Fork In The Road Music » Sunday

Sunday Setlist 01/16/11

Russell Martin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:18:19 +0000

This Sunday had to be one of the most powerful communion services I have been a part of. When it started though I wasn’t sure if it would work at all. We celebrate communion on the third Sunday of every month. This week we had a retired pastor who was leading the communion part of the service. He had been a pastor for many years in the Methodist Church, and really liked using one of the old Services of Word and Table. We like to do different things, so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the words I had thought he would be using, for the screens, were not quite the same as the book he was to be following. So 15 minutes before the service I was editing, typing, and changing. Then I wasn’t able to find it.

Lucky I have an awesome tech team and they were able to find the words, make the corrections and have everything ready to go by the time that Communion rolled around. Something tells me they did not hear much of the sermon. (Hey guys it will be online Tuesday).

Our first song was “Everywhere I Go” by Lincoln Brewster. Being a little hyped up from the word mix up just a few minutes earlier, my heart was racing, and so was the tempo. If you know the song, you know that it’s doing all you can to get the words spit out at the correct tempo. Knock it up a few beats per minute, and it’s nearly impossible.

During our announcements I was able to take a breath before we started “All the Earth Will Sing Your Praises”. I started the guitar as normal, band came in, vocals sounded good and we were off. But I settled in, and relaxed when I could hear voices inside my head. Yeah, some of you may think that’s normal, but these were the voices of the congregation singing such that I heard it through my headphones.

Then was our sermon “God Names us Before We Were Born” from Isaiah 49:1-7. Our Pastor talked about the importance of names, how God has a name for us, and how we are to be a light to the nations.

I am amazed but now not surprised now how things work out. I had moved our next song to the offertory from another slot to help with timing issues. The song “Salt and Light” fit right into what Danny had talked about in the message.

Usually after the offering we will sing a song to move us into communion, and “Here I Am to Worship” worked great. By this time I am playing with only one earbud in because I love listening to the congregations voices. Since Kerri Crocker was leading this one I could just play piano and listen. Almost forgot to play piano a few times.

Then came communion. We do communion a few different ways, at different times. Sometimes we will use the formal liturgy in our current hymnal. Sometimes the pastors will use a more informal communion liturgy, without the congregational responses etc. This time we used the order that I grew up with going to church as a child. It is written in more formal english, using some words that we no longer use, especially in a contemporary worship service.

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: (Prayer of Humble Access 1662 Revision)

One might think that a 500 year old prayer would not fit well between songs written 5 or 10 years ago. And maybe for some it did not work. I can only speak for myself when I say that It was beautiful and powerful. It could have worked for many reasons. I think, though, that it worked well because it was different. The responses were not what the congregation was used to, so you had to pay attention, read the words, hear them again for the first time.

We sang “All I Need is You” and “We Fall Down” during the communion time. After an invitation we closed with a fast version of “Father of Lights”

Well, that’s how our Sunday went. Check out what other churches did on The Worship Community Sunday Setlists.

Appreciating Your Worship Team- Ask for Feedback

Russell Martin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:49:24 +0000

Each year I have an end of year evaluation with my pastor and other church leaders. This is a great time to look back on the previous year, talk about goals and identify areas in need of attention.

This year I decided to go a step further. I sent a short survey out to my worship team. After all, these are the guys who are in rehearsals and leading worship with me week in and week out, and I really wanted to know what they were thinking. I will admit I was apprehensive about doing so at first, however now that we have gone through the process it is one that I plan to do every year.

The set up was simple:

1. I used google to create a form

2. I emailed the link out to the team members

3. As they filled in the sheet the answers were collected for me

Here were my questions:

1. Rate the overall musical quality of the worship Team (1-5)

2. How much do rehearsals prepare you for leading worship Sunday morning (1-5)

3. Rate the variety of music presented (1-5)

4. List up to three things you think the band has definately improved on in 2009

5. What are three things you would have liked us to have improved on but we did not?

6. If you were in charge, could do anything you want, what one major change would you make?

7. Give me your idea of something new we should try to do?

8. Can you commit to the worship team for 2010? Why or Why Not?

9. What else would you like to say?

Through providing this opportunity for feedback I was able to hear things that I might not otherwise and address them before problems arise. I am excited too about new suggestions that were given and am looking forward to implementing them in the new year.

I encourage you to find some way where you can receive honest feedback from those you work with on a weekly basis. Not only will it help you to stop possible problems, but it gives your team members ownership.

So.. how do you give opportunities for feedback?

Your comments are appreciated.

Sunday Setlist- 06/07/09

Russell Martin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 04:21:46 +0000

This week was a sad yet joyous one for our church. Our associate pastor Frank Coats has been appointed to a new church in Houston. Today was his last Sunday with us. One thing Frank is known for is wearing bowties. So this week many members showed their love by wearing bowties of their own. We are sad to see him leave but wish him the best.

Here were are songs this week.

Everywhere I Go-
Today is the Day-
Come Ye Sinners
Child of God
Power of Your Name

Sunday Setlist 5/31/09

Russell Martin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:56:05 +0000

Pentecost Sunday was great at WMUMC. It was my first week back after being out for two at College UM ARMY and Annual Conference. It was nice to be playing and singing with the band again. Here are our songs from this week.
Tell the World
Days of Elijah-
Revive Us Again-
It’s My Joy
Awaken our Hearts
Pentecost Video

This is part of the Sunday Setlists at Fred McKinnon‘s blog.

Events

Russell Martin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:48:23 +0000

Almost every Sunday Morning I am leading worship at Williams Memorial UMC for the Xperience service. I also like sharing my music with other groups. Here is my upcoming schedule for the summer so far. If you are interested in me leading worship for your group, retreat, camp or service please contact me.

Currently Scheduling events for Spring and Summer

Welcome

Why We’re Not Going All Out For Easter

Russell Martin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:55:46 +0000

I remember growing up how Easter Sunday was. It seemed like for that Sunday the church went all out. We had an orchestra, dancers, and big choir anthems. We had a lot of things that only happened on that Sunday. And then the next Sunday was back to “normal.” I have begun to wonder if that is a good thing or not. Is going all out and putting such an emphasis on Easter Sunday theatrics helpful or hurtful for those that come back the next week?
This year in our contemporary service we are not doing any big band numbers. Our stage will not be decorated that much differently than it is normally. Our band and vocals will be the same band and vocals that we have every week. Our worship songs will be ones focused on the resurrection, but the same ones the congregation has been learning and worshiping with for a while. And since we do communion on the 3rd Sunday of every month we are even keeping that the same. Communion on Easter?

So is this a bad thing? Does your church go all out for Easter? Why or Why not?

Contemporary vs Traditional? Enough Already!

Russell Martin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:24:31 +0000

Part of me wonders why we are even still discussing this. The other part knows It will never go away. As long as we have churches we will be fighting the same battle and asking the same questions. So instead of giving my argument on the side of why we should worship one way or another I thought I would give a few suggestions on how to help bridge the gap.

1. Realize God doesn’t care. No there were no guitars or keyboards in the bible. But the fact is that there were no organs either. We need to realize that the instruments we use and types of songs are our preference, not God’s.

2. Understand we are all different. Different types of services meet different needs. Do you have one Sunday school class for everyone? Probably not. We need to understand that just as we learn in different ways, we worship differently.

3. Acknowledge others worship style is just as valid as yours. Just because someone else worships different than you, doesn’t make them wrong, and doesn’t make you right.

4. Worship together. We have two styles of worship but one of the best things we do is to worship together on occasion. We have done this two ways. First we have done some services that utilize elements from both the traditional and contemporary service. Second we have combined services but left the basic elements the same, dependent on the location. This has helped to introduce members to the other style of worship.

5. What’s contemporary now is traditional tomorrow. I have already seen that what we used to call contemporary has become the tradition in many churches. What used to be innovative is now predictable. In fact I could argue in some churches the “Contemporary Service” is more traditional than the “Traditional Service”. And now we even have “Emerging?”

So those are some of my suggestions. What ways does your church help bridge the divide between contemporary, traditional and other worship styles?

Sunday Setlist 3/22/09

Russell Martin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:17:24 +0000

This was my first attemt at a video worship confessional. Check it out and let me know what you think.

To see what other worship services did this week make sure and check out Sunday Setlists on Fred McKinnon’s blog.

Sunday Setlist- 3/15/09

Russell Martin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:47:49 +0000

Yes I know I am almost a week late in posting this. Oh well.. maybe since I can’t be first, I’ll be last.

Last week we had special guests leading worship. It was our youth band. I am so honored to have the priviledge of working with this group of talented young musicians. They have worked hard all year to lead music during our youth program and for youth worship services. So when the opportunity arose for them to lead we let them have an opportunity to lead in our morning contemporary worship service. As I expected they did an awesome job.

Here were our songs:

One Way
Today is The Day
Counting on God
How Great is Our God
Blessed Be Your Name
You Never Let Go

We also took communion and had a new family join.

That’s what we sang. Check out what other churches did for their Sunday Setlists.

Recording Equipment: What Do You Suggest?

Russell Martin — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:28:06 +0000

I have been thinking lately that I would like to set up a small studio at the church. I am not looking for something too complicated but would like to be able to record our instruments into separate channels on Sunday mornings so they could be mixed to create a balanced recording.

I know there are many of you out there with alot of experience in this area so I would love for you to answer some of these questions. I am sure others reading would benefit from your years of experience too.

So here are your questions.

If you were going to set up a small studio how would you do it?

What equipment would you include? Computer software?

Interfaces?

What are some things to watch out for?

Finally what other questions would you ask?

Leave your answers in the comments, or if it is easier write your own blog post and leave the link in the comments.