Alexander Green

The In-Between: Transitions In Worship

Andy Lee with ideas for creating a smooth flow.

As a worship leader, leading within a song is a given… But what about the in-between?

Transitions are a great way to help create a seamless time of worship and reduce potential awkwardness between songs. The truth is that we practice and plan so much when it comes to our songs that we sometimes neglect how to connect them. Playing all the songs in the same key isn’t always enough to create a smooth flow. So here are some useful techniques I’ve learned over the years through both the easy way (learning from others) and the hard way (learning from your own mistakes).

1) New Intros – Not all songs have to have a concrete finish in order for the next song start. Feel free to use the band creatively and maybe even write up fresh new segues/intros to connect songs. For example, a song that normally starts abruptly with a loud intro can be redone by easing in with a guitar line that imitates the melody line. Use the music! You could fade in some pads (cue the guitarists or keyboardist for some verby swells), chord progressions from the previous chorus or bridge, or maybe sing one last chorus repeat if the Spirit leads. Even loops are a great lead-in and can also carry much of the burden of “how to start the next song.”

2) Talking – It’s good to engage with people in the middle of the set! Welcome them, talk to them, lead them. It’s also a great way to introduce the next song (maybe it’s a new one). At my church I try to do this with vocabulary that isn’t so “Christianese” so that newcomers or nonbelievers can feel more comfortable. Try sharing between songs something God revealed to you regarding the next/previous song, scripture that inspired the songwriter(s), or even a funny story that can put things into perspective. But it’s important to do this as simple and seldom as possible… After all, we’re using these transitions to help make our worship smoother, not interrupt it. So I like to talk once before everything begins, or before a fast song to help get the congregation ready! This can even be a quick invitation, especially if the click/loop for the next song’s already started. And if you’re worried about uncomfortable silence during your spiel, you could have a go-to chord progression so that the band lightly supports in the background.

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What Makes a Song Congregational?

Joshua Watts offers a worship checklist.

So, what makes a song “congregational”?
  • Is the content of the song applicable to a majority of your church?

Make sure that the theme of the songs you select are broad enough to apply to a variety of individuals from many different walks of life. For example, instead of doing a song that specifically deals with the recent death of a loved one (which would minister only to a small, select few), I might do the hymn “It is Well,” as it is broad enough to minister to numerous needs. Make sense?

  • Are the lyrics understandable?

Some songs are just too poetic for their own good and might cause confusion. Creatives may interpret the poetry just fine, but what about blue-collar Joe the Plumber who is trying to join in? It’s important that the song remains lyrically clever and poignant but can still be easily understood by your church.

  • Does the song’s point of view make sense to the one singing it?

There is no doubt that many songs sung from God’s point of view, like Bethel’s “Come to Me” or “I am the God That Healeth Thee,” are inspiring, powerful, and anointed. Such songs definitely minister to many… but may I suggest that does not mean it is appropriate to do in a congregational, worship context. Perhaps such songs would serve best in someone’s private worship experience or as a special number in a different part of the service.

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Is Your Church Worship More Pagan than Christian?

Todd Pruitt says musicians are given priestly status.

There is a great misunderstanding in churches of the purpose of music in Christian worship. Churches routinely advertise their “life-changing” or “dynamic” worship that will “bring you closer to God” or “change your life.” Certain worship CD’s promise that the music will “enable you to enter the presence of God.” Even a flyer for a recent conference for worship leaders boasted:

“Join us for dynamic teaching to set you on the right path, and inspiring worship where you can meet God and receive the energy and love you need to be a mover and shaker in today’s world…Alongside our teaching program are worship events which put you in touch with the power and love of God.”

The problem with the flyer and with many church ads is that these kinds of promises reveal a significant theological error. Music is viewed as a means to facilitate an encounter with God; it will move us closer to God. In this schema, music becomes a means of mediation between God and man. But this idea is closer to ecstatic pagan practices than to Christian worship.

Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. He alone is the One who brings us to God. The popular but mistaken notions regarding worship music undermine this foundational truth of the Christian faith. It is also ironic that while many Christians deny the sacramental role of those ordinances which the Lord Himself has given to the church (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) they are eager to grant music sacramental powers. Music and “the worship experience” are viewed as means by which we enter the presence of God and receive his saving benefits. There is simply no evidence whatsoever in Scripture that music mediates direct encounters or experiences with God. This is a common pagan notion. It is far from Christian.

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10 Ways to be a Better Worship Audio Engineer

Tips from a top Hillsong Engineer.

1. Be approachable!
Build relationships with the team on stage. Learn to work in context of service outcomes and consider the needs of the wider creative team.

Example: if a mix needs to sound like something other than what you are creating, be open to dialogue and understand that your work is meant to enhance/support what is happening on platform. It’s ok if a mix ends up sounding different than what you originally intended it to be.

2. Do your preparation.
Hunt down information for the service and get the gear ready to be used.

Example: Familiarise yourself with creative briefs, rehearsal schedules, run-sheets, cast, artists etc. Learn how to effectively translate this info into relevant tech info like patch-lists, console set-up, mic allocations etc…

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Worship Leaders, Take This Challenge From Isaiah

Kristen Gilles shares wisdom from her grandmother.

Five years ago I was helping my mom clean out my grandparents’ house after my papaw passed away. I discovered a trove of treasures in my mamaw’s nightstand: a box full of scripture cards handwritten or typewritten by my mamaw and organized by theme. This was part of my inheritance and I was delighted to lay hold of it. My mamaw was a woman of great grace and faith, overflowing with love for the Lord and His Word. She was full of God’s Word too. It flowed out of her in songs and poems she wrote to the Lord, and it filled her conversations with family and friends as she spoke encouraging, timely words to heart after weary heart.

When I found her handwritten card for Isaiah 50:4, it occurred to me that my mamaw likely prayed this Scripture throughout her life as a believer.

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He wakens me morning by morning. He opens my ear to hear as the learned.” – Isaiah 50:4 (NKJV)

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Trends: Worship Food Chain

We were all taught in elementary school about the food chain: the tiny fish gets eaten by the little fish, the little fish gets eaten by the big fish, and so on. Similarly, there’s always been an issue with the big churches stealing musicians from the little churches, but that problem has escalated in recent years – even mid-sized churches are feeling the effects.

Small Churches: The Tiny Fish

If you’re in a 50ish member church (and one that doesn’t pay musicians) you might as well forget finding and keeping a really talented musician these days. Sure, you might have random musicians like a talented drummer who gave up on his music career to get a real job, or a skilled music major with a piano proficiency who’s now a housewife raising three kids. But these are people who go to that small church because they like it – and those types of musicians are few and far between in a small ministry.

Mid-Sized Churches: The Little Fish

A 100-300ish church won’t fare much better, even if they do have a small budget to pay musicians. When I was the music director at a 200ish church plant we paid a super-talented and versatile guitarist. The bass player didn’t show up? No problem, the hired guy would switch to bass. Or he’d play acoustic like nobody’s business when I needed it. Once in a great while when the planets aligned and I’d have a full band, he’d play perfect electric leads and rhythm.

One day he called and told me he’d now be playing at the local megachurch because they offered him more money. I wasn’t upset with him – more power to the guy, as a working musician you have to pay your bills – instead, I was infuriated with the megachurch. Did they seriously need yet another guitarist in their already bloated band?

500-800 size churches are not exempt, either. I know one music director at a church of 700 who can’t live without multitracks. He never has a full band, and rarely has more than a guitar player or drummer. The local megachurch has hired away his players, too.

The Rise of the Gigachurch: Enter the Shark

And now, even the megachurches are in trouble with the Rise of the Gigachurch! (Sounds like a B horror movie, doesn’t it?) I know of one ginormous gigachurch (by the way, a gigachurch is a church of over 10,000) who has sucked the talent out of every megachurch in their city – the gigachurch pays $400 a week, per musician, and the megachurches pay around half that.

Of course, the megachurches had probably stolen all the musicians from smaller churches, so they were easy and convenient pickings for the giga (the giga literally scouts out the top musicians of the area megachurches and hires them away.) One poor megachurch worship leader I know of is scrambling to form a basic band – all his players have left for greener and better-paying giga pastures.

These problems aren’t as prevalent and disastrous to smaller churches in large metropolitan areas with more musicians to go around, but it’s positively crippling to churches in smaller and mid-sized cities.

The Downside of Big Church Gigs

Where will it end? I don’t have an answer besides this: the smaller churches just need to ride it out. From what I’ve heard, the musicians who play at the gigachurch absolutely hate it. Why? Because everything at the gigachurch is meticulously planned down to the millisecond. Musicians are eye candy for the most part, pantomiming to the strict multitracked parts and every service is exactly the same. (Some gigachurches have 8 services a weekend – now you can understand why they pay so much: it’s a part time job for a musician.)

In other words, musicians at gigachurches are making big bucks but they’re bored.

They also get the spiritual life sucked out of them. The giga and megachurch playing experience unfortunately often ends up being a mere gig to musicians – they’re not experiencing community or being led spiritually. One told me he plays at a gigachurch because he needs the money, but can only tolerate it every other week. He then has a week off to recover from the soul-draining giga grind by attending a church where he actually connects and grows.

I’m really not trying to knock megas and gigas – I love big churches. I’m quite familiar with many around the country and some are amazing places doing great and exciting things. Oddly, though, I hear time and again that their musicians are spiritually suffering. Perhaps some big church worship leaders can get a little too carried away by the grandeur of it all while their players aren’t getting loved on enough.

Bottom Line

Starving artists will be attracted to good gigachurch pay, at least until they burn out and seek emotional and spiritual healing. Make sure your church is ready to pick up the pieces of these talented musician’s lives – they might be visiting sooner than you think.

Takeaways and Solutions

Let’s recap the food chain we’ve uncovered:

  • Small churches struggle to find talented musicians
  • Mid-sized churches lose their players to megachurches
  • Megachurches are now losing talent to gigachurches
  • Musicians at gigachurches often burn out spiritually

So what’s a worship leader to do? Here are some potential solutions:

  1. Embrace technology: Use tracks and multitracks to fill in the gaps in your band. This can give you a fuller sound even with fewer musicians.
  2. Invest in training: Develop the talent you have. Offer music lessons or workshops to help your current volunteers improve their skills.
  3. Create community: Foster a sense of belonging and spiritual growth among your team. Musicians who feel connected are less likely to leave for bigger paychecks.
  4. Collaborate, don’t compete: Partner with other local churches for special events or to share musicians.
  5. Be flexible: Consider alternative service formats that work with the musicians you have, rather than trying to force a full-band sound every week.

Remember, it’s not about the size of your church or your band – it’s about creating authentic worship experiences. With some creativity and the right attitude, you can make beautiful music for the Lord, no matter where you fall in the church music food chain.

10 Things I’ve Learned About Worship Leading

Hillsong’s Taya Smith offers suggestions from her experiences.

1. The difference between preparing and not preparing is MASSIVE.
Apart from knowing the songs and learning the lyrics, setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing — it allows the Holy Spirit to speak, puts a verse on my heart, and gives me ideas.

2. Receive constructive feedback.
From those around you who have been doing this for longer than you. I want to lead people the best way I can each time, plus I don’t know everything so I need to remain humble and teachable.

3. Have a plan.
If you don’t play an instrument, grab the Music Director, or a musician and together, figure out the keys of the songs you’ve chosen, any potential creative moments you might have, specific transitions, etc. That way you have a plan in place that has been practiced, but you also have flexibility to change if you feel to do so.

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Worship Design: Template or Blank Sheet of Paper?

Nancy Beech discusses pros and cons of predictability.

I have been thinking a lot about templates lately – the Pros and the Cons. When I was leading a Worship/Arts team, our mantra was to surprise the congregation every week. We believed our job was to treat every Sunday like a blank sheet of paper, seeking how to craft an experience that would hopefully include moments when people would feel something deeply, connect with God, and ultimately walk out of church different from when they walked in. We looked at the options of tools in our toolbox – including vocal and instrumental music, Scripture reading, guided prayers, drama, video, dance, silence, confession, and congregational worship – and discerned week to week what the best content and flow would be for that Sunday. Predictability was our enemy. We never wanted people to be sure what was coming next so they could go on autopilot. Variety was a huge value for us.

But there is another point of view to consider. Some would argue for the comfort and confidence attenders can feel when they know what to expect. If your favorite television show has no template, if the murder doesn’t happen in the first minute of a Law and Order episode, a person could feel unsettled and disappointed. So if we go to a church with a fairly well established order of service, whether it is highly contemporary or a more traditional liturgical experience, we may show up hoping for the familiar in a world full of constant change and often unwelcome surprises. Maybe church should be a place where we are blessed with that sense of general confidence that if we bring a friend, we know exactly what to promise him or her.

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