A simple but controversial idea
Church music is hard work. Even experienced musicians find it challenging to perform such a variety of songs, to such a high standard, with so little time to practice. For inexperienced musicians, the stress is enormous, and doubtless contributes to the high burnout rate we see in this area.
When I was made music director at my church, I introduced a small reform that radically reduced the pressure on my music team. Most directors try to provide maximum variety in song selection from week to week. However, it occurred to me that people happily listen to the same songs day after day on FM radio, suggesting we have a higher tolerance for repetition than some may suspect.
The reform I introduced was as follows. At the start of the year I selected 4 songs for church, which I called my “playlist”. Each week I remove a song from the bottom of the playlist and add another song to the top, and that becomes my new playlist for the following week. And so I continue, slowly working my way through the overall song pool (of about 25 songs).
This is a little hard to explain, so I’ll show you by a real life example -
9th May
He is Holy
How Deep
Jesus Thank You
How Great is Our God
16th May
How deep
Jesus Thank You
How Great is Our God
Kingdom Song
23rd May
Jesus Thank You
How Great is Our God
Kingdom Song
Let Your Kingdom Come
...and so on.
This strategy has been very successful. Our musicians feel much more confident with the music, as each week there is only a single song to learn from scratch. The congregation have also been supportive - no-one has complained about the repetition, and I receive positive comments about the music every week. Singing a song four weeks running actually helps the congregation, as it gives them a chance to really learn the tune. By the end of a song’s run, they are belting it out with gusto.
I’ve shared this idea with other music directors and none have been enthusiastic. I can understand why - it is certainly a very different approach to the norm. But if your music ministry is struggling a little, and feeling the pressure - well, perhaps my radical idea is worth considering.
