Spontaneous Worship - Jonathan Helser

Approaching a Spontaneous Moment

• Importance of practicing your instrument and how it can open the atmosphere into a spontaneous moment.

• Being intentional about going after spontaneous moments off the stage. “Your roots are in the secret place.”

• Why Jonathan and his wife Melissa say, “Spontaneity is the reward of preparation.” Jonathan explains, “Spontaneity is the reward of preparation. In the secret place, when no one is there and you’re pouring your heart before the Lord, those moments prepare you for spontaneous moments on stage.”

•  “A lot of times in spontaneous moments, I’m just following His smile. You can feel an invitation, like ‘Come out on the water and see what happens.’” 

• “I always try to get still before the Lord in the morning before a set.”

• “We practice playing our instrument enough so that when we get on stage the Lord plays us.”

Preparing the Band for Spontaneous Moments

• “When planning a set list with key changes between songs, plan spontaneous moments between songs that are in the same key.”

•  “I love when you can make a stadium feel like a living room, and you don’t even notice when the band has moved to the next song.”

• “The greatest musicians are those who know how to listen. They’re listening to what the leader is doing but they’re also listening to what’s happening.”

• “Make room to practice flowing in a spontaneous moment with the band during rehearsal.”

Gaging the Audience During a Spontaneous Moment

• “Are the people following you? In our secret times, we can go wherever we want to go. If I’m losing the people, I’m not doing a great job at leading.”

• “Great leaders know how to keep their eyes on heaven but also keep their eyes on the people.” 

• “As a worship leader, we can get to a place where the people don’t need us to lead them anymore because they’re singing the song that’s inside of them.”

Exclusive Material

• Jonathan shares a secret about the song No Longer Slaves. The part of the song is inserted into this interview. 

• Jonathan discusses one of his favorite spontaneous moments involving Molly Skaggs on keys.