WORSHIP TEAM COACH
LESS SONGS, MORE WORSHIP? | Jon Nicol
CONFESSIONS OF A RECOVERING SONG HOARDER…
list to the tunes that still resonate with your
and Song Management.
congregation.
Yes, I’m a song hoarder. I had an entire file box
jammed full of photocopied charts, handwritten For the rest of this article, let’s focus on the 3. Rate and Rotate
chord sheets, burned CDs, and yes, even latter—a song management system. Determine how often songs should be scheduled
in a rotation period. I use a three-month rotation:
overhead projector transparencies. I started the
collection back when charts had to be purchased Let me say this first: systems are not the fun and hip I schedule well-known songs only once during that
in a physical songbook from the publisher (anyone part of being a worship ministry leader. But when period to avoid burnout.
remember the Maranatha Green book?). When you implement healthy ministry systems, you will For songs that are known but not as internalized
SongSelect and other digital music sources accomplish more in less time, your team members for the congregation and team, I schedule at
emerged, I finally stop filling that Rubbermaid box. will be more synchronized and committed, and two to three times. Songs that are new and just
That's when I started filling my hard drive. you’ll grow a fantastic team culture. So, what does catching on get repeated at least once a month.
a healthy song management system give you? 4. Introduce and Reduce
Whenever you intentionally introduce and teach
I’m a song hoarder. I finally learned a tough lesson
after a few years in ministry: It’s okay to have a A filter for when to say yes or no to new songs (and a new song, find at least one song that you can
neurotically-driven archive of all the songs I’ve bid adieu to certain old songs). A limited repertoire retire from the active rotation. Otherwise, your lean
ever led. But it’s not okay to randomly inflict those of songs that your team and congregation can and fit rotation will get thick and sloppy again.
songs on my congregation every week. My master play and sing from the heart (and not the screen 5. Keep Your Classics
list had become a monster list. And it was killing or chart). An intentional plan to rotate songs often There will always be those songs - modern and
congregational worship. Each week, my poor enough so your church and team genuinely know ancient - that hold a special place with your church.
church was subjected to a set list that contained them—but not too often, which results in song They don’t need to be repeated often. Keep them
songs they hadn’t sung in months, songs they had burnout. in a separate “Classics” list and sprinkle them
throughout the year.
never heard before, and a few they knew. Vaguely.
You’ll also find that your set/service planning is
When I happened to slip in a congregational also enhanced by this limited repertoire. No longer The bottom line is this: your songs are tools to
favorite, they’d sing like Jesus had just come back. are you rummaging through a monster list of 462 help your gathered church worship God together.
I eventually learned what caused the disparity: On songs to choose five. You pick from a lean list of A healthy system to manage and implement those
one song, they sang from the heart. On the others, songs, due to be rotated. “tools” will mean the difference between your
church singing from the screen and singing from
they just sang from the screen. Or not at all.
(Quick aside: if you think a system of repeated
the heart.
We don’t have time to talk about my whole journey content somehow stifles the work of the Holy out of the toxic song rotation wasteland. (If you Spirit, talk to our brothers and sisters in liturgical WANT TO GO DEEPER?
want to read the entire story, you can pick up my churches.) If you want to develop a more effective song
rotation, sign up for the 2018 Christian Musician
book, The SongCycle. And, yes—I am that big of a
5 STEPS TO A HEALTHY SONG ROTATION Summit Bootcamp November 1st, 2018 in
So, let me cap off this article by giving you six Tacoma, WA. www.ChristianMusicianSummit.com
THREE TRUTHS ABOUT SONGS practical steps toward a tighter song management sponsored by WM magazine. This
But here are three truths that I learned which system. year’s focus is The Eight Essential
helped me escape: 1. Assess the Mess Systems for Worship Ministry. You’ll
1. Repetition is required for people to learn and Take a few moments to get real about how big get a full day of practical training
sing songs from the heart and not from the screen. your Monster List really is. and coaching to improve all of your
2. When the platform musicians and leaders are 2. Cut the Clutter ministry’s systems and processes.
getting sick of a song, the congregation's probably Chances are that you can cull at least half your just catching on. songs. You probably ignore most of these songs 3. Our songs are tools which are part of two critical when you’re planning services. Leave them in an systems in your worship ministry: Set Planning archived list, but trim down your active rotation
nerd that would write a book about song rotation.)
July 2018
Jon Nicol
Besides being a professional song hoarder,
Jon’s the founder of WorshipWorkshop.com and
WorshipTeamCoach.com, two sites that help
worship leaders build strong teams and lead
engaging worship. He lives and serves in Lexington,
Ohio with his wife Shannon and their four kids.
WorshipTeamCoach.com
WorshipMusician.com
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