What I learned about P&W while attending a funeral

I love to sit back and learn in all types of scenarios and last night was no different. I attended a homegoing service for a friend's husband and it was the most beautiful service I've been to. I won't go into all the lovely things that were said since this is a praise and worship blog, but suffice it to say that I hope to be half of what he was and an ounce of the wife my friend was to him. Now, on to the music.

The P&W team consisted of about 10 people. They sang one worship song that I didn't know, For Every Mountain, Order My Steps, and then during the procession they sang Lift Him Up by Byron Cage. They sounded very good. I love a choir or praise team where no one is screaming or where it sounds like they're trying real hard to hit the notes. I liked the song selections too. I also liked that they didn't drag the songs out with an extended reprise. You know black churches can take a 4 minute song and turn it into 10 easily! The timing of everything was just right.

Music is such a big part of the church experience and at a funeral or homegoing service, it really helps to set the tone of the service. People's hearts are more tender during this time so it's important that the music is moving and authentic. You want people to feel uplifted, comforted, and you want to usher in God's love.

On my out the door, one of my coworkers noted that she thought the music was excellent. This is what you want to hear as a P&W leader. Well done Covenant Faith Church of God Praise Team!

Blessings

Turning around

This Sunday, we had more people at church than we've had for weeks. And for once (ok maybe that's being dramatic), people actually listened to me when I instructed them to raise their hands or give God praise. In the words of the black church national anthem "I won't complain!"

I think I've expressed that our church is made up of quite the mix - people who've been in church all their lives and are mature Christians and people who don't seem to be quite as mature in their Christian journey. It can be difficult to get everyone on one accord. The latter half typically are bystanders during P&W and don't get involved much. Perhaps they might sing in a soft whisper, but they usually don't give God the fruit of their lips, or wave their hands, etc.

I believe that my job as the leader is to try to get the congregants to offer praise and adoration to God and to invoke the presence of God into the service. It's a tough job when you're outnumbered by those who aren't worshipers, but alas, onward and upward.


Sunday's Playlist
Welcome into this place
God is here
I give myself away
Emmanuel, we worship you

What I learned about P&W while attending a youth retreat

We had our district youth retreat this past weekend and it went exceptionally well, given the rain, tight living quarters, and the typical bad eggs who were sent home :)

Praise and Worship was also really good. Friday night, a girl that I sang with a couple of years ago did 1 song and really got the kids involved. (pic below) I can see that I need to be a little more creative with my style. Getting the audience involved is key. Saturday, the P&W team picked an upbeat song that also went over well. I was impressed.

The P&W experience at the youth retreat taught me that I need to add more songs to my arsenal and be more creative. In order to facilitate this, I think I'm going to listen to a P&W station on Pandora and flag all the songs that I like. I admit that I don't listen to a lot of new stuff. I stick the people I like and that's about it. Time to change.

Hit me up with your favorite songs or artists so that I can check them out as well. Would love to hear from you!

Blessings!

Status quo

After 2 Sundays with decent praise and worship, Sunday's experience seemed back to the status quo. I've lost a team member to a new job and another was absent. At least my 2 year old didn't shoot to the front of the church and run amok this time.

We're having rehearsal this Sunday so hopefully we can get these new (now kind of old) songs into our playlist. Will keep you posted on how that goes.

I'm gonna keep this post short, because I might something new to report after this weekend at our district youth retreat. While we won't have a true P&W team, I'm sure we'll do some singing. Stay tuned.

Blessings!

P.S. Once again, I missed the iLead Escape monthly front liners call. Dangit!