‘Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.’ - Gordon Fee
Songs are an essential component of what we do as sung corporate worship leaders. They instruct and exhort, give us language to understand and articulate the heart and character of God and respond as His people. When it comes to introducing new songs, I’ll devote a future post to how to determine the kinds of songs to choose for your particular context. For today, I want to think through the mechanics of how and when to introduce new songs to your team, congregation, and in the service.
Introduce the song to your team first. Make sure the team has time to engage with the song. Showing up to a rehearsal and being given a new song with the expectation to learn it, and lead it in a matter of moments can be difficult for even the most competent musicians among us. This kind of last-minute planning does not establish healthy rhythms, culture, and trust among those you lead and serve. Back up the timeline of introducing a song, give your musicians and vocalists - a few weeks with a link to a video, the song, the lyrics, and chord charts. Sending out a song to the whole team allows them to familiarize themselves with the song even on a weekend they are not serving. But you can encourage them to ‘lead from the congregation,’ by engaging and singing along as the congregation begins to learn a new song.
Introducing to the congregation. How long does it take your people to learn a new song? How complex or accessible will this song be? A healthy rhythm for introducing songs is two to three weeks on, one off, and back on the following week. The first week is learning the new song, the next week the chorus is solidified and the verses begin to take shape in the minds and melodies of the people. Giving one week off allows the song to become familiar without feeling played to death. Do not leave too much space in between the rhythm of introducing a new song and folding it into normal rotation in your services.
Introduce in the service. Use this opportunity to shepherd your people. Instead of ‘Here’s a new one for you…,’ help people understand the heart of this song, and why you chose to bring it to your people. Placing a new song in the middle of a set is helpful because it allows the congregation to begin and end with things that will be familiar. With the production and tempo stripped back and lyrics visible to the congregation, sing through the chorus one time, then repeat the chorus inviting the people to singalong. Then start the song from the beginning.
One last thing to consider as you introduce a new song, encourage your people to join in when they are comfortable. But also encourage them to both meditate on the truth in the lyrics, read, and speak them aloud. Our words are powerful, let the truth not just fill our heads, and hearts, but our mouths, and ears as well.