Immersion Worship

Here’s this week’s Sunday Setlist, part of Fred’s Sunday Setlist Carnival.

1. Song of Hope (Robbie Seay Band)
2. I Cry Out (Me)
3. Giver of Life (Tim Hughes)
4. Hungry (Kathryn Scott)
5. Better Is One Day (Matt Redman)

We’re still in ‘unplugged’ mode since we haven’t yet replaced everything that was stolen. Last week we rented some gear for a special outreach Sunday and we had a full band, but this week, and for the next few weeks, we’re back to our ‘unplugged’ band. This consists of two acoustic guitars, an upright bass, some percussion (a djembe and a couple of congas that my drummer hated but I made him play them anyway), and two backing vocals. It’s funny; the general consensus in the church is that the ‘unplugged’ style is more popular and more inviting as a worship experience. What I’ve learned over the last couple of weeks, though, is that it’s not the sound or style of music, it’s the closeness and intimacy of the band to the congregation. It makes a big difference, and I’m going to be doing some strategic thinking in the near future on how I can grab that dynamic and make it work with a full band. We’ll see.

Back to this week, though, and it was a genuinely a service of two halves. The first set was brutal; the congregation was largely unresponsive and it felt like a real battle to get people to follow the team in offering praise to God. Some Sundays are just like that though, and I’m not going to fall in to the game show host trap.

Song of Hope and Giver of Life sounded great, as did I Cry Out. I Cry Out is a song that I wrote a few months ago and has appeared on the set list a few times in the last couple of months, and out of all the songs in the first set, I think that’s the one the congregation seemed to latch on to the most. It’s encouraging as a song writer to see that happen, but it’s so humbling at the same time to know that God used me to create something for the church. I can’t wait until we’re full band again to really rock it out.

The second set was highly responsive. Scott finished off the ‘UnChristian‘ series, and we launched in to Hungry and Better Is One Day. I enjoy doing those slightly older tunes because most people know them and less eyes are fixed on the giant screen above my head.

It was encouraging to see more new faces there today, and I got to meet a couple of first timers as well as a couple of people who have been there for the last few weeks but I hadn’t had the opportunity to say hi to.

Next week I have a week off, as I have the important and non-negotiable task of being at a noon kick-off for LA Galaxy’s last home game of the season (don’t look at my so holy, at least I’m honest!), so my buddy Trent Covey from Terra Nova Church is coming in to lead worship with the rest of my band. The next month should be great, though, as we kick of ‘One Month To Live‘

How did your Sunday go?