Achieving Effective Praise and Worship
Introduction:
The subject of Praise and Worship is one that can be seen in several different ways, depending on a persons background, experience, training and discipleship. In this book I want to show several things that most Worship leaders either do not consider at all, or they are just completely ignorant of. Although some people are aware of some of their lack and needs, there are also many who are totally unaware of things that are wrong or things that can be greatly improved on in their Worship services.
Although there will always be different opinions about different things such as music styles, song choices, instruments used, and other things; I do think that a majority of worship leaders really do want to be effective. But in order to be effective, one of the most important things a worship leader must have is the ability to be humble and receive advice, consider opinions, and think about what really works. The worship service is not about the worship leader or the musicians. It is about Jesus and the people of God being able to worship Him effectively. If it becomes a time of entertainment, the showing of our talents, or just singing the songs we personally like to sing, then we are missing the point of the service.
In this book, it is my intention to show how every worship leader can effectively bring a congregation into the presence of God, so the worship team is not the only ones being ministered to, but so they can lead others into effective worship that will minister unto God at the same time. When God is blessed by our worship, the people will benefit by His life changing presence. This is the goal and purpose of the worship service. No other purpose should be in our minds, other than blessing God, and leading people into the blessing of His glory. But in order to do this effectively, we will have to get everyone in the congregation involved in unity, with every single song that is sang.
I will be covering the many different thoughts to consider in forming the most effective worship teams. There are more things to consider than most people realize. Which is why they are not as effective as they could be. And to be completely honest about it, a majority of Worship teams who think they are effective and great, really are not what they think they are. This is not meant as a cutting remark or a judgment; but only as a statement of truth, with a hope for their growth and complete ability to come to fruition. It is important that we can face the facts and deal with them. Don’t allow pride to get in the way of a change that could change the lives of others. Think about this. As a worship team, you have the responsibility of bringing the people of God into His presence, and preparing them to receive whatever He may have for them. What an honor! What a responsibility! One that should never be taken lightly! And one that always deserves our very best offering and sacrifices!
As you start to read the contents in this book, I ask that you will pray and think about how you might change things to make them better. Ask God to speak to you and show you what to do. Not everything I say will be for every person, since you may have some things down really well, and understand them very clearly. But don’t brush things off too quickly. Take it all to God and carefully consider what you might need to change, learn or grow in. It is my prayer that every worship leader and team can find a greater effectiveness. Having seen lack in worship teams, and even some of the best still lacking in areas; please consider that you likely have not perfected worship either. And always keep it in your mind through faith, the understanding that you have the ability to connect people with God in a way that can cause a sweeping revival to take place as God’s presence is ushered into the meeting place.
Although I will not pretend to have all of the answers, I want to share the fact that as a musician, former worship leader, a pastor, and a careful observer, that have seen and experienced the power of God fall upon the people with salvations, healings, recommitments, new stirring and vision, and so much more. I have been in Churches since the early 70’s as a child, and have experienced every music style and different eras. I have been through the times of using Hymnals, through the transition of using choruses and other shorter new songs. Then to Hosanna music, to the Vineyard music, and then to the modern radio worship. And now we have experienced a flood of so many newer songs. We will talk about styles and song choices, and more. But I said all of this to explain that having seen all of this in Churches over the past 50 years, I have closely observed and examined, applied and experienced the effectiveness over the years. So as we get into this, I will show what I have learned and seen. And through these experiences, I believe God will give revelation to those reading about how to become more effective. Just keep an open mind with a hungry heart, and I am sure you will see things that will change your perspective and stir your vision for a more powerful worship in your church.
The Purpose of Praise and Worship
One thing that many people don’t fully understand is the fact the Praise and Worship are two different things. Although they are both actions of God’s people that show expression through our voices, prayers, and song, they are expressed in different ways.
In 2 Chronicles 20:21, it says, “After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army”.
There are several examples in the Bible about musical instruments and songs being used to praise God before battles, or during times of celebration of God and His goodness. There were times like this example above when the musicians and singers would go ahead into a battle, without being harmed by the enemy. They were no threat to the enemy. But little did the enemies know that these praise teams were preparing the way of the Lord, whereby He would come and fight the battle for His people. Great destruction would come upon the enemies of Israel, while no harm came to Israel’s army or people.
Our battle as Christians is not a physical battle as Israel’s was. But it is a battle nonetheless. It is a spiritual battle for the souls of any unsaved people who come in. And it is a battle for the freedom, healing, deliverance for anyone who needs it. It is also a cry for the voice of God to speak, as He not only fights the battle for us by defeating our enemies, but also as we experience the gifts he has bestowed upon the Church. Starting with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our midst in greater degrees than we experience any other time of the week. When the people praise God together un one accord, there is a greater power and presence available to us. The Praise team has the power and authority to prepare the way for a move of God. Then as the hearts of the people are prepared, God will bring an increased anointing to the entirety of the service. The stage is set for the anointing, as the Word is preached, and the altar call draws people closer with hunger.
There is a reason why we typically start with Praise, and end with worship. Praise is the battle of tearing down strongholds, barriers, walls, hindrances, and every evil thought and imagination. Worship is the time of clarity after all that is removed. A time of focus on His glory, goodness, love and grace. It is the time of adoration and acknowledgement of all that He is to us. Both are very important parts of a service and need to be given great consideration and proper judgment. We need to be honest with ourselves and accept when we need to change and improve, seeing our lack and weaknesses for what they are. You cant fix a problem that you refuse to accept exists!
The power of Praise and Worship
Before I get into styles, methods, and the different things to carefully consider with Worship, I need to continue laying the foundation of the importance and purpose of it. I first have something that might surprise some people a bit.
Years ago, when I first became a Christian, we called the song service the “Praise and Worship” service. Churches today have dropped the praise, and called it a Worship service only. This is primarily because of the fact that most Churches simply do not praise God in song any more. And most Churches are completely clueless about this fact. Many of them can have fairly good Worship services. But the praise is nearly nonexistent. I do not say this to speak against Churches. Please do not take it that way. I say it in order to face the facts of where we are today, so we can carefully consider the things we may have lost. All of this is in hope of regaining those things that can help us as a body. Praise is an important part of the service. And regaining it for the entire congregation will bring a life changing presence into the Church, preparing a platform for revival.
Most of this is due to the fact that music has changed so much over the years. Although there are many Churches around that have stuck with the hymns as their preferred choice of songs, most Churches feel the need to become more modern. Part of this is because they want to be able to reach the younger generation. So adopting a music style they can relate to will hopefully gain their interest and participation in worship. The other reason is simply because the modern music is up to date and attractive. Simply put, people just like it more. As one who grew up with the hymns, I can honestly say that I never cared for most of them. And it wasn’t until I found a Church that sang choruses and newer style songs that I began to enjoy the Praise and Worship service. The discovery of these songs excited me. I think we really do need to keep in mind how song styles will draw and affect the people. However, there is a problem with a lot of modern music at the same time. Unless we can honestly face these facts and deal with them, we will never be able to grow and improve our effectiveness. Again, this is not a slam on anyone and their choices of songs. But rather the laying out of all that we have onto the table to examine carefully and honestly.
What happens with many Churches and worship leaders, when it comes to the modern sound, is they get too caught up in the sound. They will choose songs they can best show their talents with. Or songs they personally can sing well with. But not all others can follow as easily. So the Worship service becomes more like a concert or entertainment event, as the people on the platform sing and worship, and the people in the congregation stand there without participation. This may very well be unintentional in many cases. They may mean well, wanting only to draw people into participation and experience with them as they worship. But if you look closely at these services, you will notice that those on the platform are all worshipping fine. But those in the congregation are not nearly as involved or blessed by the worship. Some Churches might get 30 to 40 percent of the congregation involved, while the rest just stand there. This is one thing that should be a red light and sound off the alarm to any Worship leader. We must consider the people and what they are able to do, and what they get out of it. If they get little to nothing out of it, then there are typically only two reasons. They don’t want to, or they just feel unable to. It is the purpose of the Praise and Worship leader to make it possible for them to get everything they can out of this time. This is where we will see the difference between a song leader and a Praise and Worship leader. A song leader will only sing the song, and lead the song, while expecting others to follow along. A Praise and Worship leader will leader will lead the people! He or she will lead them into the singing, and lead them into the praise and worship. How this is done is what every leader needs to know. Looking for ways to improve the Praise and Worship and to get people completely involved and blessed should be the goal of every Praise and Worship leader. And until every single person is 100% involved, blessed, and set on fire through the Praise and Worship, no leader should ever be satisfied. This is your call!
Getting the people involved
We know that Praise and Worship is unto God and for God. But we also know that we are also blessed by it in many ways. The reality is, most people really don’t know how much of a blessing it can really be. Those on the platform have a better idea, since they are actually doing it. They understand that they need to sing the songs, lift their hands, clap, or move around a bit. But those in the congregation can just sit back and wait for it to be over. Because of lack of involvement, many Churches have shortened the Worship service so they can get on with the rest of the service. This is the wrong choice of action. The fact is, it really isn’t that hard to get people involved, if a good anointed Praise and Worship leader is leading. I think there are many good leaders out there. They just don’t know the potential they actually have. Or they are hindered from using that potential because of modern changes that have led them down a path that is difficult to break away from. So what I want to do as we continue here is to break down the different things that can cause hindrance in leading Praise and Worship, and cause you to come to a point of decisions. Decisions that will help change the atmosphere in a Church service. Keep in mind that the small things that can seem so insignificant can be more important than you realize. Small things become big things. And several small things add up to cause bigger problems. And because they are small, they can easily be harder to detect and become unnoticeable. So it is important to consider every small thing without brushing them off as unimportant. It has taken many years of change to compromise and weaken the worship service. It will take time and effort to repair and reclaim what has been lost or confused. But remember, we are not talking about worship teams being “bad”. We are talking about making them better and reaching their fullest potential. I want to be sure nothing is being taken as harsh judgment against Churches and their form of worship. The point here is growing in effectiveness and reaching the potential we have in front of us that is many times overlooked.
I have always believed that prayer before a Church service is very important. I don’t mean just the typical prayer every Church does as they hold hands and agree in prayer for a few minutes. I am talking about a prayer meeting in a room that can be open an hour before service so they and others can come in to pray for the entire service. Prayer will condition and prepare our hearts to minister effectively through Praise and Worship. Every person on the platform is a minister of Praise and Worship, and they need to be properly prepared and equipped by the Spirit of God, with all hindrances and distractions removed. But the job they have is more than just helping people to bless God and to be blessed by God as they worship Him. The Praise and Worship service is also a time when the people of God are being prepared for whatever God may have for them at the time. Whether it is spiritual gifts; an overwhelming blessing of assurance, hope, and love by His presence; or even physical healing as God does His work in the bodies of people. Bringing the presence of God amongst the people as they offer an acceptable sacrifice of Praise unto God can bring in miracles and a great move of God. But it also prepares their hearts to receive the Word of God through scripture and the preaching of the gospel of Christ. As the minister of Christ steps up to bring the Word, imagine a Church full of people who are already overwhelmed with His presence in such a way, they are hungry and ready for the Word of truth and expecting God to do something. Unlike the sleepy time service when the pastor preaches a good message, but you are too distracted to focus. Now you are stirred up, ready, hungry, and expecting God to do something. So you are more focused than ever. This is what the Praise and Worship service has the potential of doing. It is not unobtainable! It is not some hope of revival that you cannot be sure you will ever see.
As we seek change, we allow ourselves to be challenged, and to press through the messes we have created for ourselves. As we humble ourselves enough to see that we do not have things together as well as we thought we did, then God can begin to show us new things. We can then gain wisdom and see powerful changes in the lives of others, as we all grow and break through the invisible wall that has stood before us.
Song choices
I want to discuss several different issues that we need to carefully consider. Each one is important and should not be shrugged off before we think it as not being a big deal. I am writing these things because of what I have personally seen and experienced. And most of them are issues simply because people do not believe they are issues. And because many people like the way things are and prefer not to change, it can be very easy to avoid the issues and just move on. So a non-issue to them actually becomes an issue. Not seeing the issue or refusing to acknowledge cannot make it nonexistent. I can promise you that if you will hear what I am saying, as you pray earnestly and open your heart, these important issues can change the dynamics of your ministry in a very powerful way.
There is no particular order to these topics covered here. But I want to start with the topic of song choices. This can include styles of music, song structure, content in the lyrics, and a few other issues to consider.
Styles of music: We already discussed some about Hymns. Although many do choose to use the hymns and stick with them completely, while some will mix some hymns and some modern styles; this is not going to be the choice of most Churches today. If that is their choice, then that is fine. These things can still apply to those choices. A few Churches around might also choose older choruses. The same applies with them. The reality is, a lot of those older songs were easier to get people involved with, simply because the Churches stuck with the same list of songs. The choruses were simple and not so “wordy”. And they sang them often enough so that people could learn them well. This made it much easier for people to participate. Whereas today, Churches will have such an overwhelming list of new songs. And many of the Worship Leaders will add new songs monthly, if not weekly. So the people cannot keep up. They can never learn the songs well enough to participate.
My recommendation to leaders is to choose the very best songs out of that long list, and stick with them long enough for the people to learn them very well. It is hard to ask people to follow along if they can never learn the songs. How can we ever expect participation when people don’t even know the songs? It isn’t even possible. Trying to keep up with the words on a screen can be difficult for many people to do. They can’t even keep up most of the time. The reality is, most people really do want to sing. They really do want to worship. But they just don’t feel like they are able to do so much of the time, because they don’t know the songs. If you feel the need to add a good new song, then slip it in maybe one every few months max. Then stick with it so they can learn it. But if the rotation of songs is too large, they will not be able to learn them, and therefore will not be able to participate.
Here is another very valid and important recommendation. Weed out the songs that simply don’t work well. Sometimes certain songs just don’t have the same power as others. If you have too many songs in your list, then judge those songs! Yes, judge them! Judge whether they are able to get people stirred, hungry, focused, and involved. Judge if they are not doing it, then get rid of them. That is hard for some people to accept. But we need to accept the fact that there is more to a good song that a pretty melody. Or even what we might consider “good lyrics”. As much as you might personally love it, if the people are not getting closer to God through it, then get rid of it. I promise you, if you will do this, you will see a change in the service just with that alone.
One more issue with modern music and song choices is the simple fact that there are many wonderful songs out there that just were not meant for the Praise and Worship Service. Or they just don’t work well without an orchestra to back you up. We need to be realistic. A song can make number 1 on the radio, and be a flop in Church. Not because of the sound or talent. But because of the style. It can be great for entertainment, while not so effective for getting the Church on fire and connected to the Spirit. So our judgment here is not about whether we like the song of not. It is solely about its effectiveness in the Praise and Worship service. And as you weed out those ineffective songs, and stick with the proven effective songs only; that alone will make a noticeable difference in the Praise and worship service. But don’t stop there! There is so much more you can do to make things even better.
Being able to lead the people into Praise and Worship is a very important task, if we want to have a service as I described earlier. I will cover more about how to achieve this. But first I want to cover some thoughts about the songs we choose and how we sing them. This will prove to be another very important choice we make.
Song Structure: If we look back to the days of the Hymns, those who remember those days can remember being told to turn to a certain page for the next song. Although long time members might be able to memorize the words to the songs, most people needed the Hymnal to read as they sang. This is simply because every song would have 4 or more verses and a chorus. There were simply too many words for most people to memorize. So the people could not be hands free to worship. Their faces were in a book reading the entire time. So once Churches started singing just the choruses and put them up on a screen using an overhead projector, people could worship more freely and get more involved, even easily memorizing the words.
With many modern songs, we have a very similar problem. Some of them have so many verses that most of the time singing is done trying to follow the words on the screen overhead. But some of the songs are difficult to follow without stumbling. I have gone to Churches where they did certain modern songs for 2 to 3 years, and I never could learn the lyrics. As I watch others, I realized I was not the only one. So in our choosing of songs, we need to consider the length of those songs, and how hard it will be to follow and learn them. If you choose songs with a structure that has only 2 verses and a chorus, then you are much more likely to get people to learn them and get involved.
Churches need to take the time to judge the songs. Judge their effectiveness with the people God has given to that ministry. No matter how much you might like the sound or even the words, some songs just don’t have the same power. Imagine services that have all of the songs that contain the ultimate power to draw the people in to Praise and Worship. This is possible! With all the songs out there, we should take the time to clean up the song lists. Get rid of the songs that lack the power. Bring back songs that had the power. Just get a good mix of powerful songs. The age of the songs does not matter. I am not saying we need to go back to old songs. But we should learn from them as we choose the effective songs only for our lists.
Content of Lyrics: You know those songs that you sing that stir up excitement in you? Or the ones that bring tears to your eyes? These are songs with great content. A lot of songs sound fairly good, but they just don’t have the power to get you focused on what you are singing. So this is an important factor in choosing songs. With so many songs available, why not weed them out and choose only those powerful songs that move people? If we can create that Praise and Worship service where every song moves people, stirs them up, and gets them so full of the Holy Ghost that they cannot hardly stand it, then we have fulfilled our call for each time we see that. This is a certain possibility! Song choices alone can make a huge difference! Yet this is only one area we are discussing here. We will cover more that are just as important.
You may have heard the term before, “Vertical songs”. This refers to songs that focus upward, towards God and to God. They are not the songs about our Christian experience, which would be considered horizontal songs. These songs are not bad in any way. But the vertical songs are usually the best choice. They focus on the one who we are present to Worship in the first place. Even songs like “Lord I lift Your name on high”. This is a vertical song sang to Him directly. These are typically your best songs to get people involved and engaged in the Spirit.
The horizontal songs are the songs that are more about our experience with God, his grace, love, goodness, etc. There is nothing wrong with these songs. And some of them can be very powerful and very useful for the purposes we are discussing here. But they are also going to be the songs that are more likely to make the majority on the list of songs to toss aside. Don’t be afraid to clean out the song files of good songs that just don’t have power content to move people! This is something that will help you tremendously.
It is important that we can not only know and sing the lyrics, but that we can think about what we are singing. Some songs I have heard are a little mysterious. It is either hard to comprehend what they are trying to say, or they just do not speak in the same way we would talk. Being able to sing to God like we would talk to Him is important. Singing to Him to sound attractive is not what we need. We do not want to sound mysterious. We want to sing from our hearts, things that are in our hearts. We do not want to sing something that we do not even understand. People will get nothing out of such a song. And I will go as far as to say that this can even quench the spirit. Our spirit must be able to connect to the song as we sing it, or we simply lose the Worship connection.
Other things to carefully consider: One thing that was done in the older days, when churches sang mostly Choruses, was the songs were all played in the basic keys. Most songs were played in G or F. With a few in D minor. Then a few in the key of C. Modern songs are played in every key that exists! The choice of which key to play in can determine whether men can hit the notes or not. With modern songs, a lot of the artists who write them are either women or men with higher voices. When churches try to sing the songs in the original songs key, most men struggle to sing at all. If they do, they have to sing in bass. And most men would much rather sing in a key they are comfortable singing in, or just not sing at all. It is important to always consider everyone. Especially since men who cannot hit the higher notes make up a large percentage of any church. This is one of the small things, that really does matter.
A lot of Worship leaders are either women or men with higher voices. So they choose keys to fit their voices. I have to doubt that any of these leaders ever actually consider the people when they choose the key they sing in. Yet it is the people who need to be our focus and consideration.
When picking songs for the Praise and worship service, this is something that should be on our mental list of things to do. Take the time to check the key for the average mans voice. Have a man who has a typical voice range sing the sing in different keys to find the key that best suits him. Typically speaking, women can sing in a wider range of keys and octaves without problems. Although they may have preferred keys to sing in, they don’t have the struggle most men will have. And we really want our men to be involved in the Praise and Worship! Too many churches today have been feminized, because the women run so many things, while the men stand to the side. Thank God for women willing to be a part and lead! But lets not give reason for men to not get involved. Lets help them instead. Find that key that best suits all voice ranges. This will increase the level of involvement, and will also increase the level of experience with the power of the Spirit in the church as a whole.
I cannot tell you how many times in visiting or being a part of many different Churches across the United States that I had to sing bass in order to sing the songs. And how it hindered me to have to do so. When you are singing lower than normal, you don’t feel like you are able to give it your all in the worship. You feel like you are singing the words softly, and without any power to belt it out. I have seen the difference when men could sing aloud and not feel like they are holding back. So for those who have no problem singing in those higher keys, they don’t see the problem here. So they would be more willing to blow it off as unimportant. But this is another one of the “little things” that get ignored as being not important. We cannot be selfish or careless if we want to be effective. Little things do matter!
Some people might look at some of these things as petty and not important. But what will it hurt to take the time to work on the small details. A person who has the heart to care about the small things will see big things in their ministry. Don’t ever treat the small things as petty and unimportant. Of course, we don’t ever want to make a mountain out of a mole hill. But we just want to cover all the bases, and be sure that we are able to bless God and the people in the most amazing way possible, within our ability. Then God will do the rest!
The leading of Praise and Worship
I have worked around many Praise and Worship teams over the years. And one thing I have learned is that people will learn how to play songs, sing them, put together the music, organize the backup singers and lead singers, choose their song lists, etc. They get used to doing things a particular way, and unfortunately, many get stuck in their ways and become unteachable. Such people will never see the breakthrough in their Prais and Worship that God wants to give them. Some leaders feel things are good enough as they are, while others just feel they are on the right path doing things the way the always have. But you probably have heard the classic definition of insanity - which is doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results. I have heard leaders tell their teams that they are not their to lead anyone into Praise and Worship, but only to worship themselves. Whatever the people choose to do is between them and God. But this is so backwards and goes against the biblical instruction to lead others, encouraging them, and helping them to learn how to enter into His presence as a corporate body. The truth is, most people will not Praise and Worship God without some kind of leadership, as well as exampleship. Showing people how to do this is very important! So I at last applaud those on the platform who set good examples. But someone needs to reach out to the people and help guide them, leading them to really think about the lyrics they are singing, and to give their all as they join in on the celebration and worship.
Many churches today have song leaders who lead the songs. Many others even have Worship leaders, who lead both the song and the worship. But not many have Praise and Worship leaders who do all three. It doesn’t have to be one person doing it all. It can be any combination of gifted people doing their part. But someone needs to lead the songs, or a group needs to carry the song, while someone leads the Praise and Worship.
The Praise and Worship leader (And whoever else is leading the song or worship) needs to be heard loud and clear by the people in the congregation. In most services, I have noticed that the Worship leader is not very loud. I think churches get so caught up in the sound levels being perfectly balanced, that they forget that the Worship leader is leading the song and the worship. When leading something, the people need to hear you clearly. So the Worship leader needs his/her vocals to be a little above the other vocals and the instruments. More than usual! Enough so that they can give instruction, encouragement, or exhortation and the people can hear and understand what they are saying. I have been in great worship services where the leader is heard well and the people follow along. But I have been in so many other services where the leader is giving a message during the playing of the music and background singing, but you seriously struggle to make out what they are saying, if you can make anything out at all. You cannot lead if you cannot be heard. And if you are going to lead more than just the songs, but will lead the Praise and Worship, then be sure the sound level is up enough to where the leader can be heard and understood over everything else. Otherwise, all they say will fall before the people powerless. You will need to talk with the sound person and make it clear what you want to achieve, and why. Make sure you are on the same page, so they can do their job effectively. Once they have a good understanding of what they are trying to achieve, you will hopefully not have to think about it yourself.
A Praise and Worship leader needs to be aware that they are not there to just lead a few songs. They are there to lead the people into Praise and Worship. Anyone can be a song leader. Anyone who knows the songs can get up on the platform and start singing, and many of the people will sing along with them. They are song leaders, but not necessarily Praise and Worship leaders. Some people are Worship leaders, but not Praise leaders. It is not a bad thing to be a song leader without the gift to lead Praise or Worship. But someone with this gift still needs to be in place in order to help guide the Church in the direction of freedom in Praise and Worship. The reality is, most people are not willing to get too into Praise and Worship by themselves, as they don’t want to stick out and have all eyes on them. But they are willing to join in with others as they all Praise and Worship it together. The people are often looking for permission to show excitement, at the appropriate time. This is just a reality of how people are. And the Praise and Worship leader has the power and authority to give that permission and lead them in that direction. By nature, people know to follow the leader on the platform, which has the microphone. They know not to sing against what ever the band is playing and sing the chorus while they are playing the melody. And they will also Praise and Worship as they are spontaneously directed by the Song leader and/or the Praise and Worship leader.
It really depends on the type of Church and what you want to achieve, which will determine whether a Praise leader is even wanted. But for those who do want it, there are specific things to focus on that will require you to go outside of the box of the typical Churches Worship service. You will need to find good examples to copy, search for songs that will help you reach a climax in Praise, and get as much experience and discipleship as possible. Don’t ever allow yourself to be too proud to learn and grow and receive wisdom, knowledge, and ideas from others. Don’t ever become complacent, thinking you have learned all you need to learn, and everything is just fine the way it all is.
Maybe visit a Church where you know they have a Praise leader, and see how they lead. I will give a few pointers that can lead in the right direction on this. But nothing replaces experience and discipleship, and seeing things for yourself. However, a person who has the call and the gift, with the fire of the spirit will typically catch onto what I am saying and be able to do it on their own with no trouble. The Holy Spirit will guide such people when they catch the vision.
Praise: Before I get into how to involve Praise in the service, I want to take a moment to define Praise biblically. In the Hebrew there are 7 forms of praise given in the bible. I won’t take the time to define each one. But to just share one, I want to look at the word “halal”. Halal is defined: to shine; to make show, to boast; to be clamorously foolish; to rave; to celebrate; to stultify (to appear foolish or absurd).
This definition can actually describe what a lot of people fear. They don’t want to be seen by others as they give a show of their affection, celebration, and joy. They really do not want to appear foolish to anyone. But this word is a word that is used often in the bible to describe something that a God fearing, God loving person does out of pure love and humiliation. They just want to honor God and give to Him what is rightfully His. This is very thing that He desires. And that is the show of our love, affection, and unashamed expression towards Him. As Christians, we should desire to show our God the expression of our love for Him. And as Praise and Worship leaders, we should greatly desire to lead God’s people into a life changing experience into God’s transformational presence. This should be out hope, our vision, our prayer, and our determined goal.
A good majority of the people in Church services will find it much easier to Praise God when others around them are doing it also. If the leader will take the time to encourage praise during and between songs, then the people will often follow the leading. But most people wont do it on their own. They don’t want to feel out of place, awkward, or make a show of themselves. So when a leader encourages it, it is a type of permission given to get loud and praise God.
Praise is seldom seen in most Churches today, even though it is a biblical teaching that cannot be denied. It is all through the Psalms, and many other books of the Old Testament. In the book of 2nd Samuel, King David entered the city as he danced and leaped, praising God. There are other examples of praise in the bible, from people who experienced the blessing of Gods presence, and wanted to honor Him through their outward response, and from the heart. As Christians, who has any greater reason to praise God than we do? Jesus has died for our sins, taking them away and made us clean. Most of us were Gentiles who were adopted into God’s family known as the elect of God. He has saved us from a certain eternal death in emptiness and suffering, and adopted us as His children. Is there any amount of praise He is not worthy of? When the leader takes time to share these facts with the people, the people are given reasons to praise God. That is true leadership! The leader may or may not speak things the people do not already know. Many times they speak reminders and simply guide the people into the place they may or may not be familiar with. The place of God’s presence and glory! This can be done during songs as the music plays and the backup singings sing. Or it can be done between songs as an introduction to the next song – which can really give more meaning to the song, as the people think on the words they are singing. The introduction opens up the meaning of the song for them, causing an impact as they all sing. Worship is a wonderful thing. But it is not the same as praise. It is important to understand the difference, so we can focus on this particular part of our time in His presence.
Celebration is closely linked to Praise. But is a part of Praise that can be separated from others. Some Praise songs are declarations of God’s power and goodness; His victories and our empowerment through Him. But then there are songs of celebration that just show our joy, fulfillment, victory and satisfaction in having and knowing Jesus as our savior. These songs make it much easier for people to get excited and to show that excitement as they sing, clap, and praise His name with shouts of victory. I would encourage every Praise and Worship leader to look specifically for celebratory songs. These songs will help thrust the church into Praise like no other songs can. Both celebratory songs and Victory songs have the ability to do this.
As the people of God gather together to honor God in song, they are part of an organized service where they are either being led or entertained. People do not want to step outside of the organization of a service to do their own thing. So they are waiting to be led by the leader in what is acceptable, and when it is acceptable. They not only need some instruction now and then, but they also need the opportunity to do so with the right song choices. Every little detail does matter! It is easy for us as leaders to think that we are putting too much effort into something like this, and that we just need to trust God to do His thing. But God gifts people for a reason. He tells us how He loves Praise and Worship. He gave specific instructions to Israel on how to do these things effectively. So shouldn’t we also give our best effort to do the same? You don’t need professional musicians, big choirs, an orchestra to back you up, with all of the best equipment on the market. You just need a few people hungry for revival through Praise and Worship that are willing to give their best efforts to honor God and lead the people.
The typical song list of the majority of churches today is full of what we would categorize as “worship Songs”. And rightfully so! Very few Christians are even aware of what would be referred to as a “Praise Song”, since churches simply do not sing any. In the older days we had fast songs, medium beat songs, and slow songs. The fast songs were the Praise songs. The Medium songs were equivalent to what most would call a faster song today. Then the slow songs were the worship songs, and not all that much different than modern worship songs in speed or even in style. Although lyrically, some of the older songs had a greater power punch lyrically. But the church simply does not produce a lot of Praise songs today. They are out there, but a lot harder to find. While Worship songs are dime a dozen. So the question is, where do you find them?
A lot of the modern Praise songs will be found amongst Black Gospel music. It wasn’t that long ago that Vineyard Music had some good Praise songs. But it is much harder to find them today. The focus of the Church has just not been on Praise much at all. Praise is a lost art in most Churches that really needs to be regained. A determined Praise and Worship leader will find them. Find them, make them your own if you want to, and lead the people into Praise! If you cant find them, then write them! Or find someone who can. It will completely change the atmosphere of your church! I promise you that!
I also encourage that you take a few good Praise songs as examples to create your own Praise songs. Worship songs are easy to write. Praise songs are more complicated. Which I think is part of the reason Praise songs have died off. They are not only harder to write, but there are a lot of Churches that are more conservative and just don’t care for all of the excitement in Church (As silly as that may sound to most of us). But if you are determined, you pray about it, and let the Holy Ghost help you, you or others on your team can do it! It just takes a determination with anointing. Once you enter into this anointing, a flow will start. Get ready!
In the year 2000 I decided that after years of writing band songs and solos, it was time to write Praise and Worship songs. Within one-week time, 15 songs came through me, one after another. They just kept on flowing. Once you tap into that anointing, you will know it is God working through you. So don’t concern yourself with how it will happen. Just trust that God will lead a hungry heart. Whether it is to find Praise songs, write them, or both. This is a life changing experience waiting for you and those you lead into Praise. You will get to lead Gods people into it, which is a great honor. Be encouraged, and know that God is going to lead you, as you place your trust in Him and focus on the details that will honor Him, and bless Him and His people. Just a little hunger to drive you, humility to keep you focused and in check, and passion to honor God will take you a long way in achiever an effective time of Praise and Worship. Don’t ever be stopped short of what God has for the people by thinking, “We are good enough just the way we are”! God deserves our best. And so do the people of God.
It is time to stop being just a Song leader or a Worship leader. Or time to just make sure we have both, even if it requires more than one person to do it. It is time to graduate and move up from “song leader” or “Worship leader”, to “Praise and Worship leaders”.
Worship: When it comes to worship songs, there is nothing different to add here. And as mentioned earlier, worship in many churches is decent. I think what is needed most with the worship is not only the best song choices, but leadership of the worship, and taking time to use the lyrics to form a message and to speak into the lives of the people during the songs, or between the songs. Judge the songs and use only the best!
An example of this would be with the old song, “I surrender all”. During or before this song would be an opportunity to speak a message to the people about singing from their hearts as they truly surrender to Christ, letting go of the day to day stresses of life and to just surrender it all to Jesus as they focus solely on Him. Many things could be said about a song like this and how we need to surrender to His presence and allow Him to work in our lives as we worship Him.
Prophetic Worship
Worship is an intimate time in the presence of God, where we as the people of God show our love and adoration of the almighty. Yet we should never assume that this is an action that does not reciprocate a response from God. Just as prayer is a two-way communication, worship is also a time when God ministers back into our lives. Worship time is a time that can open up the door to the prophetic ministry. Unlike the Praise songs that are celebratory or victory songs; worship is a time to slow down and focus on the presence of God amongst the people, and being ready to connect with the Holy Spirit on a more intimate level.
The Word “prophetic” added to worship indicates God’s speaking into our lives, and many times to the entire congregation through the leadership of a Praise & Worship leader. It is no longer just us singing to Him and speaking our hearts unto Him. This is not a time when our hearts are more readily prepared to hear from Him. In other words, the leader is more than just a song leader, or even a Praise and Worship leader. But they lead the people into God’s presence through words of encouragement, challenges to engage, and direction they feel they are receiving from God for the moment, as God’s speaks back unto us as His people.
Any time God is speaking to the people through a worship leader, this is a form of the prophetic. There can be different types of prophetic operation during this time, with different methods of delivery. But the point of prophetic worship is to engage in communication with God, as He is being acknowledged for His goodness, grace, and love. Prophetic messages to the Church may be spoken to the people, prayed out through prayer, or sang in song form. As the people of God, we need to hear from heaven! We need to hear His voice as He speaks through His people, and as He speaks by His Spirit into our lives. This is what makes the worship experience powerful and life changing! What can possibly be a better time for us to receive from God, and for God to want to speak to us, than during the Praise and Worship that He inhabits?
The church needs to get back to some groundbreaking, earth shaking, wall removing, devil stomping Praise! Worship is always a great follow-up for such a time of Praise. Praise prepares the ground, shaking it up, tilling it up, and preparing us for the intimate time with God in Worship. We are then ready to hear from God as the Holy Spirit plants the seeds that are needed in our lives. A few minutes in the presence of God during prophetic ministry can do in us what hours of biblical teaching cannot do for us. That is not in any way to say that we do not need the teaching! Not at all! These are all different types of ministry that are all needed for the body of Christ. One cannot replace another. As we create opportunities and give time for God to minister to the body through the prophetic gifts, this is one more step towards revival, renewal, and relationship building. The time of Praise and Worship are steps into His presence, preparing us for the Word of God and the teaching of it. Prophetic Worship is a time for God to speak to us in ways the sermon was never meant to speak to us. So it is critical that Praise and Worship Leaders learn how to enter into a Prophetic ministry during the Worship time, so the people can receive whatever God has for them, which can prepare them for the receiving of the Word.
Spontaneous Praise and Worship
This form of Praise and Worship is as it sounds. It is spontaneous, meaning that the music and the words are played and sang as they come to the Praise and Worship team. It can be a great addition to a Praise and Worship service. But it can be important to know how much of it to do and when it is working or not.
I have been in Churches and I have seen Worship teams who did their entire Praise and Worship time with nothing but spontaneous Praise and Worship. In my opinion that is too much of the spontaneous. As I said earlier, I am one who often takes time to study the people and the effectiveness of Praise and Worship. I would pay close attention to what the people would get involved with and what they would not. It is easy to lose the people and their involvement with too much spontaneous Worship, as well as with songs that have a lot of words. Just discover what truly works for the people you have. What works in one Church, city, state or country, may not work in another. You don’t want to copy what others do just because it seems like the thing to do. If you take what others do, stick with it only because it works for your church. And idea can sound cool. It can even be fun for the Praise and Worship team, and even a few people in the congregation. But look at the Church as a whole. What really works? That is what you want!
Now, although I say that you just want to use what works, be careful not to judge things too quickly also. Some things need to be taken really slow, as you grow and learn how to be more effective with it. So just don’t overdo it. Be led by the Holy Spirit rather than by the ideas themselves. If He is leading you in how much, how long, and what to say, then everything will turn out fine. But it is always going to be a learning experience, as God will change things on you from time to time. But in putting God first, then the needs of the people as a whole over what you like or want, you will find the place you need to be at. Being led by the Spirit will become much easier in time, as you wont have to always go by the perfected song list, but can have a little time of spontaneity. It is good to lose control every now and then, as we allow God to do what He wants to do. It is during this time that the Prophetic Worship can come and minister to the people. Learn your own style, your own methods, and walk in your own anointing. But always remain open to new ideas.
Creating Medley’s
I was raised in Church with the Hymns in the 70’s. I became a Christian in 1985, in a Church that sang mostly choruses and some other newer songs from that era. I can tell you that there is a lot of wisdom that can be drawn from those times. Although some Churches still hold onto the Hymns, I don’t think we need to return to them or use them as we did then. But there is wisdom in what the next generation did with them that really made a difference in the Church.
One thing I have noticed with the newer songs is that many of them have so many words to them. Some of them have as many words as the old Hymns had. The only difference is that they are modern style, and we now have projectors to put them onto a big screen for people to read, instead of holding a Hymnal. I have watched people in Churches while the Worship teams sings these songs, as people just stand there and look at the screen, trying to follow as many words as they can. Most people just give up trying, since they can’t keep up with the speed of the words as they are sang. And as mentioned earlier, the people never get a chance to memorize the words, since the song files are so big that they don’t sing the song nearly often enough to learn a majority of the words.
Here is what they did in the 80’s that began to reach young people in a way the Hymns couldn’t do. They took the Choruses from the fast songs and sang them only. They dropped all of the many verses with the many words. The one thing I have noticed even with modern songs is that people don’t sing the verses because they cannot learn them. But when the choruses come around, all of a sudden they are able to sing. Choruses will usually be the best part of the songs. They are like the climax of a story, or a punchline of a joke. Not only do they express the core of the message in the song, but the way songs are built they have a verse and a chorus; then go to another verse, back to the chorus; then another verse and back to the chorus again. Although a bridge might be thrown in there also, the point is that we always keep coming back to the chorus. So if there is anything people are going to memorize, it is the choruses. This idea of uses choruses only was brilliant! Although it doesn't typically work as well with slow songs, it brings the faster songs together without breaking between them. This keeps the momentum of praise going from the first song all the way through to the last fast song. Churches today have so many "Moments of silence", like we have when someone dies, a bad thing happens, and a crowd of people show respect by silence. That is not the kind of praise God wants. And whether people realize it or not, too many of these silent moments without purpose given behind it can actually quench the flow and momentum. Creating Medleys of different songs can be one more small step in the direction of creating effective Praise in a Church. I pray that you hear me on this and don't just blow it ff as unimportant. Try it! Every little difference we can make to help people experience a great time of true Praise and Worship, without hindrance to the flow is a good thing!
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When Churches started singing just choruses back then, the people started getting involved more than ever. Although older Church members may have memorized entire hymns with all of the verses, it was not something most younger people of the newer generation cared to do. And that is something that could take a long time! But learning and memorizing the choruses was something easy to do even for the new Christians. So it would take almost no time before new Christians could join in on the singing of the songs. Unfortunately, this is not the case with many of the modern songs. That is not a slam against modern music. It is simply a reality that we need to consider very carefully! If we ignore it, we will never achieve the effectiveness that we could reach by making needed changes. It is important that we understand that a song can have a good message, and even have a beautiful melody; and still not be right for a Praise and Worship service. I have heard many songs that fit this description. They are great on the radio! Great for listening to at home, in the car, or any time you want some good music to listen to. But just not the best choice for congregational participation. But taking the chorus and putting it together with other choruses may be a good option.
Imagine a Praise and Worship service with a Medley of choruses from modern songs. You could even throw in a few older choruses if you want to, Some bridges will work in the mix as well. All you need is to find songs that can be sang in the same key, that also have the same beat. Then put them together in a non-stop medley of choruses. By doing this, you will begin to notice more involvement than ever before – from start to finish or the Praise and Worship. I promise you! This will transform your Service and get people excited!
A Medley of Praise songs can consist of any number of choruses that work well together. It can be 3 or 4 choruses, or even more. Using a Medley of songs does not mean that the entire Praise list needs to be formed as a Medley. It is fine to have other songs that are effective songs in their complete form - with the verses and bridges. I am not suggesting any single formation of songs. I am suggesting whatever works best to get people involved and into the best experience possible in His presence. So you need to discover what works best for your ministry; but with the openness of heart and mind that is willing to try new things and not just assume everything is good enough as it is. If you have the kind of diligence that will seek the best, always looking for better ways to be effective, and pray about the direction you should lead the Church in, then you will find all the change that is needed over time. The list of songs available that can be used powerfully in medleys is endless! Whether is is Hosanna Music, Maranatha Music, Vineyard, Hillsong, or songs from the many artists from over the years; medleys of so many different variations can be created. T
The power behind using the Medley of Choruses is in the fact that people know the choruses well, and the content of the Choruses or usually the best part of most songs. It is always a little bit of a quencher when people are singing songs and participating, but then a song they don't know the words to is thrown in. With most Medleys, people either know the choruses well, or they can follow the ones they don't know easily. Medleys are just one way to help keep people involved and engaged spiritually.
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Some people will read this and want to blow it off by saying it is too hard to do. But it really isn’t! Others may assume that it just isn't necessary. You will never know how something can improve your Praise or Worship unless you are willing to change, or at least try new things. Don’t allow excuses to keep you from bettering things for the entire Church. Leading the Praise and Worship of the Church is a huge responsibility! You are responsible for leading the people into God’s presence. This is something that should never be taken lightly, and should never be given the “it’s good enough” attitude. God deserves out very best. And so do the people of God. But we are not just talking just about our own personal best. We are also talking about the very best others can offer, if given the opportunity. It is our job as leaders to give them the opportunity to give their best. Don’t just assume that people don’t care or don’t want to Praise and Worship God because they are not getting involved. There are reasons why they are not getting involved. And we just might have the ability to change it all for many of them. That is what you are gifted to do! That is why God anointed you as a musician, a singer, and a leader! Don’t allow excuses, fear of change or challenges, personal opinions, or anything else keep you from the potential you have as a Praise and Worship leader, a song leader, or a musician. Pray for the people! Ask God to anoint you, use you, and help you to see as He see’s. God will open your eyes to things in new ways, as you understand how much you really need Him. So don’t take challenges as impossibilities, or in fear. Look at them with hope, vision, passion, and determination!
Take your ministry as the high responsibility that it truly is. Give time to prayer and fasting. There was a woman in a Church years ago who badly desired God to use her gifts to bring a move of God into the Church. She began to pray daily and gave time to an extending fast of water only for 3 weeks. She kept on seeking God for the anointing and prayed earnestly for a move of God. After the 3rd week of praying and fasting, she came into the Church early Sunday morning and began to play the piano as usual before the Praise and Worship even started. As people came into the Church their was a presence of God that could not be denied by anyone who came in. People began to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Some were going down to the altar and giving their lives to Jesus for the first time ever. And people were being healed right in their seats as they worshipped God to the music she played. All of this happened because just one woman had a hunger to be used by God, and did not want to just be a musician or singer in the Church. She wanted to be a vessel for the Holy Ghost to use for His glory, and to demonstrate His power. One woman became responsible for salvations, healings, recommitments, and revival in a Church, because she was willing and determined to give her very best for God. What do you want to do? Sing a few nice songs for people to enjoy listening to as the Worship team enters in to Worship? Or do you want to bring down heaven into the Church? You have the ability to make a huge difference! Don’t underestimate God’s ability to use you in the same way. You have been given a platform to make a difference. Seeing revival will take a full commitment to being led by the Spirit and being in prayer, and yes, even fasting at times. How far are you willing to take your gift and calling? How much responsibility will you be willing to take to see revival in the Praise and Worship?
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Making Songs your own
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Most people have heard this term before, to "Make it your own". This is the art and freedom to take a song and change a few minor things about it, so it fits your style and talents. This is a common practice done by many musical artists today. But let me cation you on doing this. The purpose of singing familiar songs in a Church service is to sing them the way people know them. So the melodies should always be consistent with the way people know them. Otherwise, people will be completely thrown off, and sometimes even embarrassed or frustrated when they start to sing, but stand out as the one singing it wrong in front of others. People really enjoy singing songs they know without being concerned about it being sang differently than they know it. But there are some exceptions for the Church service where you can make songs your own by doing the music differently, based on the talents you have available to you in the Church with members of the team. You may have more backup singers than the original song. You may decide to use more than one song leader or worship leader, throw in some musical talent not included in the original song. All of this is good and okay, since it does not affect the melody and the ability of people to enter in and sing along.
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We just covered doing medleys with Choruses and bridges of different songs. In doing this you are definitely "making it your own", as you are leaving out a lot of verses (Most times all of the verses). You are able to build the Medley's however you feel they will work the best. The way you make them fit together can be progressive or immediate, depending on the match of the songs being used. Since the choruses and bridges are being sung as originally written, you can pick up the beat a bit and make them faster, or even slow some down if that is what is best for the song or the moment in the Praise and Worship service. You are the creator of the Medley's! Even though you are using songs written by others, you are truly making them your own by creating Medley's. People are not typically hindered or bothered by leaving out verses. As a matter of fact, once they realize they can sing from start to finish without any "blank moments", they will get more out of the singing and worship than ever before. And this is what it is really all about!
Original Songs
It was back in the late 80’s that I began to write band songs for our evangelism ministry. This wasn’t uncommon, although many Church rock bands did Parodies of popular radio songs. Most of these songs were written to share the gospel with the non-Christians. It was in 1989 that I wrote my first song for the Church, to sing as an encouragement during a Church service. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that I wrote Praise and Worship songs. But even at that time there weren’t a lot of people writings there own songs. Today things have changed a lot, as many Christians have taken up song writing. I didn’t know anyone else writing Praise and Worship songs back when I first wrote them. Of course there were many. I just didn’t know them. Today it isn’t hard to find people who write songs of every style and purpose in the Church. This is a gift that many people have that should be considered useful. Of course, there are a few problems we are faced with when considering this.
What if someone presents a song that really doesn’t have the type of content you think is best for the Church? What if they present a song that really doesn’t have the sound of a good song? You don’t want to hurt their feelings or cause them to be offended. So it seems easier to just not open yourself up to such judgment and trouble. But then you will shut yourself and the church off to great possibilities.
My suggestion to this problem is to let people know right off the bat that you want to hear their songs, but you cannot promise that you will use them. Let them know that all songs are being judged, and many end up rejected because they do not fit the direction you feel the church needs to be going in. But then to encourage them, a good thing to do could be to offer for their help in working together to write some songs with someone who has a better idea of how to write what you are looking for. You really don’t want to use songs just because you don’t want to offend people, or just because they wrote it and you feel obligated to use it. Constructive criticism can help them to grow in their gift. You could be the encouragement they need to make the necessary changes to improve. Be positive and encouraging, and willing to help if needed. A lot of songs have potential, but need the right changes in order to reach that potential. Some may need more changes than most people care to deal with. But if you get anointed and gifted musicians together, you might be amazed what such songs can be made into. It may require a complete overhaul of the melody and the lyrics. And it may sound like a completely different song once you are done. But that person who wrote the original song may love it once the anointing is noticed. And they can feel good about the fact that they wrote the beginning stage of the song.
The hope is always to have very gifted songwriters offering great songs. But regardless of how the song may sound, the lyrics should be closely examined for doctrinal accuracies. As long as the lyrics as sound, then consider the amount of verses and words in the song. Remember how songs with too many words lose the involvement of the people. It is okay to let songwriters know that you do not want songs with so many verses, and that you prefer songs that are easier to follow. Make the criteria for Original songs clear. Write it all out on a printout for songwriters to read, so they know ahead of time that just because they write a song is not a reason to expect it to be used. Make it clear exactly what you will consider. And that you need to be able to work with them to change things that need changed if you are going to use it. It is easy to assume that asking to change a persons song will offend them. Maybe it will. But if songs are written for God’s glory and not our own glory, then this should never be an issue. You might need to hold a class for songwriters so they understand what is expected and what their motives ought to be. There are many ways to avoid the problems that can come by offense. Offensiveness can be avoided completely. We just need to get the needed wisdom to prevent offense, with the much needed anointing of the Holy Spirit. There will always be people who get offended. But as the people of God, we need to be a people of healing, encouragement, help, and pulling together.
Original Songs should undergo the same kind of judgment as any other song. Not everything we write is going to be great. This is something that every songwriter has to accept. There are songs that are good songs that are still not right for the Praise and Worship in the Church. If you can change them to make them work, then great! If you can fit them into a Medley of songs, then that can be great also. Hold to whatever pattern you feel is necessary. If original songs fit into that pattern, then use the ones that work. You might end up with some really great additions to your song list, with great possibilities for the whole team.
Writing Original Songs is not necessary for a Church to do. This is just something that can be good and useful for Churches that have gifted songwriters. You don’t want to ignore the gifts you have present in the team you have. But if you don’t have such gifted people in your Church, then no worries. You can do just fine with the many songs to choose from that are available today. Just use whatever is available to you.
Closing
Considering the details down to every word, every note, and every action can seem petty, or like it is being too critical. To some it might even seem to lack faith in God to do His part, as we try to hard to control everything ourselves. But these things are not true at all. God has so much in store for those who seek Him and are willing to change whatever they need to change in order to do better at life, in ministry, with family, or anything else in life. If we settle for what we have now, then that is all we will ever have. If we keep doing things the same way we are doing them, then what we have now is what we will always have, and nothing more. If we want things to change for the better, then we have to change the way we do things. Even down to the smallest details. It is through a heart that deeply cares about every little part of our ministry and the people we serve that shows the heart of God in a person. God cares about every little part of our lives. Since the ministry is all about God and others, and these two are the two greatest commandments – to love God will all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves; then shouldn’t we care about every little detail about it?
Some leaders might feel that they have everything under control and don't need any changes made.I cant say that this is not true of any Churches out there. There may be some who have things in great condition. But I can say that I have seen very few, if none at all. We can all use improvements in both methods and spirit. That is really the whole point here. It is about positioning ourselves to be used by God for every moments, and keeping ourselves in the position to grow and change for God's glory. If we feel that we have everything under control. then that is the biggest problem of all. Maybe it is time to give up control, and allow God to take over? It is only as we can do this that we will experience the much needed move and transformation by His power and presence.
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Of course there are always balances and extremes in everything. It is easy to read something like what is written in this book and think of situations that may call for something different. That will always be the case with things like this that are based on our experiences rather than being based completely on the scriptures. But in understanding there are different applications, situations, and experiences; we still need to use what does apply, Recognize the potential you have in Christ, as well as the potential others have. Don’t brush that potential under the rug of complacency. It is very easy to settle for "good enough", in order to relax and keep from the hard work needed to accomplish what I am talking about here.Yet you and the people in your Praise and Worship team could be the key to sparking revival in your Church and city, and beyond. Don't settle for the "good enough" excuse, that can keep your Church from experiencing revival! Seek God with all you have in you to release the potential under His anointing. Give time to prayer and fasting as you do more than just play music and sing songs. There is no limit to what God can do through an anointed Praise and Worship team. All it takes is hunger, seeking God, and giving your all to make the needed changes. There are not too many things I can promise people, other than what I know God will do. And I can promise that if you make a new commitment to give your all to your ministry, and to make the changes you need to make, you will experience an awakening in the Church with many people. How far it will go from there is up to you. God wants revival more than anyone in the Church. He wants it more than the pastors, evangelists, prophets and teachers. No Apostle could want revival more than God wants it. We merely need to connect with God in the right way, be led by the Spirit, and change.
The classic definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different result. Why do we do that? It is out nature to follow routine, tradition, and what seems right to us. We must find what works. Only God’s way will work. Man’s way cannot work. Our methods, plans, ideas, and skills cannot do it alone. It will take a leading of the Holy Spirit as we change to God’s way. He may give you something I have not mentioned at all in this book. I can tell you that His way is definitely better than my way! Although what I have written here has been tried and proven, God is not limited to one way for everyone when it comes to these things. You need to get the direction of God for your ministry. When you do, it will work! I have given ideas, suggestions, and examples of what has worked for myself and others. If it works for you also, then Praise God! If not, then you need to find what does work. He has the direction you need. But you need to have the hunger that He wants from you. When you connect with God and get his direction, you will know it! Don’t give up and don’t give in! It will be a battle. But it will be worth every minute of it all! The glory of God awaits you and your church, looking for His welcome to come down and show up at greater levels than every before.
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