Setlists...Part 1

As a staff member of a church, my job is multi-faceted. At any given time, I'm expected to know first-hand how to edit video, fix any and all computer/audio/video equipment, play any song out of the hymn book, plan sermons, stick to a budget, be on-call and generally perform other feats of similiar magic.

While there's something cooking in my head about the role of "full-time" staff members, that's not really the focus of this particular blog, which happens to be the first article-esque thing I've written in some time.

I've tried very hard to protect the one aspect of my job that can so easily get pushed aside - the preparation of what we call "setlists," which essentially means the songs we're playing on a given Sunday. Knowing how difficult it is to make time for set building, I can certainly sympathize with the worship leaders I know who struggle to find time to give a set the time it deserves. Here's what I think - and how I do - sets.



SET DAY
I must have "set day." For me, "set day" is Tuesday, and while set building certainly doesn't take all day, I usually love Tuesday because I know I've got a full day to think through different options. Here's how it usually works.

1. At some point Tuesday morning, I'll start writing down ideas. Our service follows a relatively consistent order, so I pretty much know where all the songs are going to go. Typically during in this time, I'll have a few specific things on my mind.

• The first, most important thing I'm going to consider is the thematic push of the service. On almost every week, I'll know at least the scripture text we'll be using. If I've been very involved in sermon planning, I might also know what sort of specific direction the sermon is going. Regardless, I try to think of tunes we know that are going to support the ideas presented in the scripture.


• I'd love it if every song worked perfectly with scripture, but that ends up being quite a search, especially for those of us leading services that are singing more "modern" songs.


• My preference is that at least 2 of our songs line up closely with the text. I like to think we can survive with just 1, but to me, that feels a bit off, as if we just threw in a themed song to keep up appearances.

2. I'll start writing out sets, thinking about transitions (musical, spoken, otherwise.) At this point, I'll start thinking about new songs. If I've taught something new in the previous couple of weeks, I'll see if I can keep it in the set. Occasionally, I'll find a new song that works great with our theme and will try to organize the set so that it builds to that song. (Where the song comes off more like a supporting "solo" to emphasize a point.) It usually takes me two or three tries to find a setlist I like, but once I do, I get to work.

3. I then will open our "praiseteam" page on the church's website where I'll link chord charts and mp3s for our band members. I'll also then burn 5 or 6 CDs for the band. I'd love it if I could only do ONE of those things, but I find my band is way more prepared when I provide multiple ways to access the songs during the week.

For me, "set day" is the highlight of my week. Truth be told, it's often the one day I feel like I'm getting to what I actually set out to do with my life.

So...do YOU have a "set day?"