PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

to worship in song. Many of the innovations of the Renewal Church can be adapted to other
worship styles. The result can be a much richer worship experience for church members as they
gather for the Sunday morning worship service.
Perhaps a word of warning is in order. Many church leaders have made the mistake of
trying to change the worship style of their church too quickly or for the wrong reasons. This
action has resulted in increased tensions in the church and actually hindered the corporate
worship experience of the church. The way one worships God is very close to that person's
perception of himself or herself. Often, attempts to change one's worship style are viewed as a
challenge to worshipper suggesting his or her worship is inferior and/or unacceptable to God.
This does not mean worship styles cannot be changed or modified; only that care should be taken
to insure these changes are implemented correctly.
Two keys to introducing new music into a worship service are the worship leader and
praise team. The music leader is responsible for teaching worship to the congregation. The
praise team is usually an ensemble of three to nine singers who lead the congregation in worship.
In some churches, the church choir acts in the role of a praise team leading the congregation in
worship.
When introducing new music in a worship service, care should be taken to do so for the
right reasons. New music should not be sung simply because it is new. Nor should older songs
be omitted simply because they are old. Rather, the selection of music for the worship service
should be based on the theme and focus of worship in that service. The songs selected should
help the congregation worship some aspect of the greatness of God, regardless of when they were
written.
Although the worship service of many Renewal Churches appear informal, the
appearance of informality is really the result of many hours of careful planning and preparation.
This planning results in continuity in the service and helps the worship team make appropriate
transitions from one phase of worship to the next. In a well planned worship service, the
congregation is led comfortably from one song to the next with minimal interruptions. This
continuity helps people remain focused in their worship of God.
In planning a worship service, several factors should be considered. First, songs are
selected along a common theme. When possible, the worship service is most effective when the
sermon theme is evident in the words of each song used. Second, care should be taken to arrange
songs by keys. Worship leaders usually try to change keys as few times as possible during the
worship time. When changes have to be made, modulating up by half steps usually works best.
Care should be taken to avoid singing songs written in keys outside the singing range of the
congregation.
Tempo is another consideration in arranging songs for worship. Usually, it is best to
move from a faster tempo to a slower tempo in the worship service. In doing so, worship leaders
should take care to change the meter of the songs used as few times as possible. One area in
which change can be helpful is in the texture or accompaniment used with each song. Various