you and through you. Because our value and worth are not measured by what we accomplish, but by the ‘well done,’ already spoken to us in Christ. As Keith Green reminds us:

'The only music ministers to whom the Lord will say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant,' are the ones whose lives prove what their lyrics are saying and the ones to whom music is the least important part of their life. Glorifying the only worthy One should be most important!'

Walk with God in this new year, wherever He may lead.

Refocus: A 52-Week Devotional For Worship Leaders & Teams [Free Download]

'Worship is more than a song.'

Many worship leaders say and believe this is true, but few worship leaders are actually leading like this is true.

I've written this devotional for worship leaders who want to connect the dots of Sunday morning worship to all of life worship.

Download this 52-Week Devotional for free by entering your email address below.

Advent, Christmas, & Corporate Worship

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Unless you’re a worship leader trying to figure out how to incorporate Christmas carols into weekly services, balance people’s desires and expectations for this season, organize, plan and lead special services and events, and still prepare room for Christ in your own heart.

Truthfully, I have not always been a huge lover of Christmas Carols. It felt like an interruption to the regularly scheduled programming of worship songs and setlists. These songs were so familiar, not just to me, but to the culture as a whole - even those who have no faith background or belief. We hear them overhead in the grocery store, on commercials, and in television shows, and inescapably from our most festive friends and family. But the longer I have been leading worship, and the deeper I grow in my faith, the more I have come to treasure this Advent and Christmas season we celebrate every year. So if like me, Christmas planning can make you cringe, here are some things that have been helpful for me in recent years:

Adjust your understanding of Christmas carols. Somehow in my mind, carols occupied a different place that Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs… They were something other. But many songs (not all) which have stood the test of generations have done so for good reason - rich, dense, beautiful, poetic language, and theology. Ask the Spirit to give you fresh eyes to see these familiar lyrics anew. To sing like the words are true because they are. Sing like Christ has come and is coming again because He is.

Acknowledge expectations. Corporate sung worship brings out expectations - both spoken and unspoken - in a unique way for the gathered Church. When songs, styles and seasons carry such personal meaning and memory for people, it can further complicate an already difficult tension. Acknowledge the fact that people - yourself included - have expectations, desires, and preferences. Decide how to respond graciously regardless of the way someone has expressed their preferences. Choose to die to yourself, your preferences, and your desires as an act of worship to God and service to the people you lead.

Balance new with the familiar. Teaching brand new Christmas songs, or even retuned versions of familiar classics can be difficult given the short window of time for the Christmas and Advent season. And the fact those songs are only pulled out once a year some 45-weeks later.

Creating a setlist that incorporates new Christmas songs as a song of reflection or a Welcome and Calls to Worship, surrounding familiar carols and normal worship songs is a great way to balance the need for familiarity, and freshness at the same time.

Read the Gospel accounts of the life of Christ as you prepare for leading worship over the Christmas season. Let your heart be softened and broken open to the weight and wonder of God with us. Read the lyrics to these Christmas carols that can be so familiar in our mouths, they have lost the impact in our hearts and minds. Pray with gratitude and expectancy as we prepare to lead people not only to look back and remember the first Advent of Christ but His second Advent as well.

Celebrate, remember, respond and worship.

Running A Rehearsal

Last week I wrote about four categories of preparation: our hearts, the music, the team, and the rehearsal. In my experience, I believe teams and leaders - at least conceptually - understand the importance of the first three categories. But teams and leaders do not invest as much time and energy into preparing for rehearsals. I think this is because we see rehearsals as a necessary evil - the purpose and point of rehearsals being exclusively musical. When we view rehearsals as only preparation for the musical aspect of our team, we miss the opportunity to disciple, grow a sense of community, cast vision, encourage and equip our team to lead and serve as worship leaders on and off the platform.

As a worship leader, I believe there are a number of ways we can prepare personally, practically, and spiritually to create a rehearsal that is more than a necessary evil:

Prepare during the week. Play through the songs, familiarize yourself with the songs, structure, and transitions. Consider the team that will be playing and leading together, think through potential dynamics, parts, and opportunities to allow others to bring their skill, creativity, and heart to the setlist.

Communicate expectations. What time does rehearsal start? Do you want musicians to memorize music? Will music be provided, or do musicians need to come prepared with their chord charts and lyrics? Are there specific parts you’d like musicians to learn? As Brene Brown says, ‘Clear is kind.’ When we communicate expectations to the team, it avoids unnecessary frustration or unmet expectations during the rehearsal and helps solidify the culture of the team and rehearsal.

Be the first to arrive. As worship leaders part of our responsibility is to host the team. Arriving before the team gives us the opportunity to ready ourselves and the space, so we are present and able to greet and engage the team as they arrive. Get yourself warmed up, set up your instrument, finalize any small details, and quiet and prepare your own heart to host the team, and lead the rehearsal.

Lead the team spiritually, not just musically. Spend time praying together, reading Scripture, talking through the song choices, and how they are connected to the sermon and the series. Lead the team through a devotional. I put together a 52-week devotional for worship leaders and teams that you can download for free, here.

Walk the team through the setlist. Talk through not only the order of the setlist but the order of the songs. Communicate your ideas for the dynamics of each song and the setlist overall. As you start each song, go over the song structure and dynamics again. Once you’ve finished, make sure that everyone feels comfortable and is clear on parts and transitions.

Save new songs for the end of the rehearsal. This gives you the opportunity to get through songs that are more familiar, without consuming all of your rehearsal time working on a new song. You can always drop a new song that needs more preparation. But if you spend your whole rehearsal trying to ready one song without getting through the entire setlist, it can leave the team and the morning feeling a bit shaky.

Musicians hold instruments. Musicians love to play, put an instrument in their hand and it takes a great deal of self-control not to play constantly. But when someone is giving direction or vocalists are trying to work through parts, or musicians are trying to confirm chord changes, everyone needs to hold their instrument and/or tongue. This is both a show of respect to the team, but also cuts down on noise and confusion, helping the rehearsal to move efficiently.

Someone needs to make the final call. Whether the structure of a song, parts, and dynamics, or decisions about what to add or cut, someone needs to make the final call. Often this is the person responsible for leading worship that morning, but it does not have to be. But it is important that the team that morning understands who has the final say, and know-how to respectfully voice opinions, and humbly defer when a final decision has been made.

Rehearsals are necessary, but they do not have to be evil. We can steward them wisely to host our team, prepare the music, ready our hearts, and worship through song - even in our preparation.

Preparing For Sunday

Sunday happens every week whether we are ready or not. Even if you are blessed to be able to devote your vocation to leading worship, there are many details, big and small, that factor into leading and serving well each weekend.

And for those leading as volunteers, serving on a rotation, or working bi-vocationally on staff, finding regular rhythms of preparation are essential. Regular rhythms will keep you from feeling scattered or forgetting necessary details, and serve your team well as you seek to lead God’s people together.

Here are four rhythms to consider:

PREPARING YOUR HEART

How has reading and meditating on Scripture this week prepared you to lead and serve? Are you communing with the One to whom you desire to point through your songs and service this weekend? We cannot lead people where we have not been. Spending time playing, singing, praying through the songs can provide some space not just for musical preparation but heart preparation as well.

PREPARING THE MUSIC

This is an obvious need, but should not be the singular focus or final extent of our preparation. Planning a liturgy, choosing songs, song structure, choosing keys, and considering musical accompaniment all contribute to leading and serving well in our preparation and during the service.

PREPARING THE TEAM

In a similar sense there are both practical and spiritual details to consider when preparing the team. Scheduling and communicating with musicians, providing music, lyrics and recordings, all enable musicians to prepare themselves musically. As leaders we also have a responsibility to disciple our team in nuanced ways - like song choice, the flow of the service, and the sermon series. But also in more traditional ways - like knowing your team outside of a shared common task of serving, praying for them, encouraging them, challenging and equipping them, and walking together.

PREPARING FOR REHEARSAL

I will spend more time on this specific aspect of preparation next week. For good or for ill, often the rehearsal can set the tone for the morning with the team. Making sure sound and lyrics are ready for the service, and you have a plan for your time with the team will go along way in shaping the culture of the rehearsal and the team.

To avoid any details slipping through the cracks, I created a checklist that I use when I am leading worship. You can download my checklist for free, here.

Creating A Song Inventory

In 2020, we have access to songs of a higher caliber than ever before. It can be easy to feel like you are behind if you are not introducing the latest and greatest song choice at the same rate as other churches and worship leaders. But in a world where we have almost instantaneous access to new music, we have a responsibility to be wise and discerning in the songs we choose for our congregations.

One of the most helpful ways to consider choosing songs - whether to introduce to the congregation or in creating setlists is to think about serving a meal. You are looking for both balance and variety, things that sustain us, and things to savor. Our songs contribute to the spiritual diet of the people we lead and serve.

Finding balance in your songs begins with having an understanding of the entire ‘menu.’ To begin the process of taking a song inventory, you need a Master Song List - all of the songs that are in regular rotation within your congregation. Not only song titles but the lyrics as well.

Second, you need to read through the lyrics of your songs making notes about the themes. I have found using a larger framework - like the Gospel Song Liturgy - to be a helpful tool in navigating, naming, and categorizing those themes, rather than just listing all of the potential themes - this keeps it to a few small, clearly defined categories. For the Gospel Song Liturgy, those themes are Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration, Glorification. If you don’t use the Gospel Song Liturgy, you could use categories like God, Man, Response, or Sin, Love, Faithfulness, Surrender, Brokenness, Glory.

Third, organize songs by category and observe. I like to include these categories on my chord charts, or in the Planning Center descriptions, to be searchable and easily accessible as I am planning my setlists. Some questions to ask as you have created categories: Where are the holes? Where are the diet imbalances? What categories resonate with you personally? What categories resonate consistently with your congregation? What do we need to sing about more?

Finally, use your song inventory to help you weigh new song introductions, and creating setlists. Song choice is an important part of leading worship, and leading worship is about discipleship, so we do not want to create lopsided disciples in the way we choose songs to introduce or to lead. Keeping a song inventory helps our choices not to be dictated by the whims of the latest and greatest songs, and helps us to keep a larger perspective on the work of song choice in our leadership.

Gospel Song Liturgy

Song choice is important. Individual songs tell a story, and we contribute to a larger story in how we arrange those songs in creating setlists. While key, tempo, and your preference are worth considering, they are certainly not the most intentional way to create setlists.

Over the years I have tried many ways to create setlists that tell a cohesive story. But the most helpful way I have found is through what I call the ‘Gospel Song Liturgy.’ I was first exposed to this concept through these two episodes of the Doxology and Theology Podcast: The Worship Leader and Missions and Creating A Liturgy. This podcast in general, and these episodes, in particular, are well worth your time. The idea of the Gospel Song Liturgy is to tell the story of the Gospel throughout your setlist: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration, and Glorification.

You may be tempted to believe this is too restrictive or too complicated - I thought the same until I began using this framework. One of the unexpected benefits of this framework for me has been the way it has exposed the gaps or holes in the master song list I use to assemble my setlists. I may have plenty of songs that speak to the sacrifice of Christ (Redemption), but not enough songs that speak to the sovereign rule and reign of God (Creation), or the reality that Christ has reconciled us to God and our fellow man (Restoration).

So where do we begin? With understanding the basic movements of the Gospel Song Liturgy:

CREATION

Where does creation begin? With God. ‘In the beginning God…’ (Gen 1:1).

The sovereignty, rule, and reign of God extends from eternity past even before He created time, space, and formed the world. He is the ‘…only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see (1 Tim 6:15-16),’ and He alone is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise. As we gather to worship, there will be those who are following Christ, and those who do not. And both groups need to be reminded of the transcendent reality of our great God in a world overwhelmed by fear, and uncertainty. Our lives and circumstances may seem out of control, but nothing is ever beyond His control. “Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” Ps 115:3

FALL

Sin has distorted, warped, and broken everything and everyone. As we gather God’s people, some enter acutely aware of this reality – addiction, illness, suffering, death, fractured relationships, fears, the list is endless. Those people need to be reminded that they are not alone in their sin – here we are as a family of the wounded walking looking to our Suffering Servant King (Isaiah 53). As we gather, some enter believing like the Pharisee’s that outward law-keeping, rule-following, a polished perfect life shakes free the stain of sin and makes us right with God. As we gather, some enter with an awareness of sin lying dormant, waiting to be awoken by the Holy Spirit.

It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, and repentance only comes with the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (Rom 2:4). So we do not run from the reality of sin and brokenness in our world and in our lives as we gather. In fact, as we trust the kindness of God to reveal the beauty and perfection of Christ, we will come face-to-face with the depth of depravity that is the human heart… thankfully this is not where the story ends.

REDEMPTION

If our Sunday services only acknowledged the reality of our broken Genesis 3 lives (The Fall), and did not continue to tell the whole story, we would be without hope. But it is exactly here – in Genesis 3 – where God promises Redemption. Redemption has been accomplished by the perfect life and perfect sacrifice of God’s perfect Son, Jesus Christ. ‘It is finished (Jn 19:30),’ is the victory cry of our redemption. ‘It is finished,’ is the deathblow to the consequences of our sin, which is death (Rom 6:23). So we want our songs, order, and services to allow people to look at their own sin – which is their death – and look at the death of Christ – which is their life. ‘And He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. And the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.’ Isaiah 25:8

RESTORATION

The redemptive work of Christ has restored and secured right relationship between God and man. When we are united with Christ, we are clothed in His righteousness and it is His perfect sacrifice that allows us to come boldly before the throne of grace crying, ‘Abba!’ (1 Tim 2:5, Col 2:11-12, 2 Col 5:21, Heb 4:16, Rom 8:15). Christ has also restored and reconciled us one to another in the family of God. He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility and made a people – a family – from strangers, foreigners, enemies, representing languages, cultures, ages, understandings, backgrounds of men and women, boys and girls (Eph 2:14-18, 1 Pet 2:9-10). And He will one day restore all creation – which even now groans under the weight of sin, death, and decay (Rom 8:19, Rev 21). So we sing with joy knowing that we have been restored. And we sing with hope, longing, and expectation when together face-to-face with the Father, side by side with our brothers and sisters, and in the new heavens and new earth we will fully realize our restoration for all eternity.

GLORIFICATION

Glorification is the ultimate consummation of Christ and the Church being united together for all eternity (Rev 19:6-9). Glorification will be the place where we see face-to-face, that which is perfectly seen in the face of Christ. It will be the place where we see free from the veil of sin. It will be the place where we know fully those things we have only known in part. It will be the place where we perfectly reflect God’s glory back to God, to one another, and out into the world (1 Cor 13:12, 2 Cor 4:6, 2 Cor 3:18). In the glorious presence of God, in glorified bodies, before a glorified Savior, we will live fully, perfectly, completely to the glory of God alone (Ps 145:5, Phil 3:20-21, Ps 86:12). So as we lead ourselves, pray that God would open our eyes to His glory. Then we serve our people praying that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes to the glory of God. And from God’s revelation of Himself, we respond by holding up the mirrors of our lives to reflect God’s glory back to Him, and to the world. Now in part. Then in full. Always for His glory, forever.

Benefits of Co-Leading

Christians are called to make disciples. I think many worship leaders understand that part of leading worship is disciple making: training the team, and the congregation to see and respond in song to who God is and what He has done. Sadly, one area of disciple-making often overlooked is identifying, training and developing more worship leaders. Of course there many factors which contribute - a seeming lack of people willing and able to serve, a current worship leader managing just enough to serve weekly (much less training others), a fear that the quality or caliber of the music/leadership will decrease as a new leaders learn and grow, and sometimes it is just selfishness on the part of a leader unwilling share ‘their’ platform. Whatever the reason, I hope to give you a vision and a desire for the benefits of co-leading in this post.

I define co-leading as collaboration in planning, and shared responsibility for leading (the rehearsal, the team, the congregation, and the liturgy) during the service.

First and foremost, co-leading is another opportunity for disciple-making. Discipling our own hearts. In co-leading we are reminded that we have no right or entitlement to position or role, and that Christ’s Church and this ministry do not hinge on our presence or service.

We make disciples of the team and congregation when we co-lead. Our teams learn that we honor and value the heart, skill and leadership of others when we make space for leaders to serve. Our congregation learns to trust new leaders, and appreciate different perspectives and styles.

And finally, we make disciples of those we lead alongside. Co-leading is a safe space to train, develop and encourage new leaders in real time. When you co-lead it can provide a sense of familiarity, and stability as new leaders learn how to lead and serve.

Of course there are practical benefits to co-leading as well: someone who can step in and serve if you are sick or traveling, providing opportunities for men and women to lead together, training and developing others for church-plants and other ministry opportunities, and cultivating and stewarding the gifts and talents God has entrusted to our local congregation.

How have you seen discipleship and development of worship leaders done well in your context?

In a future post, I will spend time on learning to identify, train and develop new worship leaders.

A Philosophy of Worship

Ready or not, Sunday is coming. Most worship leaders, teams, and churches are able to execute the rhythm of weekly gatherings. They can choose songs, schedule a team, and move through a rehearsal well enough to lead during the Sunday service. This is no small feat - especially for those serving, leading, and overseeing as volunteers. Regardless of church size, I often find something amiss - there is a lack of clarity, vision, and direction around corporate sung worship and the worship team.

I think this may be why so many worship leaders, teams, and churches are carbon copies of what we see online, and in the CCLI Top 10 songs. We sense the clarity, vision, and direction of these churches, writers, and worship leaders, and in an attempt to create that in our own unique contexts simply copy and paste. But when our corporate gathering becomes so outwardly referenced (rather than Scripturally rooted, and contextually appropriate) we lose clarity, vision, and direction.

This is why I advocate every worship leader, and church writes a philosophy of worship. A Spirit-led, prayerful, formation of guideposts and markers that will anchor the direction of the corporate gathering, and sung worship of your church.

Creating a philosophy of worship helps you weigh the songs you introduce, train worship leaders, shape the culture of the team, and the corporate gathering and keep you steady when loud voices attempt to move you in an unhelpful direction.

In creating a philosophy of worship that serves your context, here are a few questions I think are helpful as you study, think, pray, and write:

What does Scripture say about worship?

What are the mission, vision, and values of our church? How do they inform our gathering?

What are distinctive, non-negotiable for our team, our leaders, our songs, and our service?

How does what we do as a gathered church fuel, impact, and influence who we are as we are sent out on mission?

Need help fleshing out a philosophy of worship for your church? Send me an email here.

Diversity In The Corporate Worship Space

When it comes to corporate worship in the gathered Church, one of the questions I am asked most frequently is ‘How do I create more diversity?’ On the surface, I do not think it is a bad question. Because really what people are asking, seeking, and desiring is for their Churches to resemble heaven - where people from every tribe, tongue, and nation worship before the throne of God (Rev 7:9).

But I have a two-fold dilemma with this question. First, when most people speak of diversity they have failed to realize the diversity already present within their congregations. Second, when people say they want a diverse church, what many mean is they want ethnic representation in their church. Most of us are unaware, or unwilling to do the hard, continued work of diversity and instead settle for representation.

Dilemma One: Missed Diversity

Merriam-Webster’s defines Diversity as the condition of having or being composed of differing elements. That means if your church has men and women, young and old, mature in the faith, and new believers, differing socioeconomic brackets, those from different denominations, varied families of origin, the intelligent and the simple, employed and unemployed, married and unmarried, those who are well and those who are sick, and on and on, you are in fact a diverse Church. Charles Spurgeon said, ‘When we get annoyed by the church’s empty seat, we are guilty of sinning against the filled one.’ I believe this is true with diversity as well. Should we fight for diversity on all fronts, including ethnic diversity? Absolutely. But let us also be aware, and grateful for the diversity with which God has already entrusted to our communities as we lean into becoming a community that grows in its reflection the glorified Bride of Christ.

Dilemma Two: Settling for Representation

The Church in America has slowly, painfully been coming face to face with the reality of racism which is enmeshed in our country, and sadly, in our churches as well. We must continue to own, confess, and bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt 3:8), as individuals and collectively as the Church. There is a temptation I feel in myself, and have seen in the majority culture - to desire the appearance of ethnic representation, without having the cost which is associated with true diversity. If we are truly serious about living as a diverse community, that will require a continual process of dying to self - empowering others with influence and authority, considering others greater than ourselves, surrendering our own preferences, making space, and celebrating the image and gifts of God by those who look, think and serve in ways that may seem unfamiliar.

Diversity in Corporate Sung Worship

My experience tells me that pastors often look to corporate sung worship as a unifier in the desire for diversity. Music is often touted as a ‘universal language.’ Which may be true to an extent until you look at Church history along with its so-called ‘worship wars.’ Viewing music within the gathered Church as a silver bullet to a sustained, embodied diverse community is as arrogant as it is naive.

So what are we to do as worship leaders and liturgists - especially those of us that find ourselves in may appear a monolithic culture - to foster greater diversity within our realm of responsibility within the Church? Here are a few ideas…

Have men and women co-lead together. Trading-off leading songs, transitions, prayer, and Scripture readings.

Find outside songs. It can be easy to pick from the same pool of songs all the time: ‘oh, I like/trust this church, or these writers, I’ll use everything they put out.’ Find songs outside your tribe. Songs written by women. Songs from other countries and other centuries.

Using ‘high’ and ‘low’ language. Whether it is with hymns or prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, archaic language gives us the ability to hear, pause, and learn something outside of the normal pedestrian ‘low’ language we use in everyday conversation.

Instrumentation. Are there musicians in your church who play an instrument or in a style unfamiliar to the normal Sunday gathering? What would it look like to thoughtfully incorporate those aspects into your gathering?

Invite others in. Whether it is to help plan special services, or in the normal rhythm of weekly services, allow others to help shape, lead, and serve.

Observe context, yours, and others. When you think about your context, what a handful of things you think are unique to your team, and gathering? What about areas of growth? Who are the churches and leaders who are serving their specific context well? What could you glean from those churches and leaders that could be applied to your own?

As with all formative practices, fostering diversity within the corporate worship space is a lifetime pursuit. Lasting transformation is only possible when our hearts are first, and continually surrendered to the sanctifying work of the Spirit. So let our hearts be transformed, so that we have the stamina, intention and desire to see our churches reflect the glorified Body of Christ. For His glory, and the good of the world.

Why All Churches Should Write Original Music

Songs are gifts to the Church.

They have the ability to make theology accessible, articulating who God is, what He has done, and enable us to respond with lives of worship. Songs can become personal markers of our own journey - ebeneezers of God’s faithfulness in different seasons of life. But they are also connectors to a larger story. When we sing the songs which have been passed down through the ages, songs like the Doxology, A Mighty Fortress, and All Creatures of Our God and King, we are acknowledging that we are not the first nor will we be the last. We are a part of a Church that stretches across time, history, place, and space - and will last into eternity.

There are amazing songs accessible to the Church like never before. Gifted songwriters, worship leaders, and liturgists who have the ability to put into lyric and melody the things that the Church needs to hear and say to God. With such skill and talent available, why should the local church bother with writing songs for their particular expression of the Body?

Because those songs do not have the ability to carry the unique stories and struggles, triumphs, and joys that come with relationship, discipleship, and burden-bearing in the local community of faith. It isn’t that we want one or the other - only songs written by professional songwriters, or only songs written in and to a local expression - we need both. Our communities need songs that give us voice and connect us to the bigger picture, and they need songs that articulate our specific stories as we walk together as worshipers and lovers of God.

What do your people need to hear?

What do your people need to say to God?

Write it.