What does the rotation of worship songs look like for your church? Regardless of whether you’re a worship leader, musician, or congregant, would you say there’s a healthy rotation of songs? This is a subjective matter, based on how often you prefer to sing particular songs. To one person, it may seem like a certain song isn’t sung enough on Sundays because they love it. To another, that song is sung all the time, but their view is affected by a dislike of that song. Other factors that influence someone’s opinion are their attendance and whether or not this song is heard in venues outside of church. For church musicians, if you rehearse the song many times and play it in numerous services on a single Sunday, it can seem played out much more quickly than to the congregation, who only hear it during the service they attend. During the first few years of @V21Church I felt songs should be repeated only after six to eight weeks, resulting in a large rotation of songs with little repetition. Over the years we’ve sought to find the balance that keeps people from getting burnt out on songs while making sure the congregation isn’t straining to remember every song because it’s been months since they last sang it.

For this reason, each August the band leaders at the Raleigh West campus gather and analyze each song. We print out a spreadsheet for each band that lists how many times a song was sung. This process adds objective data to our gut feelings, and other band leaders are able to speak freely into the frequency a song is played, the strength and weaknesses of the song and the execution by the band. In the end, it’s about more than whether or not people sing a song loudly. If that’s our only criteria for success, let’s just choose the most popular songs regardless of content or worth.

By the end of the night we place each song in one of the following categories:

• Going strong. Keep this as a regular song in your rotation. Examples for @V21Church’s West Campus are “Into The Arms” (@ThadCockrell), “Hosanna” (Brooke Frasier), “In Feast Or Fallow” (Sandra McCracken), and “Holy Is The Name” (Mike Simons)
• Needs work. Something’s not quite right with the way the band is playing this one, but with the right changes can be a regular song in your rotation. Otherwise, pull it from the rotation. Examples for us are “To Know Your Name” (Matt Crocker), “Love Me To The End” (Red Mountain Music)
• Solid song, BUT the congregation doesn’t seem to be responding with the same passion and energy they used to. Pull this one out every 3-4 months. Examples for us: “All Creatures Of Our God And King”, “Jesus Paid It All” and “Before The Throne of God Above” (Charitie Bancroft, Sojourn Church)
• Retire it. Either the band is not pulling it off, the congregation is not responding after many attempts, it’s not the best song we can sing theologically, or it’s been played into the ground. I’m a firm believer that the best songs will not land in this category, but stand the test of time. Many songs we’ve sung and written in the past have ended up in retirement. We’ve gotten better as songwriters and musicians and some songs just don’t stand the test of time. This can be a challenging place for songwriters, as a song that stood strong for a season no longer holds the same weight. We praise God that He gives us songs, whether it’s for a season or a lifetime, and humbly ask him for more songs to bring Him glory.

Over the years this process has helped identify more than songs. We’ve been able to see complacency in band leaders or bands, a lack of preparation on our part as leaders, and overall strengths and weaknesses that may not have been on the surface. For example, last year I introduced two songs that didn’t make it past one Sunday. This tells me the songs weren’t ready, and now I’m sending out new songs to the band and fellow band leaders weeks in advance. Having a system of accountability and review in place allows us to pull back from the next week’s service and see the larger picture. It should be noted that our goal is not to be the brilliant masterminds behind the worship of God; in the end the objective data or subjective opinions should not take the place of prayer, as we ask the Holy Spirit to guide and lead our worship. I’m thankful for the humility of our band leaders and their desire to worship God and serve others.

Do you have systems of review in place for songs and bands? @V21Church folks, does this review process seem to be working? Would you say we sing songs not enough, too much, or is it the right balance of the two?

This week we have the privilege of listening to and learning an original song prior to Sunday. Thad’s band will be introducing his song “Great Rejoicing” from both his e.p. and upcoming full-length album “To Be Loved”. This is a beautiful song about what we’ll experience in the presence of the Father through his son Jesus. I’ll leave his lyrics to explain any more than that:

Click here to listen to “Great Rejoicing”

Great Rejoicing
Words and Music by @ThadCockrell
Copyright Razor and Tie Publishing and Little Hoos Publishing

There’s gonna be a great rejoicing
There’s gonna be a great rejoicing

The troubles of this world
Will wither up and die
That river of tears made by the lonely
Someday will be dry
There’s gonna be a great rejoicing

There’s gonna a be a great joy river
There’s gonna a be a great joy river
Questions of this world
Someday will be known
Who’s robbing you a peace
And who’s the giver
There’s gonna be a great joy river

Someday you will find me guarded in His fortress
Open heart and wings that never touch the ground
Someday we will gather in a grand reunion
The debts of this old world are nowhere to be found
Are nowhere to be found

There’s gonna be a great rejoicing

Alright, @V21Church, here’s your chance. Listen and learn, and let’s lift our voices to God this Sunday!