WORSHIP LEADERS
KEEP “ NO ” IN NOEL : CHRISTMAS PLANNING BOUNDARIES | Jon Nicol
Christmas is one of the two religious holidays that threaten the sanity of worship leaders . The other is Arbor Day . ( Wait , that ' s just in Vermont . I think for everyone else , Easter ' s the other big one ).
To help you help yourself this yuletide season , let ' s talk about implementing boundaries this Christmas . Here are eight ways to keep the NO in Noel .
1 . NO LAST-MINUTE PLANNING The speed at which Christmas arrives is inversely proportional to your age . If you ' re seven years old , it ' s like wandering the Sinai desert for 40 years between each of Santa ' s visits . When you ' re in your 40s with four kids , it ' s about a ten-minute wait . You can double that speed if you ' re a worship leader .
For that reason , it ' s best to plan early and often . I recommend three intentional planning sessions with your church team . Consider scheduling the first one in July ( yes , July ) to design the broad strokes of the season :
• Brainstorm a potential overarching theme .
• Determine the dates for services and special events .
• Most importantly , talk about what worked last year and what you ' d like to do differently this year .
Your next meeting should be no later than the end of September . There you can finalize your big plans for the season ( service dates , themes , plans for decor and stage design , etc .). This is also the time to make sure everybody involved ( senior pastor , communication director , children ' s & youth pastors , decor team , worship , etc .) are all on the same page .
In early to mid-November , hold another planning session to make sure everyone is on course . And that ' s when you implement the next NO for this Noel ...
2 . NO SURPRISES By that point in the year , it ' s reasonable to ask everyone involved to pinky-promise this : No new elements can be introduced . How many worship leaders have heard something like this when they ' re already neck-deep into Advent :
• Children ' s Director : “ Hey , we ended up getting enough interest for a kids ' choir . We want to sing on the last Sunday before Christmas .”
• Youth Pastor : “ Hey , I just heard this fantastic new Christmas song that the student band wants to play some Sunday in December !”
• Senior Pastor : “ Hey , I ’ ve decided to add a third Christmas Eve Service .”
And to be fair , we worship leaders are not immune from wanting to make eleventh-hour changes , either . So , work to keep yourself inside this ' no surprise ' boundary .
Now , will your Christmas plans make some last-minute left turns ? Absolutely . But the more you can mitigate the substantial changes , the less chaotic this season will be .
Speaking of surprises ...
3 . NO NEW SONGS IN DECEMBER No new songs ? What ?! Before you get your ugly Christmas sweater all in a bunch , let me clarify . December is typically not a good time to introduce new regular-rotation worship songs .
Your band is likely learning between 12 and 20 " new " songs already . Between traditional carols , new original Christmas songs , and the hybrid hymns ( classic Christmas songs with new elements added ), they have enough to practice already .
And speaking of " new " Christmas songs ...
4 . NO MESSING WITH TRADITION If you ' re a modern church worship leader from one of the four generations since the rock ' n ' roll revolution , you can ' t help but want to mess with tradition .
But stay with me on this one .
After several seasons of trying to be creative and trendy with Christmas , I finally realized this rather obvious truth :
People want to sing the Christmas songs they know and love .
For example , The First Noel is in 3 / 4 time . If you decide to be edgy and set in 4 / 4 , it ' s not the same song ! At least , it ' s no longer the beloved carol that people can sing from the heart . For them , it ' s wonky and weird with that extra beat per measure .
Now , I ' m not saying you can ' t accompany these carols with a full band , or simplify the chord changes , or add a new chorus to the song . When you ’ re modernizing Christmas hymns , keep the traditional melody intact . That ' s what your church folks know and will want to sing .
Also , plan new holiday songs sparingly . Every year another batch of recording artists and churches release Christmas albums with " must-sing " songs . Those are fantastic for specials or performance pieces . But don ' t try to force them in as a corporate worship song .