TWLL #27: A Simple Pattern For Spontaneous Worship

read time: 5 minutes

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The idea of leading spontaneous worship can feel daunting if it’s something you haven’t done before.  

But a simple framework can go a long way in giving you the ability to step into the moment with confidence.

Today I want to share a basic pattern that’s been helpful to me over the years for spontaneous worship.

Sing What You Sense

When you’re leading worship and begin to sense some kind of theme emerging- whether it’s related to one of the songs in your set list, or something else- your next step doesn’t need to be complicated.  

Just begin to sing what you’re sensing.  Whatever theme seems to be emerging- whether it’s a common struggle like fear and anxiety, or an attribute of God like His faithfulness- begin to sing it out.

Link It With A Scripture

The next step is begin to link what you’re singing with a passage of Scripture.  Think of a verse in the Old or New Testament that relates with what you’re singing.

By pulling in a passage like this, you’re keeping yourself in good place theologically, adding depth and substance to what you’re singing, and providing a resolution to your theme.

For example, if I’m leading worship and the theme of fear is starting to emerge, I will probably go a passage like I John 4:18 where it talks about God’s perfect love as the answer to the fear.

Summarize It With A Chorus

Once you’ve sung out the theme that was coming to you and linked it with a passage, you eventually can wrap up the moment by creating a chorus (similar to the chorus of a worship song) and repeating it.

I like wrapping up a spontaneous worship segment with a chorus for several reasons.  Number one, it allows me to summarize all that I just sang into a simple phrase or two.  

I can take everything that I just sang, and basically highlight the main point or takeaway in this chorus.

Number two, it gives the room a chance to respond to, or agree with what I just sang.  Because a repeating chorus that’s simple and catchy invites the room to sing along with me.  And when they sing along, they are agreeing with the message or main idea of the spontaneous moment.  

Number three, on a practical level, once I introduce a singable chorus and the room is singing along with me again- it’s a short and easy step into the next worship song in the set.  

So not only does the chorus provide a natural transition out of the spontaneous worship moment- it gives a natural transition into the next worship song.  And from a flow standpoint, this is really helpful.

Conclusion

The pattern I just described above isn’t the only way to approach a spontaneous moment.  But if it was helpful for you, hang onto it, and use it the next time you’re leading worship and sense a nudge toward spontaneous.

That’s it for today!

See y’all next week.

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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you: 

1. The Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship Course.  If spontaneous worship has been a struggle, you might want to check out Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  It's a self-guided, self-paced course that empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enables your musicians to flow with you, and helps your room engage.  

2- Join A Zoom Group.  Every 3 months I host small zoom groups- one focused on worship leading and one on songwriting.  Each group meets once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of learning to leading worship/write songs out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about the next upcoming zoom group, including schedule & cost, email me at [email protected]