“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3:16 NIV
It’s been an absolute honor and joy to lead worship for our church in the UK. As aforementioned in past articles and newsletters, worship has become a growing passion in our ministry. It’s been a blessing to grow in ministration and to leverage any God-given talent or capacity in service to His bride, the Church.
There’s something about looking out to the congregation and seeing arms raised, shouts of praise, and tears flowing in response and contemplation. Worship isn’t merely an encounter or something purely experiential; it is truly an opportunity to teach and stir up our affection for God.
Worship Heritage
Steph and I come from American churches that typically treat worship setlists as a secondary focus on Sundays, while everything revolves around a 45-minute (or longer) sermon. Worship had a big production feel—and it was always prayerful and creative, where each song served as an appetizer to the main course, the message—usually centered around a theme from a topical or expositional preaching series.
When I was part of a worship band at the Young Adult Ministry, we played for 150-200 people, sometimes two to three times a week, on Tuesday–Thursday evenings. This is where I first cut my teeth as a musician playing in weekly worship gatherings.
The Band
San Diego, circa 2009
James
Music director/lead vocals/backing vocals/percussionist (drum kit, cajon, xylophone)
Faye
Lead/backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Derell
Rhythm guitar/backing vocals
Me
Lead vocals/backing vocals/rhythm & lead guitar
Leon
Guest keyboardist/backing vocals
Richard
Guest lead vocals
I started out playing and singing as a new Christian, totally unfamiliar with worship music. I had to slowly build up a repertoire of songs and began (re)developing as a musician and singer after a short hiatus during my post-University years. I was more accustomed to singing melody growing up—being part of bands, surrounded by musically talented family members, and accompanying acoustic guitar as a late bloomer, picking it up at 18, not to mention the essential feature to every Filipino household hosting parties and other gatherings: a karaoke machine!
Although I have an ear for pitch, I had to work on hearing and singing harmonies while playing worship arrangements on guitar. After some time, James encouraged me to sing the melody and take the lead, often selecting a key that would allow me to push my voice with a higher octave.
Apart from the usual jam sessions, James, Faye, and I would do different gigs like birthdays and open mics around San Diego. The band had an unmistakable synergy, and there was always a willingness to try out ideas, whether using uncommon instruments, getting creative with arrangements, exploring different genres, or appropriating riffs or chord progressions from popular secular music.
Looking back at these formative years, when the sparks of joy for worship music began, fills me with a sense of awe over how the Lord has been shaping me and diversifying my natural talents and spiritual gifts. I had no idea what would be in store many years later.
Worship at Christ Church Birmingham (CCB) has been unique in its allotment of time and emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Not only do you have to be mindful of contextualization, but you also have to abide by a few guidelines, which has been a welcome challenge.
Building & Crafting
Here are a few things I keep in mind when building a worship set in our UK context.
1 Foreign Language Song (entire song, chorus, bridge, etc)
1 Children’s Song (interactive—singing, actions, & dancing)
1 Song from the previous week for continuity
*Sometimes the Preacher will request 1–2 specific songs played after the sermon
3 Approaches
Taking people on a journey, by the Spirit, to commune with God
Presenting the Gospel within the setlist
Doubling up on &/or reinforcing the message being preached
Questions
Do the song choices make sense? Do they flow together in terms of tempo, tone, & key?
Will you use a pad between songs or arrange chords to modulate to the next key?
Does the set of songs work in terms of theme & lyrics? How does it relate to the sermon?
How do the songs relate to what the Service Host is contributing?
Song Choices
It’s not lost on me that choosing songs can be very challenging when considering the vast landscape of songwriters/artists, the churches they are from or associate with, their theology, and the lyrics.
I believe each song should be judged on its own merits—ultimatelybased on the Truth of the text of Scripture—apart from who wrote it, the theological positions they hold to, and the institution from which it originates. To further our critical thinking about the subject of questionable or even heretical sources of worship music (hymns, psalms, and songs of praise), I refer you to Spurgeon’s Our Own Hymn-Book, where in the preface, he wrestles with this very issue:
“The area of our researches has been as wide as the bounds of existing religious literature, American and British, Protestant and Romish; ancient and modern. Whatever may be thought of our taste we have used it without prejudice, and a good hymn has not been rejected because of the character of its author, or the heresies of the church in whose hymnal it first occurred; so long as the language and the spirit commended the hymn to our heart we included it, and believe that we have enriched our collection thereby. The range of subjects is very extensive, comprising not only direct praise, but doctrine, experience, and exhortation; thus enabling the saints according to apostolical command to edify one another in their spiritual songs.” –Charles H. Spurgeon
Song Example
Let’s shift gears and provide an example of what goes into learning and arranging one song for a setlist. Take, for instance, the song “It Is So” by William McDowell:
The first thing you will likely observe is that the song is in the Gospel genre/style, and the band is massive! Notice the lead singer is not playing an instrument (which involves sight-reading lyrics and chords, playing the correct chord shapes fluently, and keeping time with the whole band, all while singing in the right key). He is free to ad-lib and sing higher complementary and ornamental lines that lead the congregation in singing the next line in the song or guide them further into worship and praise.
Questions
How do you arrange this song with 2 singers, 1 keyboardist, 1 rhythm guitarist, & 1 percussionist on cajon or drums?
What key would be a good balance between pushing the singers’ vocal range & not alienating the congregation as they sing along?
Can the lead singer sing any of the ad-libs while playing the guitar/keeping time with the rest of the band?
What sorts of harmonies can we include with a limited number of singers?
Do we incorporate the modulation going up 3 half-steps (semitones in the UK)?
Can we play the “bump,” aka “praise break,” with the abovementioned instruments?
At CCB, we’ve played “It Is So” a couple of times as a praise song that gets the children involved. We can still add some elements to the song that can make it more dynamic, even with the limitations of a smaller band. For those who cannot read music (like me), a detailed guitar tab for a song like this will unlikely exist. I spent some time learning the different parts of the song, such as the chords, rhythm, strumming style, modulation, and praise break—allby ear.
Charting & Multitasking as a Worship Leader
When building a setlist, I prefer creating my own chord charts and arrangements. I listen to the song repeatedly to become familiar with its melody, structure, and other elements. Cross-referencing other versions of the song can also be helpful in seeing how others have arranged or sung it in a different style.
Reshaping a song into a different genre is always fun, whether it's reggae, jazz/bossa nova or making the guitar sound like a culturally specific instrument. Sometimes I hear possible mashups and appropriate well-known chord progressions, riffs, or melodies/lyrics from secular songs and repurpose them to complement the worship.
I work out the key and whether to use a capo or not, depending on the chord shapes and the transition between chords. When I have other guitarists who are less experienced taking part in the band, I will usually chart out the song with simple chord shapes all throughout the set.
To a non-musician/non-singer or someone unfamiliar with music in general, it's not difficult to overlook the high degree of multitasking that goes on as a worship leader:
Singing the melody in the right key (reading the lyrics if not already committed to memory)
Reading the chords & transitioning between each selected chord shape
Playing in time/holding the rhythm (staying in "the pocket")
Adding ad-libs & stylistically singing or saying a line of lyrics to lead the congregation
Allowing the Spirit to lead the repetition of specific parts of the song: verse, chorus, or bridge
Signaling to the rest of the band where the song is going structurally—by voice, strumming intensity, or gesturing with the guitar (*Note: this is without a Music Director utilizing in-ear communication)
What I am working on
I firmly believe that as a musician, you must be a perpetual student. There’s always something to learn as a worship leader, and there’s such a vastness to music that one can only aim to explore its uncharted territory (pun intended). Here are a few things I’ve recently integrated during a set and/or am working on:
More interactivity with the congregation
Praise breaks in various styles
Singing my own song (extemporaneously)
Vocal and instrumental harmonies
Making the guitar sound like a different instrument
Varying musical elements in song arrangements
Singing Scripture with familiar melodies
Subscribe
You can subscribe for free and receive articles and newsletters when published.
OR
You can join the community by becoming a paid subscriber and get access to our entire archive, exclusive content, and the ability to post comments.
