First of all, if you don’t go to Origins, you need to know a few things.  1) Our Austin-based congregation is about 60-80 people and primarily 20-somethings.  2) We do the bulk of worship songs at the end of the service.  We only have a couple up front to help set the tone and set our hearts on God so we can better receive the Word.  Then at the end we are able to have a time of reflection and praise for who God is, what He’s done for us, and what He’s calling us to.  This means that when you’re looking at my set lists, song 3 is almost always directly related to the message and songs 4 & 5 (or more) tend to branch off of that.  This, of course, takes some planning with the pastor, but it’s well worth it.

I’ll run down some of the things I consider when picking out songs.  Of course, make sure you’re praying a lot, but for other practical ideas, here you go…

1) The Message :: I always start with the song right after the message.  What song(s) will allow us to reflect on the passage(s) we went through and the message?  I don’t want us to just start singing and forget everything we just heard.  So long as it’s fitting, I typically intro a song by reiterating something that the pastor spoke on and tying it in to what we’re about to sing.  The lyrics here are obviously the most important factor, but the mood and tone of the song obviously have to play a part.  I’m probably not going to rock out some fast-paced song right after the message.

2) Flow :: I have the first song picked and now I want to make sure we can flow into the rest of the worship set.  Not only do I want it to flow musically, but also lyrically and emotionally.

2.1) The key signature is a huge factor here.  It’s tough to go from one extreme to another, especially if a capo is involved.  So when it’s three songs consecutively, many times I’ll pick songs all in the same key.  I don’t make this a hard rule, but it certainly helps eliminate that awkward silence between songs.  Sometimes I’ll just change the key.  For instance, this last week I went from “From the Inside Out” into “Jesus Paid it All”.  Normally I play “From the Inside Out” in the key of C by either playing open chords or by playing G with my capo on the 5th fret.  Since “Jesus Paid it All” is in the key of B, I just put the capo on 4 instead and one song went right into the next.

2.2) Lyrics.  First thing’s first – are the lyrics theologically sound?  This might seem obvious, but there are definitely some songs I had sung a ton at previous churches that when I took a look at them now I’ve realized I don’t agree with.  Sometimes it’s not a gaping hole in doctrine so much as something that’s just confusing.  I also avoid the “Jesus is My Boyfriend” lyrics for the most part.  If I’d get cheesed out by reading or saying something outside the context of a song, I’m not going to sing it.  For instance, we did “Revelation Song” a while back but changed some of the lyrics.  I just couldn’t get past that line about being clothed in rainbows of living color.  I don’t talk like that and I can’t get in to singing like that.  Assuming the song titles I’m looking at have already been filtered through, I’m just wanting to make sure I’m not flying from one thought to a totally different one.

2.3) Emotions, shmemotions.  Well, this one is weird to talk about, because I don’t want to come across as if I’m trying to manipulate people’s emotions.  However, emotive worship is most certainly part of how God has wired us to respond to him.  Not every person has the same responses to the same songs or to the same circumstances, so there’s not a whole lot that can be done here.  What I’m really trying to do is make sure there’s enough dynamic in the lyrics and feel of the songs to ensure we’re not spending too much time in one arena.  For instance, I don’t want to go from one super intense song to another otherwise it could wear people out.  I’m not suggesting to go for surface level songs, just trying to make sure there’s a balance.

3) Over time I try and track which songs best resonate with the congregation.  There have been songs that I’ve loved but the group just doesn’t get in to.  Since I have lights in my eyes and phones in my ears, it’s hard to see and hear what’s going on all the time.  I typically ask around to some of my closer friends to find out what they think and I’ve gotten some really good feedback that way.

4) Variety, but not too much.  I have an Excel spreadsheet  I made that automatically calculates to tell me the total play count of a song as well as the last date it was played.  I don’t want to overdo a song just because it works.  I also want to keep things fresh by introducing new songs (hence this entire website’s existence), but I have to be careful to make sure that new songs are soaking in.  Nobody likes the awkwardness of staring at a screen not knowing how a song goes.  Sometimes that’s just inevitable, but a large part of that is controllable.  I’m not going to do three songs in a row that I’ve only done twice in the last 6 months as that would frustrate a number of people in the congregation.

I’m sure I’m leaving something out, but those are some basic things I think about when picking out songs.  Once Sunday morning hits, I make sure my priority is worshiping myself.  If my heart is set on making much of God, the Holy Spirit will do the rest.

1) Cannons
2) Hosanna
3) Your Love is Extravagant
3 1/2) the chorus to Father Will You Come (which happens to be the same lyrics as the bridge to Cannons)
4) Nothing But the Blood

1. Sing, Sing, Sing
2. Open Skies
3. To Know Your Name
4. Came to My Rescue
5. Sing to the King

This coming week, 03/28:

1. Revelation Song
2. How He Loves
3. Amazing Grace
4. To Know Your Name
5. Til I See You

Prior Week, 03/21:

1. All We Need
2. Revelation Song
3. Lead Me to the Cross
4. Came to My Rescue
5. Love is Here

Two Weeks Ago, 03/14:

1. Cannons
2. How He Loves
3. Mighty to Save
4. Nothing But the Blood
5. Jesus Paid it All

1) Not to Us – Chris Tomlin
2) Center – Charlie Hall
3) Lead Me to the Cross – Hillsong United
4) Everything – Lifehouse
5) Overwhelm Me – Michael Bleecker

Here is Our King
King of Glory
Only You
This is Our God
From the Inside Out

Mighty to Save – Hillsong United
Hosanna – Hillsong United
This is Our God – Chris Tomlin
Overwhelm Me – Michael Bleecker
Cannons – Phil Wickham