On Ordering Songs for a Worship Service
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Categorized as: Christian Life, From James, Ministry, Preaching, Theology, Video, Worship
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Categorized as: Christian Life, From James, Ministry, Preaching, Theology, Video, Worship
February 9th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
James,
You nailed worship on the head!
Thank you very much!
February 9th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
[...] Pastor James MacDonald shares some of his thoughts on choosing worships songs, and if there is a way to do it biblically. I think he explains a good model of purposely choosing worship songs, and arranging them in a way which leads the congregation in a flow of worship. What are your thoughts on this? View the videos here. [...]
February 10th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Hi James,
Thank you so much for the vids, always so practical and theological. I was wondering if you had the ability in some way to share the songs you all use with the 1-5 numerical values you have assigned to them? Maybe a shortened list as an example? Blessings to you and lots of prayers for your health.
Matt
Good idea Matt:
Let me work on that!
james
February 10th, 2009 at 10:11 am
I really enjoyed this. I have never thought of approaching worship in a progression, but it totally makes sense. God bless you pastor James, and may He continue to use you powerfully in all you endeavor to do for His kingdom. Christ first in all we do…….. Your brother in Christ.
February 10th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Nice shirt, James…kind of Metro.
John
I am way past Metro, I am almost to California like you!
james
February 10th, 2009 at 10:48 am
[...] From Straight Up, A Ministry Blog for Pastors from the Harvest Bible Fellowship [...]
February 10th, 2009 at 11:37 am
This is helpful. Who wants to preach a sermon on mourning and repentance and then have the worship leader close with his rendition of “The Happy Song?”
It takes a little more time and preparation to develop continuity in the worship service. When the worship leader and pastor aren’t working together, the discontinuity can be perceived by the congregation. I was once apart of a church where the pastor would spend the week preparing his sermon while the worship leader would do his thing, and they wouldn’t even communicate until Sunday morning. It was like having an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator on the football field without a head coach.
One limitation I’ve experienced in church-planting is a lack of qualified and capable musicians (including myself) to assist in designing a harmonious worship service. When the worship leader can only play songs in G and E and has only a handful of songs to choose from, it is more difficult to pick the perfect songs to match the message. But even with only a handful of songs in the worship leaders’ repertoire, he/she can still move from “a call to worship” to “songs of testimony” to “songs of ascription” (1-5 in “Harvest” language). Even if the lyrics don’t match the message perfectly, the worship leader can produce the right atmosphere and tone for the congregation to hear God’s Word.
Needless to say, it is essential to have a good working relationship between pastor and worship leader. If a worship leader is testy or dogmatic about the song choices for Sunday morning, it’ll be a constant struggle to design a solid worship service. Probably just as frustrating is a pastor who says to the worship leader, “You just do your thing, and I’ll do mine.”
February 13th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Great comments from the wise sage but what’s with the shirt?
Hey Earl:
I am in California for two months, don’t you think I should “dress like the indians?”
Hope you are well.
james
June 6th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I first heard of this idea when I served with a Harvest church plant several years ago. It made a lot of sense and aligned with my sense of a lack of intentionality or “logic” in our worship. Those who think in a sequential or linear way really benefit from this kind of planning. I would say that using this general guide has been beneficial for my worship leading over the past 5 years. Proven and tested!
My only caveat would be to say that we also need to leave room for worship to break beyond our usual categories. Contrary to Joshua’s comment, I don’t think that a numerical sequence helps someone “nail worship.” If only worship would be that easy for us to master! Regretfully, we are all striving to worship God more and more because mastering worship is a matter of the heart — something that will be completed when we sing for all eternity in heaven.
In other words, such categorization is very helpful, and I would definitely suggest it. However, I am sure James would agree that worship is much more than that.
There may even be a Sunday when God would like us to do something different — maybe even not sing and be silent, or maybe leave the church early to serve the poor. Worship is far more exciting than any of us can fully comprehend.
June 6th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Related to this topic, I would also add that it helps to have descriptions of God’s attributes and/or actions at the beginning of a worship gathering. Most of us need to be reminded, and God Himself is the motivation for us to sing. In other words, before we sing “I worship you,” it helps for us to remember why we are worshiping Him.
The more we proclaim Him at the beginning, I have found that people are generally more engaged in worship. That way, they are motivated by God and not any ingenuity on my part.
May God be glorified.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Another possible category, a sixth, could be used following the sermon. Worship doesn’t end in the sanctuary, but leads us out into the world. As John Piper points out, worship inspires us towards mission, which then leads to more worship.
Songs in this sixth category could speak of our response to God’s Word. These songs would often use first person pronouns, but like many of the Psalms, these songs speak of God’s effect upon us and of our desire to proclaim God to others.