You are not the only one that can lead or prompt worship. A beautiful solo or excellently performed violin instrumental can prompt worship as much as you. It also helps develop talent in your church body. A string of pop contemporary worship songs is certainly not a nourishing worship body. A choir….well trained….is a wonderful tool.

I’m a Worship Leader and also a classically trained soprano. Sometimes i’m asked to do special music in service. Usually it’s a song that doesn’t work for a worship team or congregational singing but enhances the sermon or topic of the day. For example, The Lord’s Prayer, Come Unto Him from The Messiah or How Beautiful by Twila Paris. While i approach these songs with more classical/ solo technique (it’s healthier for my voice anyway), i always also approach these songs as worship, not a performance. I absolutely feel special music can be a wonderful addition to Sunday Service on occasion. I’m Presbyterian snd the congregation sometimes claps after but they've also been clapping after worship team songs that really speak to them so I've been looking at clapping as extension of praise.

Special music is a great tool to use during the transition between worship and preaching . It also offers edification both to the performer and listeners. There are of course cases when there is limited time or something else going on where special music would not be beneficial. Of course it has to be done in a way that gives glory to God and not only the performer. But but I have to say that on a personal level. I enjoy it immensely when I see somebody talented come out and play or saying to the glory of God. It can give spice and a little something extra to make a service special and memorable.

I think there is space for both, there are parts of worship that can support edification many ways. Worship team (or the organist) shoudl lead songs/ hymns, and other music has function---prelude/postlude/transitional/offering/ but I do agree that it must be planned carefully and be connected to the worship service intentionally.

“The Lord gave me a song!” Then He probably doesn’t want it 😬

My 2 cents worth. Special music can be beneficial in the proper context. Having weekly special music for the sake of special music can get to be too performance oriented and humdrum. I do however enjoy a special song that wouldn't work well for congregational singing in a special setting. For example, the Don Fransico song from the 80s, "He's Alive" was very edifying to the congregation at Easter but was not one the congregation could join in with singing. On the Christmas morning service, "Mary did you Know" was edifying. Songs with special meaning and purpose work well in special circumstances. Our church gets people to use their musical gifts regularly by having a monthly "Singspiration". It's kind of an open mic Christian music event with potluck before and music until everyone has sang their last song. People love it and it has become one of our monthly fellowship highlights. Through this, those that want to sing, get the opportunity. I have also used it to bring up future musical ministry leaders. The singspiration is performance type but with no critical feedback. It has also brought new people into the church who started coming for the music, but return on the next Sunday for the praise and worship.

Really thankful that you touched on these questions; very encouraging to know that we're not alone! Been in a new worship leader role for the last two months and these are both issues similar to issues I'm facing right now. Thank you for shedding light on this using wisdom, discernment, and ultimately Scripture. Happy to have joined up in the LWW fam in the last month!

I have a thought regarding both topics that come to mind here. 1. On the special song piece; we are a small church of about 120 people. Our pastor is currently on a 4-month sabbatical and we have several guest pastors speaking throughout the summer. I have had a couple pastors ask me to lead a song or two that is not normally sung by the congregation. As a worship leader, it is my role to support the pastor and the congregation in helping everyone worship to the best of their ability. I first prayed for wisdom and clarity on the songs message. I share the song with the worship team and generally they trust my leadership. I have had congregational members ask for me to play more hymns as we have an aging population, which is fine if it supports the message and allows for open worship for all. 2. The difficult team member is always a challenge. The one thing I didn't hear in this situation is how much prayer was put into this person or what is God teaching through this process? As worship leaders, we are "appointed" by the pastor because they recognize we have a heart for God, for others, and trust that God will lead us as we serve. While respecting the pastor's wishes is crucial to the relationship, God is their "boss" as well. The pastor needs to clearly define what authorities you have as a leader. God will deal with the hearts of all involved and as the leader, if your motivations are purely for building the Kingdom, God will provide an answer. I would encourage this leader who asked this to engage with God in that way.

Please explain within your philosophy, how having a single musician playing music for worship is any different from having a single preacher delivering a sermon? The entire service is worship, not just the music. The congregation is listening to the preacher and (hopefully) still worshipping even though they are not also preaching. Why can they not do the same to music?

Specisl music can be a continuation of worship. It is not always for self promotion. We can agree to disagree tho

Wow, this is rather a dicey topic, As a Worship Leader and Co Music Director, Whoever wants to do a Special Song in Service should come to rehearsal, attend Vision trainings and understand Our Goals as a Church Department and then you can Do a Special Song, If this can’t be done, Well , You are indeed a Performer and well I don’t do Performance here…

The "workaround" situation is such a ministry killer. As an older millennial, I cut my teeth on "leadership, leadership, leadership" skill development. Well - I"m here to say - we need a concerted effort placed on how to improve followership skills.... For real.

Every church movement has its own way of doing meetings, maybe we could call it liturgy, whether formal or informal. It seems to me you are expressing a preference rather than a scriptural imperative. I can see no biblical objection to individual contributions provided it is actually worship.

your videos have truly helped me, im New to MDing and the church im serving are pretty old school. they don't understand the concepts and why we need In ear monitors why we do this ect. but these last couple videos have been very helpful. thanks.

Our church body is very active during praise and worship, up at the front with lifted hands and singing along and that continues during our specials when we have them. Which isn't every service. Then the Worship teams just seamlessly picks it right back up and it still continues until its time to preach. It works well and it keeps things fresh and it seems to really minister not only to the people in the congregation but also to the one singing. I can see where if it was too many it would throw things off and possibly hinder the move of God. We also have a 5th Sunday singing anytime theres a 5th Sunday in a month we have a open mic singing on Sunday night and refreshments in the fellowship hall. Gives everyone who wants to sing an opportunity to. We should definitely do all things decently and in order and that may look slightly different from church to church. Always be led by God.

So you limit special music and by doing so you limit the gifts in your congregation. If people don’t have a safe place to use their gifts they will go elsewhere. Praise and worship is not a show. How will people grow in your church in their gifts? Or do you just pick and choose the people you want to be gifted. I un subscribed you make me feel like you just want to have a show and not much else. Being a leader is about growing people, not just people who look the part ,all need to know how to minister with their gifts.

what is "special" music ?

Wrong! That is a bad attitude toward singers that use solo as a ministry. God does call individual people to ministries such as this, including myself. That is a typical contemporary music worship team, cool, worship leader proud attitude that is not of God!

Special music is over. It is always "performance" that demands an "audience". Worship should be a group of skilled people leading the congregation to "sing praise and worship" to God and as an offering to Jesus. I can't even stand to hear applause and that's why our group never breaks music but transistions in the same key so that it doesn't resemble a performance. Teach your church that worship is NOT the music, but simply a form of a conduit FOR worship.

Who still does “printed” music? Charts are ALL in Planning Center. Get you an iPad and be done with it!