Do You Sense God?:
Great songs have the Spirit of God resting on them. This is a little harder to quantify. When I hear a great song, I sense God. The song moves my heart. I realize that God is in that song. A great song will also cause you to lift heart in praise and worship to God.
Songs From Around the World:
I love to pick great songs from around the world. God is moving on anointed musicians and writers from all over the globe. We now have access online to worship bands in Australia, Canada, the United States, England, Europe, Asia and Africa. I don’t want to limit my song choices to one church or one church movement.
CCLI Top 200:
It is easier than ever to find out what churches around the world are singing. CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International) has an invaluable online list of the top 200 songs that churches are singing. Their Top SongSelect List shows you what thousands of other worship leaders are picking for their congregations. If you are wondering what songs to sing, let me assure you that the songs on this list are like gold.
Top Writers: There are certain writers that have been writing great songs for years. Writers like Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Paul Baloche, Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Tim Hughes and Brenton Brown have consistently written great songs over a long period of time. When I see their names on a song, I definitely check it out. And there are also some great new writers: Jason Ingram, Ben Cantelon, Brian Johnson, Matt Maher, Jesse Reeves, Phil Wickham, Joth Hunt and many others.
Balanced Repertoire:
Learn to keep a balanced repertoire. You need fast songs, medium songs and slow songs. You need ‘psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.’ Make sure you keep picking great songs of different tempos that fill that need. Keep it fresh. It also helps to listen to the songs that the youth and young adults are singing. Learning newer style songs is of high value for them.
Repeating Songs:
Learn to repeat the new songs enough times for the congregation to learn them. My philosophy is to always repeat a new song the next week, give it a week off and then repeat it again the fourth week. That way the congregation is hearing the new song three times over a four-week period. If it is a great song, the congregation will know it by then. Also, it helps if the song is on Christian radio (although many songs on Christian radio are not worship songs). That way the congregation is also hearing it in their cars and homes.
