Worship flow…
Think of the worship set as a conversation – which, in fact, it is. I usually suggest that a worship set not open with a “heart song” [ie power ballad with huge building bridge]. That’s the equivalent to meeting someone, shaking their hand and saying “Hi! Tell me your deepest, darkest secrets!” You just don’t usually go that deep straight off the bat with someone – even with friends most people interact lightheartedly and/or joke around before sitting down to talk more seriously.
I was a worship leader for a number of years, and loved the big power ballads. Just to be blunt, that’s where you could see people being impacted – or at least more expressive in worship. The mistake that I sometimes made is thinking: “Hey, those songs work the best – let’s only use heart songs in the worship set.” The problem was that there was no journey. It was like a story that went straight to the ending, and then repeated the ending, and then repeated the ending again. Here’s my opinion – vary the set in dynamics and tempo. Songs of praise and thanksgiving, sharing the joy of God’s love and eternal promises, are perfect to kick things off. In fact, getting our eyes completely off of ourselves and onto God is something very much needed in our world, and many of the more praise oriented uptempo songs do that well. If nothing else, starting with uptempo songs is a good palate cleanser, and helps people who have just come straight from the parking lot [or checking in their kids] to engage. Then those heart songs – when they come – will be even more impactful. #creativeworshipideas
creativeworshipideas 