2nd Cut – O Come

Image by Loci Lenar via Flickr

The second cut has percussion tracks added in, sounds very neat and full now.

After listening to it a few more times, feel like tinkering with the percussion arrangements some more, else it sounds a little monotonous towards the latter half of the song.

Also thinking of replaying the flute parts at the next octave, will try it and see next week.

1st Cut – Reign Lord Reign

Liked the music the first time I heard it in Mano’s studio.

However, on repeated listens later at home, find the synth/strings work too overpowering - definitely needs to be toned down somewhat.

The intro also has a particular tone that needs to be replaced, will work on it next week and sort it out.

This is a 3/4 song and I really don’t have a confident sense for this rhythm, so will probably take some time to finalize this one.

1st Cut – Praise the Lord Our God

Image by Celestial Photography via Flickr

Re-worked the whole arrangement with Mano today and now it sounds complete.

This song starts with a rocking piano intro and maintains an up-tempo rhythm throughout. From the bridge onwards, it gets more interesting with tabla and flute giving an Indian feel, creating a fusion sound overall.

Still need to add in the guitars and I’ll probably change one of the intro instruments, feels a bit out of place there. In the verse also, there’s a particular organ rhythm that can make way for the guitar, let’s see.

With this version, the song is coming together very well now.

1st Cut – Sweet Anointing (Rain Down)

Image by hickory hardscrabble via Flickr

This one’s all rock - liked it instantly when I heard it.

The interludes are full of happy sounding flute work with lots of space left for Bruce to fill in with his guitar later on.

It’s a simple single verse + chorus type of song of the Holy Spirit

The music is nicely built on a Celtic up-tempo rhythm and I don’t really feel like changing anything, Just have to wait and see what the guitars add to the final version.

Spontaneous Worship

"...I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also." - 1 Corinthians 14:15

If the worship leader is sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, then somewhere at some point in the worship session, there will be moments of spontaneous worship and praise. It may happen at the beginning, middle or end of a song; it can happen more than once during a session also.

When the worship leader senses the moment, and takes the risk of stepping forward in faith to release that spontaneous song, many times I have experienced that something happens – the level of worship always goes up a notch or two and the Lord is rightfully glorified.

Spontaneous worship usually happens in one or more of the following ways:

• An additional line or two complementing or amplifying the theme of the song, usually done during the song itself. A brilliant example is the Vineyard live recording of the “Come and follow” album. There is this song led by Andy Park “Who is like our God?” (Brian Doerksen, Brian Thiessen & Brian Duane, Mercy/Vineyard Publishing). After every verse, Andy sings a few spontaneous lines that beautifully enhance the feeling of awe we already feel with the written lyrics of this song. It is so well done, that the attention is always on the Lord and at the same time we can’t help but notice the sincerity of the worship leader singing from the heart out of genuine love for Him.

• Free praise, worship & thanksgiving – sometimes in word and sometimes in song. At times when nothing seems to be happening and inspiration seems far away, I like to start in this manner. I gently guide the people to lift their voices and join me in praising the Lord and just pour out our hearts to Him. Our God is always ready to make His home “in the praises of His people…” (Psalm 22:3) and things start happening now – the praising gets more and more intense, I start strumming some chord on my guitar, the words form into melodies and I get inspiration to start the song. This way, my breakthrough is already achieved and the people find it easier to be engaged right from the beginning of the session. When a song or a medley of songs has helped people to worship God intimately, our hearts cannot help but express our feelings for Him in a spontaneous outpouring of praise, worship and thanksgiving at the end of the song. Taking the same song as an example, at the end of it, you can listen to Andy leading this outpouring with the people joining in and it’s so awesome just to listen to it!

• Singing or speaking in tongues – Not advisable when the majority of the congregation is non-charismatic and is not gifted in speaking in tongues. But if they are familiar with this charism and I feel the Holy Spirit is inspiring me, then I go for it. For me, it mostly happens when I am doing a song of the Holy Spirit and suddenly I sense the need for spontaneity and normal words are just not there – here speaking or singing in tongues becomes the offering of spontaneous worship. “…for when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words;” – Romans 8:26. Sometimes, prophetic words or visions also come out from the people after an outbreak of tongues.

• The spontaneous song – this occurs very rarely for me to be honest! When the session moves to a point where the congregation is in silent worship, the Lord sings over His people through the worship leader or someone else in the Worship team. Steve Kuban’s “I will fight for you” (Spirit And Truth Publishing) is a classic example of this. Or it could be the people’s song to the Lord too like “We will ride” (Andy Park, Mercy Vineyard publishing).

It’s good to practice this gift in personal Worship to know what kind of melodies or musical keys you are comfortable in. When on stage and the Lord inspires spontaneous worship, you don’t want to be caught singing off-key!

So how do I know if it’s inspired by the Spirit of God or a spirit of performance? Well, if it inspires the people to deeper worship or helps them to draw closer to God, then it’s definitely a move of the Holy Spirit. Else, it’s a move of the performance spirit and it will only take the focus away from God and instead draw attention to me and the worship gets lost somewhere in between!

The worship leader should be prepared to take risks on stage and actually go for it in faith to know better how to use this gift. Personally I feel very satisfied if I’ve guided the people to these moments of spontaneity at least once during a session. However I need to remember that spontaneity is not a technique – it has to come from my heart (and people can usually tell when it is or is not from the heart!) to inspire someone else to join in and celebrate the Lord with me.

“Cry and shout for joy, you who live in Zion, for the Holy One of Israel is among you in his greatness.” – Isaiah 12:6

1st Cut - ‘O Come’

The music for this one is completely different from the other songs - lots of mellow electric piano, strings and flute work and no drums or percussions. Once vocal harmonies and guitars are added, it should sound much fuller.

Spoke to Sheetal who wrote this song, she prefers some light percussion work to be included, will request Mano to maybe add in some Indian percussions.

Otherwise, the music sounds apt for the mood and theme of the song, which is an intense invocation for the presence of God.

Song Story - ‘Holy Spirit, Purify Me’

There was this retreat during a weekend 6 years ago, where I had to lead worship and I needed a fresh song of praying for the Holy Spirit. I was looking for a short and simple song that would express a worshipper’s prayer to receive the Presence of the Lord.

Well, to cut it short, I never found that new song and so I took the other alternative and wrote one myself.

Lyrically, this song is only a 4 liner and more of a repetitive chant than a full fledged worship song.

I also used it on the final day of that retreat and amazing things happened!

We initiated that particular session with this song and then led the congregation into a prayer acknowledging and surrendering to the Lordship of the Holy Trinity.

Then, we encouraged them to lift up their own free prayers asking for the Spirit’s infilling and then it happened!

As if on cue, one of them broke down crying out “Jesus, I love You, I need You!” and fell to the ground, then another followed suit, then another and so on…though I’ve seen this happen before, it never fails to amaze me that all we have to do is just call out and He answers!

I saw soul-healing, some receiving the gift of tongues, some starting to believe in God more firmly and a deliverance also took place. And to think that all it took was this simple 4-line prayer to start it all – what an incredibly good and generous God we serve!

“… you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come upon you…” - Acts 1:8