Start the New Year with a New Song
I admit, I like the challenge of making every worship service fresh and unique. Not just to showoff my prowess on ‘newness’ but to help the congregation see and hear Jesus in fresh new ways – even with the same-old songs! The Hebrew word for ‘new’ is the wonderful word: chadash, which means ‘new or a fresh, new thing’. But it comes from a root word which means ‘to be new or to rebuild, renew, or repair’.
Sometimes it is tempting to throw out the old for the new, but I believe God is calling us to not only keep it fresh in our corporate times of worship but also to rebuild, renew and even repair our songs and our expressions of worship.
I love trying new things while still honoring the old, tried and proven. Over the years, I have compiled a list of new and fresh ideas that I have either tried or I have seen others do successfully to ‘keep it fresh’ in our worship.
I should mention that I don’t believe in doing new stuff just because I’m bored or the people are bored. I do believe in provoking all of us to hear great songs with new ears. Sometimes due to repetition, our ears become dull to the words of the powerful songs we are singing. So I like to put a fresh coat of paint on each song so we can ‘see’ it with new eyes. To awaken the worshiper in each one of us, is one of the highest goals of a worship leader.
So consider these ideas (because of space I will just give you a few):
- Change the words or word of a song
- Fast songs slow/slow songs fast
- Hum while someone speaks the words- whispering
- Men only/women only/children only/over 40 only/blondes only etc.
- Children’s choirs/senior choir/bell choir/brass choir/string choir/bluegrass/Dixieland band
- Have a child start the song
- Antiphonal choirs (put one in the balcony)
- A capella (no instruments or just one solo instument)
- Different language
- Soloist in congregation
- Singers surround congregation
- Solo instruments (look for unique instruments in the congregation ie bagpipes)
- Drum cadence
- Have a couple lead worship
Okay, that’s just a few. Later I will give you some more radical ideas. But in the meantime, keep it fresh and sing a ‘new’ ‘chadash‘ song to the Lord. He loves it.
Be creative, and have a Great New Year!
Dr. Tim Smith
Remember: Contributions are tax-exempt at Worship Without Borders!