I’m frequently asked how I select music for worship. I wish I could say it’s a simple thing, and some of my colleagues believe that it is. For me, it’s personal. It’s passionate. Worship isn’t just something that is planned, it’s something that I DO. It’s a constantly changing, living, breathing thing that is guided and molded by the Holy Spirit.
Where do I start? Every week I start with the theme Pastor Ali (or whoever is speaking) has set, along with their chosen scriptures. So much music comes directly from the scriptures, and reading that sends music streaking through my brain like a personal Spotify station. I also try to balance out the style of worship the congregation that I am serving prefers; here, we are “blended”, meaning we worship through a solid mix of traditional hymns and the latest in contemporary worship songs.
From there, I go to my resources. I start with the ones we have the closest access to: The United Methodist Hymnal, The Faith We Sing, and SongSelect, which is the Church Copyright License, Incorporated database of songs. (SongSelect is where almost every current contemporary Christian song can be found.) After that, I have a personal library of about 30 hymnals spanning over 150 years and a dozen denominations, and there are great sites like hymnary.org. And of course, there’s always our friend Google.
How, though, do I narrow down a multitude of songs into the four that we sing each week? First and foremost, I want to tell a story. I want to take each worshiper on a journey. What journey we are on depends on so many things: the season of the year (Advent, Lent, etc.), the scripture, and so on. Do we start jubilant and celebratory? Are we more humble and penitent? Obviously the Prayer Hymn needs to be, well, prayerful, but even that can be one of joy or one of sorrow. And then how do we want the service to end? On what note (pun intended) do we want the congregation to leave on? Are we encouraging them to go forth and live out their faith in service? Have we traded our palms for a hammer and nails, preparing to crucify Jesus during Holy Week? Are we whispering in expectant adoration for an infant Savior to be born?
Into all of this is woven the music that is played by the piano and organ, sung by the choir, and offered by soloists. Added to the tapestry are prayers and congregational responses. Some weeks the Spirit moves and all comes together. Some weeks it just doesn’t quite gel and I wonder where I didn’t listen carefully enough to the still, small voice. But I learn and move forward. I’ve done this in different capacities for over 35 years and I’m still learning — and I pray I never stop.
