Real Worship

Since March 2008 Sundays have looked a little different.  Once the morning service has finished in Stevenage, a group of us will jump into a car and drive 240 miles to Exeter (stopping for lunch along the way – usually KFC), where we meet together with the congregation there.

Dilemma: Do I post a set list for each congregation separately, or together?  Hmm… Let’s try together:

Stevenage:

It has become the norm for Ali to choose the set list for the Stevenage congregation.  Here are the songs that we got to sing from the list he chose this week:

• Come Love of God (Ali Loaker) Ali
• Your Grace is Enough (Chris Tomlin) Mike
• Holy is the Lord (Chris Tomlin) Ali
• Passion (Mike Ellis) Mike

There is a different dynamic for me when worshipping with the Stevenage congregation.  This is because we have a larger, more established band with multiple “worship leaders” and I may only end up leading 1 or 2 songs in a set.  When I am not leading, I may be playing second guitar, adding riffs; I may be strumming an accoustic whilst adding backing vocals.  In the set above, for example, during the first song (which Ali led) I played second guitar on my electric, playing a riff high up the neck.  In the second song, I led it whilst playing my accoustic.

The challenge for me is to continue to remain connected & focused; hearing God, connecing at a heart level, pouring out my heart in worship, and play the right notes – all at the same time, whether or not I am leading.  The temptation is to back-off when I am not leading.

Exeter:

As it is mostly me who travels to Exeter to “lead worship”, I usually choose the set list for Exeter.  The songs we got to sing this week were:

• For Who You Are (Marty Sampson)
• Holy is The Lord (Chris Tomlin)
• Dove’s Eyes (Rick Pino)
• My Romance (RickPino)

All 4 songs were played in the key of A (I actually played capo 2 G – deliberately, to give a more open sound on the accoustic & make it easier to add in bass note runs between the chords).  As often as possible, I will try to play songs either in the same key (even if it means changing the key they were originally written in), or I will play them in keys that flow together.  I find this helps not just by having smoother transitions between songs, but it provides the space in between the songs for us to get into more free, spontaneous worship – these are my favourite times!

For me, the songs themselves are often only a journey to a place where we all connect vitally with God & each other; giving Him the space to lead & direct as He wills and through whom He chooses.  In fact, the reason why (in both congregations) we didn’t get to sing all the songs from the set lists is because of spending as much time as possible in these spaces.  I will often only introduce the next planned song in the list as a tool to help people engage with God when I sense that they are starting to disconnect.

As an aside, the term “set list” is one that is becoming more uncomfortable for me.  This is because it suggests performance; and our heart is most certainly not to perform or entertain, but rather to play our part in the divine dance that is this small expression of worship; and to facilitate the body moving together with Him.

For the sake of ease & continuity, I will probably carry on using the term “set list” (at least for now).  Perhaps in the future, I may change the name of this post to the “Redemption weekly round up”- or something similar… we’ll see – watch this space!

This post can also be found in the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival at FredMcKinnon.com