Worship Articles by Stephen M. Newman Pastor of Worship and Arts August 10, 2008

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I remember when I first heard the “Revelation Song” and how I was moved by the simplicity, yet depth, of such a simple worship song. I immediately wanted to introduce the song to our congregation, but I had just begun posting the stories behind our songs (Behind the Praise) on a blogspot and had an idea that I wanted to try out on our people. I posted the story behind the song on the website along with links where people could listen or even watch the song. I then sent out a church-wide email encouraging people to visit the site, read the story, and watch a clip of the song on youtube. I put a note in the church’s bulletin for two weeks encouraging people to visit the site: I also encouraged them to forward the information to many of their friends using it as an outreach tool. Two weeks later we were scheduled to introduce the song on a Sunday

morning. The week before we were to sing the song, I received several emails from church members who weren’t directly associated with the worship ministry stating how excited they were about singing the song in worship on Sunday. One person was bringing a friend who had listened to the song. It was the anticipation hidden in these emails that birthed a new ministry called “Behind the Praise”.

As we moved into the song following a prayer-time, I noticed an immediate connection with a portion of the congregation who usually lagged behind in their participation in learning new songs. I think it was both the growing anticipation, coupled with the familiarity that caused the immediate jump start. We still had those who weren’t able to listen to the song ahead of time, but the number of people who were engaged that Sunday was directly affected by their time spent in preparation.

I started spending time each week researching the songs we were singing and posting it on my blogspot. I’d post information behind the songs, sometimes the lyrics, along with links to where they could listen online or watch on youtube. If I couldn’t find a specific story about the song I’d post interesting

information on the composer or author. I found it helped me personally to prepare for worship and often I could use some of the background information as segues or for ministry moments. For example, the popular song “Everlasting God” was written by Brenton Brown after he and his wife were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Knowing that made the phrase “strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord” come alive for our people especially those who also suffer from some form of illness.

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