I am a musician by background. Here’s one thing I know about myself from that standpoint: I am easily bored. When I am listening to music (even some of my favorites), I will often jump to the next song when I’m only halfway through…or less. Is this an issue with me? Probably – but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.
This can be a real problem when we’re talking about worship music…
A very common issue that I see with worship pastors is that they let this boredom “kill” worship songs before they even have a chance to start resonating with a congregation. To truly learn and internalize a new song, a musician needs to run through it many times. Add to that the actual team rehearsals and multiple services, and the leader and team can easily do a song ten times (or more) for every one time the congregation sings it.
The solution? Give songs a chance to “grow.” Let the congregation know via social media that you’ll be adding a new song to the rotation, and where they can link to hear it. Set the song up with some explanation of its theme when you first do it in a service. And then, include it in the worship set for a few weeks in a row as the congregation comes to know it. And – above all – don’t let your boredom be the determining factor of whether a song should be in the worship set.
Remember – new is not better. Better is better.
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