My God is big
so strong, so mighty
My God’s plan for me
goes beyond my wildest dreams
My God is good
He’s so good to me
Yea, so good to me

 

Big Change

It was a Monday night. I joined a prayer gathering called the Feast. Everyone was so happy and friendly. It felt awkward to be there because I was in a weird phase in my life. I was going through depression and it felt strange for me to be out of the house and surrounded by people. However, when the worship team came out and led us to praise God using the song Big by Planetshakers, I have never felt so un-weird in my life. How can I remain as I am when I am reminded that the biggest person in the universe loves me? After the gathering ended, I joined the worship team.

All Creation Sings

Songs have a way of striking the chord of our hearts. When we are sad, we know of sad songs to score our sadness. Our joyful occasions are loud with mirthful music. There are songs we love to listen to when we are working through our anger. We have songs for every mood imaginable!

We also have songs that accompany action. There is even music for praising God. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “Music is the exaltation of the mind derived from things eternal, bursting forth in sound.” Our loudest exaltation to the Lord can come from our singing!

There are also songs for prayer. From thanksgiving to adoration, you can sing your prayers! St. Augustine of Hippo tells us, “To sing is to pray twice.” So, sing to your heart’s content! Lead worshipers should go the extra mile by creating a database of songs to fit every occasion.

People are generally in the mood for music. It is second nature for man to sing. Singing is such a natural action for people that exhorting the congregation to sing must sound natural as well. There are countless ways to go about your song exhortation.

First, you can just invite them to sing. Simple, right? Invitations work well for popular songs. You can add tiny sentences and phrases of invitation at the spaces between songs as well as within songs.

Second, you can explain the song. What does the song mean? What Bible verse is it based on? How does it fit the context of your gathering? Make your explanation short and sweet. You do not want to preach to the congregation unless you are the preacher.

Third, you can repeat the hook of song while building up. Good praise and worship songs are so melodious that they attract people to sing. There are two ways to go about this approach. You can start the singing the song yourself and have the worship team back you up or have a singer lead the song while you engage the congregation.

A Common Question

Do you need to be a singer in order to properly give a song exhortation? The answer is no. Singing ability is a great plus of course! However, exhorting skill, timing and the ability to speak over the music are the more important skills needed by the lead worshipers. At this point, let us focus on each aspect in this order.

Timing is crucial in music. One mess up could ruin the whole song. Moreover, most people will notice off-timed singing and instrumentation. Lead worshipers should learn how to count beats until it becomes automatic. You don’t want to speak during the singing parts because doing so might muddle up the melody making it harder to learn for the congregation. While practicing the song, learn the length of the interludes. Study where to give your exhortations. Practice exhorting within those spaces. We will dwell deeper on the spaces of exhortation later in this lesson.

A lead worshiper’s exhortation should be loud enough to be heard over the music. No matter how well-crafted your exhortation, it will be pointless if the congregation does not hear you.

Learn to speak loudly without hurting yourself. Belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing gives you a full breath that helps you produce sound with little effort and no strain. Focus the sound of your voice on the “mask” of your face. This lets you put less strain on your throat. You know you are doing this right when your lips and nose tingle. Thinking high also helps from elevating the effort away from the chest and throat.

Finally, practice holding the microphone properly. Avoid covering the head of the microphone because this will cause feedback and limit the enhancement of your voice. Position the microphone at a 45° angle and 2 inches away from your mouth to achieve a full sound. Soundcheck your microphone before the gathering starts. If you are having problems with your microphone then ask assistance from the sound technician.

The Right Song

Way before the praise and worship begin, lead worshipers have the extremely difficult responsibility of crafting the right setlist. The songs must be singable and inclusive. As the lead worshiper, you have the challenging task of determining the sort of crowd your congregation may be. Are they mostly male or female? What is the dominant age group? Age and gender are the most basic information you can glean by sight.

A song is singable if the range is neither too high or low for the average congregant. If a song is too high then some of the male worshipers may not be able to sing. Songs that are too low may hinder some of the women from singing too. There are also certain musical genres like rap music that may reduce the singability of the song. If your songs prove to difficult to sing then you might discover that only the worship team is worshiping. The worst-case scenario would be your praise and worship gathering turning into a concert where the worshipers become spectators.

An inclusive worship setlist takes note of the musical preference of the congregation. Musical preference is hard to uncover without surveys. However, age is a pretty good indicator. People often gravitate towards the popular genres of their generation. You will find that the older generations prefer the calm pacing of Don Moen’s praise and worship songs. The youth are often up to date with current trends. You can capitalize on this by using newer songs because these songs use updated styles and technology. New songs require time for the congregation to learn though. The lead worshiper should invest a portion of the praise and worship session into teaching the songs.

The Spirit Leads

There is an infamous misunderstanding in worship teams when it comes to worship. “As the spirit leads.” Most lead worshipers would connect this to spontaneous worship. In a way, this is true. However, most lead worshipers misunderstand what that really means. I have witnessed many lead worshipers falter during worship because they try to be spontaneous. The reason why this happens in worship is that lead worshipers unconsciously mistake spontaneity with unpreparedness. It is as if it is a sin to prepare for worship. In his Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul writes, “In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” If only we are honest then we recognize the truth of our weakness. We do not know how to pray and, let alone, worship because we cannot see God’s will. Our hearts are clouded. A lead worshiper with a heavy heart will succumb to his doubts and fears. We need the Holy Spirit way before we even step on the platform!

True spontaneous worship can only be achieved through years of engaging with the Holy Spirit. This can only come about by having a daily prayer and scripture habit, frequent trips to confession, and regularly going to mass. When you have a relationship with Jesus, then you can more easily follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is then that you can exhort in praise and worship as the Spirit leads.

And All Say, “Glory!”

The goal of exhortation is to encourage the congregation to praise and worship by connecting them with the message of the song. Like always, the exhortation has to end with a call-to-action, which is to sing.

There are two basic ways to exhort a song. First, you can give a scripture exhortation based on the Bible verses the song is based on. Christian songs are often scripturally rooted. It is through song that the life-giving Word of God is expressed in melodious ways. You do not have to say much. The Word is powerful already. This also puts worshipers at ease knowing that their worship is rooted in the Word. So, channel the Word into a call to action. Second, you can give the story behind the song. Stories are powerful. They teleport the listener to a different place and time. The story within the song brings the worshiper to Jesus.

Scripture Rooted In Scripture

Brothers and sisters, we are about to praise God with the song Nothing is Impossible. Remember that in Luke 1:37, it is said, “For nothing is impossible with God!” Whatever barren situation you may find yourself, cling to God with faith! Declare His name! Shout out! Let Him turn your impossible to the possible as we give Him the glory!

Scripture Rooted In Story

Brothers and sisters, we are about to sing a song entitled The Heart of Worship. This song was written during a full season of silence. So, there was no band or sound system whatsoever during praise and worship. It was awkward for a while until the writer and his congregation discovered the heart of worship. The song itself is a reminder that worship, when stripped to its core, is all about Jesus. Brothers and sisters, be stripped of your doubts. Be stripped of fear. Be stripped of shame. Be stripped of all the things that keep you away from God. Go back to Jesus today!

The Spaces

Finding the right space within a song to exhort is crucial. There are four parts of a song where you can exhort. These are the intro, interlude, instrumental, and ending. Each of the four requires different approaches.

You can take as long as you need for the intro as long as the worship team has an idea of the length of your exhortation. (Tip: Hand signals and vocal cues are useful communication tools.) Use the usual format of exhortation or lead with a prayer. The hope is that the congregation will sing after the intro.

The interlude is a short instrumental passage placed between sections of a song. It is not the place for long exhortations. Your exhortation should last just one sentence or one breath. If it is any longer then you will risk speaking over the lyrics. The exhortation can be an encouragement to sing, to raise hands, and even to move and dance. You can also feed the congregation with the next line of the lyrics. (Tip: Feeding lines is especially important during praise and worship sessions with no visual aids.) Do not be compelled to speak at the first interlude. Sometimes it is best to let the song breathe. This is doubly true for singing lead worshipers. You also need to breathe.

The instrumental is like an interlude but longer and it is usually placed before the bridge. In contemporary music, it is usually not sung and this is usually the part of the song that highlights the skill of the instrumentalists. For praise and worship music, this is the part where you elevate your exhortations along with the music. The current worship songs are designed to build-up going into the bridge. As the music rises so should your words. This is the part where you let go. You can prepare for this exhortation but it will not feel natural. If you have felt God’s love then say it. Tell them about God’s love. Encourage the congregation to be open. Speak about what you know about Jesus. Allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit.

The song can end in two ways. First, it can just end. When it ends, let it end aloud. Encourage praising. Exhort the people to glorify God. I personally prefer to end with the Glory Be prayer then the Sign of the Cross. Second, the song can end then seque to another song. End with praising then go into an intro exhortation. Make it short. The congregation at this point should already be in worship mode. However, you can make a point of inviting the latecomers into worship.

Sing A New Song

Every day we receive fresh blessings from the Lord. These blessings give us fresh opportunities to be grateful for in praise and prayer. We must be aware of these blessings. Our awareness must be so full that we cannot wait to give God the glory! The songs that we sing must abound with youthful vigor. Even if we have sung the same song at the same place for a thousand times, we must joyfully sing that song as if it was the first time. Remember that God’s mercy and compassion are never exhausted. They are renewed every morning. (See Lamentations 3:22-23*) So, should your eagerness to praise and worship be renewed every day!

Let your joy emanate on the platform. St. John of the Cross said, “The soul of the one who serves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, and is always in the mood for singing.” Pray that you will always be in the mood for singing. Include this in your prayers. Lord, may I find the joy and energy to worship you all the days of my life! Amen!

Points to Ponder

What song moves you to worship Jesus? Why?
How can you use this song to minister to others?

Did you learn something important? This is the third lesson of my course on the basics of leading praise and worship. The first and second lessons are out now.

If you seek to know more then check us out again next month. The next lesson will be launched on the second Saturday of February.

In the meantime, check out our events and do connect with me. I would also be very grateful if you share this post with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless you.