So many worship teams have fallen into this pattern of two fast songs followed by two slow songs. This has made the worship segment in church become very predictable. Where do these formulas come from and better yet, are these formulas killing our ability to depend on and be led by the Holy Spirit?
On a typical Sunday morning, churches gather for their worship service. Most of the time, the worship team will come on the platform and begin the service. After some greetings and maybe even a Scripture reading, the time for worship will begin. The worship set usually comprises three or four songs and lasts about twenty to thirty minutes. I know for some of you, the first 30 minutes is just the warmup, because the worship segment in your church lasts about an hour. I will keep that in a separate category.
After the worship is finished, there may be some announcements, maybe an offering and the service will continue. Does this sound familiar, or maybe even like the Sunday service at your church? If your answer is yes, then I want to share something with you. Worship teams and worship leaders are doing one thing that I wish they would stop. I will present it to you in a question. Why do so many worship teams insist on beginning each worship set with some type of high energy fast song (usually two)? After those two fasts songs, then they follow that with two slower songs, which we deem more worshipful. I don’t know why we do this, but if you know the answer, please let me know.
So many worship teams have fallen into this pattern of two fast songs followed by two slow songs. This has made the worship segment in church become very predictable. Where do these formulas come from and better yet, are these formulas killing our ability to depend on and be led by the Holy Spirit? Do we think God does the same thing the same way every Sunday? I hope you would agree the answer is no.
Here is what I want you to think about. How do we break free from this formulaic approach to worship and bring the Holy Spirit back into the process? If you have some suggestions, please share them with me, but here are mine.
1. Ask the Holy Spirit to Lead You When You Create the Worship Set
Typically, when the worship team gathers to pray on a Sunday morning, they may ask the Holy Spirit to have his way in the service. However, you cannot just wait until Sunday morning to invite the Holy Spirit into the room. You must invite him into every step of the process. This begins when you are putting together the songs you are going to sing during the set.
Here is what the Holy Spirit knows that you don’t. He knows every person who will be in that service on Sunday. He also knows where they are in their life, what they are dealing with, and what song they need to hear. That’s why when you are thinking about the songs you will sing, ask for his direction. It may be easier to just stick to the pattern, but that doesn’t mean it is more effective.
I challenge you not to get sucked into following the formulas because the Holy Spirit might want to do something different. You should leave all the formulas at the door and allow him to guide you. When you follow his lead, you can be confident the music you choose will be what the congregation needs to hear.
2. Ask for the Holy Spirit to Lead Your Rehearsal Time
If you want the Holy Spirit to lead on Sunday, then he should lead in the rehearsal as well. Rehearsal is not just for going over the songs you will do on Sunday. Rehearsal is when you should be worshipping together as a team. Don’t just work on getting all the music and vocals right (which you need to do), make sure you worship through the rehearsal. Yes, you want the music and the vocals to sound good, but even more important is having the Holy Spirit show up in the service. You can’t just wait for that to happen on Sunday, that should begin in the rehearsal. The songs you are ministering to others should first be ministering to you. This means it's okay if the rehearsal time turns into a worship session. The more comfortable you become in worshipping together when no one is in the room, the better it will be when the congregation is present.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Follow the Leading of the Holy Spirit during the Service
The last piece of this puzzle doesn’t just happen during the song selection and rehearsal, it should carry over into the Sunday service. The Holy Spirit needs to lead the worship as well during the service. We live in the day and age of click tracks, which can be a tremendous help for the worship team, but sometimes that becomes what leads the team through the service.
I am not saying don’t use them. I am saying don’t be afraid to follow what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. This might mean you do something that you may not have planned. Maybe you repeat a chorus or maybe you don’t get to the last song of the set because the presence of the Lord is so rich. Maybe instead of rushing from song to song, you take a moment to linger in God’s presence and allow the words of the song to sink in for the congregation. The bottom line is you should be flexible and be in tune with what God wants to do.
The goal of every service should be to have a service where the Holy Spirit really has his way. Making space for the Holy Spirit to move is essential for this to occur. This should not just be a prayer, but an expectation. This doesn’t mean you don’t plan or structure for the worship set or the service. It means that if the Holy Spirit moves in another direction, you move in step with him.
I will offer one word of caution. If you are planning correctly and asking the Holy Spirit to guide you, then the set you plan will often be the set you do. However, there may be moments when the Holy Spirit may move in a different direction, and you should be prepared to follow if he does.
Final Thoughts
If you think I am talking about the Holy Spirit a lot, that is because I am. Without his help and his presence, there is no ministry that can take place in any Sunday service. It does not matter how talented you are. Services that transform lives can only happen when the Holy Spirit is doing the work. For this reason, let him do his work.
If you lead worship or are part of a worship team, thank you for all that you do. Whether you are singing or playing, I know from personal experience it is not easy. It takes time to prepare and commitment to leading people into God’s presence each week. All I request is that you lose the formulas and press into the leading of the Holy Spirit. This will not only make your leading better, but the people in the congregation will be even more blessed. Imagine how wonderful your Sunday services will be when you really allow the Holy Spirit to lead them.
More from this author
Does the Volume and Style of Music Matter in Worship?
4 Things We Get Wrong about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Does Fear Mean You Don’t Have Faith?
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