Category: Song selection

Just Because You’re Tired of a Song…

For every one time you lead a song during a service, you probably sing it two other times during rehearsal.

Them: 1. You: 3.

For every one time you lead a song during a service, then lead it a few weeks later a second time, chances are that a quarter (or so) of your congregation isn’t there to sing it.

Them: 1 – 2. You: 6.

And then for every time you lead a song during a service, then lead it a few weeks later a second time, and everyone in your congregation happens to be there all at the same time, you’re probably also leading that same song in some other context.

Them: 2. You: 7.

It’s understandable that you get tired of certain songs when you’re leading worship. Between rehearsals, multiple services, and different events, odds are that there are particular songs you sing quite frequently.

But it’s important to keep in mind that just because you’re tired of a song, it doesn’t mean people in your congregation are tired of it too. You get tired of songs more quickly than your congregation does.

Sometimes it’s the opposite problem. You just love a certain song and could sing it every week, but people in your congregation are sick of it. It takes growing in discernment, wisdom, and observational sharpness to be able to spot this.

However, it’s more likely that you’re the one who’s going to be getting tired of a song first. Be encouraged that it takes much longer for the congregation to get sick of it than you think it might.

Here’s the main reason why this should be encouraging to you:

It isn’t necessary to introduce new songs as often as you’re tempted.

There’s probably a song you did a few months ago that people would be quite happy to sing again. Maybe you did a song just last week that people really seemed to enjoy. Then do it again this week. You know that song you think people don’t want to sing again? Maybe they wouldn’t mind so much.

So keep in mind that for every 7 times you sing a song – the average person in the congregation is singing it twice. Don’t be so quick to put that song on the bench.

Sermonizing Harmonizing

One of the ways worship leaders can better serve their congregation and their pastor is by choosing songs intentionally and purposefully to underline and respond to the preaching of God’s word. Not every song has to line up perfectly with the theme of the sermon, or be based on the same passage of Scripture, but when all of the songs during a service are completely unrelated to each other and the message, it can result in no single message standing out at the end of the day.

In most of the weekend services at my church, the sermon comes toward the end of the service. Because of this, I’m usually most concerned that the closing song, which comes directly after the sermon, is carefully chosen.

For years I tried to do this mostly by guessing. If the pastor thought to mention something to me about what kind of song would work, then that would be great. But most weeks I was just hoping I got it right. Sometimes I would. But other times I would find myself sitting in the service thinking, “I wish I knew he was going to say that!”

So in recent years I’ve become more diligent about hounding the preacher in the week leading up to his sermon, to get as much information as I can to help me pick songs, particularly the closing song, that both underline and help people respond to the message.

Here are some ways you might be able to do the same:

If he writes it out word-for-word, get a full transcript
Whenever John Yates, our senior pastor, is preaching on a weekend, I will get a word-for-word transcript of his sermon on the Thursday leading up to it. This is invaluable. I take time to read it, chew on it, and then prayerfully discern what songs would help people respond to this most effectively.

If he preaches from an outline, ask to see that outline
Some of the other pastors at my church don’t write their sermons out word-for-word. So I’ll just ask for their outline, or any notes they have. Sometimes I get a lot, and sometimes I get a little. Either way, it’s still something.

If he hasn’t yet finished either a transcript or outline, ask him what he’s thinking
I’ll oftentimes email whatever pastor is preaching and say something like: “I’d love to have any crumbs you can throw my way to help me pick a closing song that works well with your sermon. Any ideas? Specific songs? Themes? Anything?” I’ll almost always get a helpful response. I don’t need an awful lot of information – just some sort of indication of the direction of the sermon.

The key question to ask yourself and the preacher is: how would you envision people responding to this message through a song?

Don’t try to summarize the entire message in a song. You probably won’t be able to, and even if you are, it might be information overload. Just help them respond. It will look different every Sunday, but by asking yourself this question, you’re helping to avoid a mishmash of messages. Say that five times fast.

Read the Lyrics First

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received about choosing new worship songs was to read the lyrics first. Since melodies and harmonies and rhythms and grooves have such a way of grabbing us, they can drastically affect how we perceive the strength of a song. Great melody? There’s a good chance you’re going to think it’s a great song.

I’ve gotten into the habit now of, whenever I can, reading through the lyrics of an album or a particular song before I ever listen to it. If someone recommends a song, before I look for it on iTunes or YouTube, I Google the lyrics. While there are exceptions, in most cases, without hearing the music, you’ll be able to spot a well-written song or a not-so-well-written song with more objectivity.

A great tune can turn a bad song into one everybody wants to sing. Likewise, a bad tune can turn a good song into one that no one has any desire to sing.

But I don’t think the problem with most new songs being written is that they’re great lyrics being set to sub-par tunes. Usually, the problem is either (1) neither the lyrics nor the tune are worth introducing to a congregation, or (2) the tune is catchy but the lyrics are weak.

It’s easy to criticize – and that’s not my intention. Rather, my encouragement to worship leaders who have the responsibility of choosing songs is to set the bar high – very high – for the kinds of songs we introduce. This means looking past a melody or a groove that grabs us on the first listen, and discerning whether the words of the song are equally as substantive.

Bob Kauflin taught an excellent seminar at the 2004 Sovereign Grace Ministries Worship God conference called “Choosing Songs Wisely”. This completely changed my thinking on this critical area – and you can download a free mp3 of his teaching here.

What To Do With The Sanctus

I can’t be absolutely certain, but I would say it’s a safe bet that there has never before been a blog post with this title in the history of the internet.

The “Sanctus” (rhymes with bonk-toos) is the song that appears in the communion liturgy after the opening call-and-response prayer that goes something like:

Celebrant: The Lord be with you
People: And also with you.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Celebrant: It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

Then we sing the Sanctus (“Sanctus” is Latin for “holy”). The text for this song is something along the lines of:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

If you lead worship in a church that is either nondenominational or fairly informal in its liturgy, you might not use this kind of liturgy for communion. But if you’re in a liturgical church, you’ll probably know what I’m talking about.

And whether you do communion every week or once a month, you might find yourself asking the question: “what do I do with the Sanctus?”

There are many different settings of the Sanctus in various hymnals, but if you’re like me, not many of them are all that appealing. Because of this, it can be tempting to stick with the one good setting of the Sanctus that you have and use it every single time. When this happens, the Sanctus can get to be predictable, rote, and boring.

Worship leaders who lead in the context of a liturgical church can work within the confines of that liturgy to help introduce and maintain a freshness and heartfelt engagement on the part of the congregation.

In this instance, with a song that can easily become robotic, we can use different settings and even different wording to help keep people engaged. The “Sanctus” is meant to be a song during which we join in with the song that all of heaven is singing around the throne. Whether or not we use the exact text as is in the Book of Common Prayer or use a beautiful melody shouldn’t be our primary concern. Rather, our concern should be stirring people to exalt and magnify God as we sing with all of heaven.

Here are the four songs I draw from to use as a Sanctus.

1. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord (Hosanna) by Peter Scholtes
This is an older one – but with some energy it still works well. Every recording I’ve heard of this song is pretty slow. I do it faster, around 100 bpm.

2. Salvation Belongs to Our God by Adrian Howard
Technically, this isn’t a “Sanctus” because it doesn’t have the traditional wording. But, when you use the first verse and chorus, it fits really well in the liturgy. Coming after the celebrant says “therefore we praise you, joining our voices with angels… and all the company of heaven who forever sing this hymn…” it works well to sing straight from Revelation 7:10,12: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb!”

3. We Fall Down by Chris Tomlin
Again, this isn’t the traditional Sanctus text, but it still fits well. “We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus… and we cry ‘holy, holy, holy’ is the Lamb”.

4. Be Unto Your Name (chorus only) by Lynn DeShazo and Gary Sadler
“Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Highest praises, honor and glory be unto Your name”.

Typically, the Sanctus isn’t a very long song. It lasts for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, and then the liturgy continues. So don’t repeat these very much, if at all, unless your pastor is OK with extending that portion of the liturgy.

It’s hard to find good settings of the Sanctus. Hopefully these suggestions help if you’re looking for some new ones, and please feel free to share any that I’ve missed!