Alexander Green

The Benefits of a Shorter Set List

Kade Young explains why he uses fewer songs in worship:

I recently attended a night of worship and it made me think about the amount of songs in a worship set list. The band did about 9 songs that night and I found it to be a bit tiring by the end – and I wasn’t even part of the worship team. If I felt this way as a worship leader, I wonder how non-musicians feel about a longer set list.

In the Worship Leaders + Facebook group, worship leaders often post their set list for the upcoming Sunday. The number of songs range from 3 to 7. Although I don’t believe there is a ‘perfect’ amount of songs for a worship set list, I have been using 3 for the past several years and it works really well.

There was a time when I would always plan a 4-5 song set list. My reasoning was because other worship leaders were doing the same. Then, my worship team absorbed a slew of new members all at once and I noticed they were struggling to pull together the songs every week. They were fighting their way through the set and didn’t seem to be enjoying it at all. Something needed to change.

A shorter set list helps the worship team relax.

It is important that the worship team enjoy what they are doing, whether they are paid or not. Otherwise, the team culture is a nightmare and the congregation can sense it. Playing 4+ songs each week may not be a big deal for your veteran team member (because they have already played the songs over and over), but what about the new guy?

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4 Mixing FAQs for New Church Sound Techs

New church techs ask four typical mixing questions and today I’m detailing my responses. Three of the questions aren’t so much technical as they are situational – but it’s a situation we all face every time we mix.

Make sure to check out the quote at the end of the post – it’s a tip we should all follow.

1. How loud should it be?
The answer is, “it depends.” The ideal volume is like the ideal temperature; it’s different for everyone. Some like it loud, some soft. Some want to hear their voices when they sing, others don’t.

The general rules are thus;

  • The pastor should be loud enough to be heard and understood by everyone.
  • The band (or piano or however your church leads) should be at a level where the most people will participate in worship.
  • Whatever the pastor says goes.
  • Whenever you get a volume complaint, ask two questions; where did you sit and what was too loud. We dream of even coverage in a room but often this isn’t the case. Their seats could have been right in front of the speakers. During the next sound check, visit that spot in the room and compare it to other spots. It might mean a speaker adjustment is in order or you recommend they sit elsewhere.

Also, if it’s a complaint about the band volume, ask if it’s a specific instrument or vocal. Maybe your mix was off or maybe they just didn’t like the song or music style. Every complaint should be reviewed for legitimacy.

2. What should I do with the pastor’s microphone mix?
Do something! Do anything! I wish I were joking but the truth is new techs spend a lot of time mixing the band but little time mixing any channel used for the spoken word. Most pastors don’t have a voice for radio so they need a good bit of mix work done.

The primary goal should be clarity of the spoken word. Imagine a gruff voice, a high voice, a raspy voice, or an overly-nasal voice. If the person’s natural speaking voice is hard to understand or can in itself be distracting, then do something about it.

Aim to remove sibilance. Decrease sibilance by focusing in the 3-7 kHz range for males and 5-9kHz for females. Then focus on mid-range clarity.

A common complaint in small churches is, “I can’t understand what the pastor says.” This is not about volume, it’s about speech intelligibility. You want them to sound like who they are – just less so.

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Pursuing Lyrical and Musical Flow

What’s one thing that can make or break your effectiveness in worship leading?

Flow.

Good storytellers, movie directors, public speakers, and writers learn how to flow naturally from one chapter/scene/subject to the next. Bad or nonexistent transitions can weaken otherwise good content, because the joltiness of the finished project screams a lack of cohesion. Cohesiveness – or “flow” – is a really important thing.

Worship leaders who don’t lead their congregations and musicians with a cohesive flow from one song to the next run the risk of working against themselves. Even though the songs might be good songs, without those songs being threaded and woven together, it doesn’t matter so much. There’s no clear narrative, no natural progression, and no clear big picture. It’s all a jumble of little pieces, random songs, different keys, disconnected topics, and instead of leaving a congregation saying “aha!”, it leaves them asking “huh?”

Developing a good sense of lyrical and musical flow is absolutely essential for worship leaders.

Lyrical flow
Before I even mention some tips/ideas on how to connect songs musically, it has to be said that the most important thing is that songs connect to each other lyrically in a way that not only makes logical and theological sense, but that also points people in one direction. You don’t want to take a sharp right turn after one song and a sharp left turn after the next. The songs should connect to each other like a road leads to a destination. The destination being exalting the greatness of God in Jesus Christ. Every week. Every Sunday.

It’s like you’re a tour guide at the Grand Canyon. Are there a lot of different ways people can look at the Grand Canyon? Yes. There are many different overlooks. Maybe they can take a helicopter ride. Maybe they can go deeper into it. Maybe they should look at from the north. Maybe from the east. You, as the tour guide, can point people to the Grand Canyon from different angles every time you stand before them. But you’re always pointing at the same thing.

The same goes for our songs. They point at the same thing, but from different angles, and they do so in a way that helps people see the greatness of the One to whom they all point.

Musical flow
Here are eight ways I try to make the songs I lead flow into and out of each other naturally.

1. Songs in the same key.
I’ve chosen my first song. It’s in G. I’ll pick a song after it that’s in G. Easy as worship leading pie.

2. Songs in connected keys.
I’ve chosen my first song. It’s in G. What’s the “4” chord in G? That’s right, it’s C. So I’ll pick a song after it that’s in C. Or what’s the “5” chord in G? That’s right, it’s D. You know your scales. Good job. So, I’ll pick a song after it that’s in D. Voila.

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Moving to a New Church

Robert Gifford offers great advice for those joining a new ministry:

In this post I’m going to assume that you have found a new place to serve and now change is coming. If you haven’t found a new place to serve yet you should check out fellow Worship Ministry Catalyst contributor Josh Ferris’ series on Getting Hired as a Worship Pastor.

So imagine with me, you have left your last church or job. Hopefully you have left on the best of terms, and everyone is sad to see you go. You pack up your office, load up all of your possessions, and prepare to move your family to the next place God has called you. Perhaps your story is a bit different and this is your first ministry position and instead you have just finished College or Seminary and this is the first place of service for you. Maybe neither of those fit you. It could be that you are a layperson, with no ministry training or experience that has been asked to take over a ministry of your church or a sister church in the area. No matter your situation, it isn’t easy. It isn’t easy for you and isn’t easy for the church. Most people don’t usually like change, and in some cases you are coming in as the new guy after a person who has been there for decades. So before you cause a riot, fight the law, or rock the Casbah. Yes, the Clash puns are intentional. Here are a few tips for transitioning to a new ministry and church.

1. Learn as much as you can about the Church.

It is important to take time to assess the situation and find out what is going on. What are you walking in to? Hopefully you have asked lots of questions and got lots of information during the interview processes, but nothing prepares you for the actual reality of the situation. Learn the history of the church. Get to know the people, where they have been, where they are now, and where they are going. Get to know the lay leaders of the church. If there is one, call the city/county/regional association or diocese and ask them about the church. Even call sister churches around the area to find out information. If you are taking over a ministry of a church you are a member at, you might think you know what all is going on but you would be surprised how much information there is about the church’s operations that you might not know about. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Like the old GI Joe cartoon PSAs say, “knowing is half the battle.”

2. Be patient and be prepared give a lot of grace.

Be patient and assume that you will inherit some unresolved baggage. You will need to pay particular attention if you walk in to a situation where a long time minister has left the church, if the church has forced their minister to leave, or if the minister left because of impropriety. All of these situations require healing on the part of the congregation for different reasons. Just because there was an interim minister it doesn’t mean that the healing is complete. Be patient and assume that there will still be lots of baggage. This can be difficult since it requires a lot of effort and time, which are two things that can be in short supply when going to a new church. Even though you are busy, taking some time to do this and fix these holes in the beginning can do wonders in the long run.

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Not Everyone Can Thrive On the Tech Team

Mike Sessler says we have to get rid of the idea that just because someone wants to serve on the tech team they should.

When I was writing my previous post on ProPresenter training, it occurred to me that I haven’t written about the one thing that we never want to talk about as TDs; removing people from the tech team. It seems completely counter-intuitive, after all. We are told by leadership over and over we need to be growing our team; recruiting and expanding; adding more to the volunteer ranks. And while that’s true to some extent, the reality not everyone can thrive on the tech team. In fact, most cannot. I’ll say it again in case you missed it;

Not everyone can thrive on the tech team.

This is not meant to sound exclusive or arrogant. It’s not meant to make people feel bad. However, it is reality. Not everyone has the temperament or skill set to do a great job in tech. And that’s OK. We have to get rid of this idea that just because someone wants to serve on the tech team they should.

It Takes All Kinds

People volunteer for all kinds of reasons. Some people will fill out the form because the pastor asked for volunteers, and as someone who likes to serve and be helpful, they checked the Tech box. They may not have any ability or inclination to do it, but hey, they’re happy to try. There are a few areas people can serve where “happy to try” is acceptable. Tech is not one of them.

Some people have a little bit of background in production and will come to a new church and try to serve. These were often the ones I had the hardest time with. They may have been the “leper with the most fingers” at their last church (of 75 people) and could figure out how to push the fader up for the pastor’s mic. But standing behind a modern, large format digital console is a whole different ballgame. That’s OK. Don’t equate different with bad.

Some people volunteer because they think it will be fun, but they can’t figure out how to skip commercials on their DVR. They may not be the best choice for the tech team.

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Making the Switch to Liturgical Worship Planning

Michelle Van Loon explains how she’s learned to appreciate liturgical traditions:

When it comes to event planning, I am a person who loves a themed event. Think a pirate party for a five year-old boy, complete with pirate-themed games, a cake that looks like a ship, and eye patches for all the mateys.

My love of themed-events played well when I was planning and producing church services. If you gave me a sermon series topic, I’d look for songs, videos, readings and other service elements that supported the theme. Since the sermon is the main course in most Evangelical church settings, making sure that all the other elements of the service complemented that meal. Those side dishes needed to be fresh, tasty and creative. There was no re-running ever a service element; it was understood to be the church equivalent of reheating great-aunt Edna’s Lima Bean Surprise Casserole. Though it was great fun for a brainstormer/creative like me to find a place in the church to use my event-planning skills, there were times when it occurred to me that the constant quest for the new (call it creativity if you must, but the two are not the same!) in content and delivery was often more about flash than it was about substance. Our inelegant but creative non-liturgies were too often marked by novelty for novelty’s sake.

I have since learned to appreciate liturgical traditions, which stand as a time-tested rebuttal to faddishness in preaching and attendant flashy production values. There is nothing weirder than sitting in a room with a pastor and worship leader and batting around topics for the next sermon series. Those conversations often focused on perceived problems with the people in the church, which meant they were driven by reaction.

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Denver Church’s Security Efforts Highlight New Reality

DENVER — Armed guards, security patrols and surveillance cameras — at the Potter’s House of Denver, they are just another part of Sunday services, like prayer, psalms and sermons. Much of the security effort is hidden so it does not interfere with worship, but church leaders insist that the military-style protocols are necessary.

“We now live in an America where you must be vigilant,” the Rev. E. Christopher Hill, the church’s senior pastor, said. The massacre last month during a Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., has heightened anxiety among clergy members and the faithful alike, particularly in black churches. For Mr. Hill and his congregation, the event was a reminder of the importance of security measures, which they put into place years ago.

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