Singing Off The Page

Opening Prayer  Time: 00:09-00:20

“Lord we thank You for what You’re teaching us and how we’re growing and we’re all in it together and we pray that we would hear You and know You so clearly. Father, we just love You so much. Amen.”

 

This is for you  Time: 00:23-1:27

 

• “If you are not a singer or a worship leader this is still for you. Because really when we boil this down it’s learning how to partner with the Holy Spirit and what He’s saying, knowing the Father, knowing Jesus, and then making our life be an overflow from that.”

 

Some practicals that Jenn uses on and off stage  Time: 1:28-8:12

 

• One of Jenn’s favorite stories on this is when one of her sons was sitting on the toilet and instead of singing “my soul sings, my soul sings” from the song “My Soul Sings” he was singing “my poop stinks, my poop stinks”. That is an example of the most practical thing that can be done to improve your prophetic singing. “Play a chord progression to an already written song and sing different lyrics to it.” Jenn gets up to show an example of this. She sits down at the keyboard and starts to play some. “Now, if you can start to sing anything that comes to mind to a similar melody you train your brain to be ready to go when the Lord drops something into your spirit. In a set when they feel God wants to do something different Jenn will signal to the band to keep playing the chorus by circling a chorus symbol or to keep playing the bridge by circling the bridge symbol. Then the band will play and Jenn will usually let them go through the first progression so she can get what she’s going to sing, then Jenn will for a moment feel out the room. Jenn was lightly playing the piano while talked about her method and then started to sing outside of a song. This is what she sang: “just rest, you don’t have to do a thing. Just rest.  It’s ok if you’re tired. It’s not about how much you do. It’s just about rest.” “And you just sing out what you’re feeling. And a lot of times before I sing it I’ll sing it to myself [...] a lot of times you’ll see me step back from the mic and I’ll just start to sing even before I step up to the mic so I can really [...] get a grip on what I feel like the Lord’s saying. And sometimes He’ll say “I want you just to sing and you’re not going to know what you’re going to say” and that’s a train reck a lot. But I do it. So step up, and when you feel that moment, you feel the presence of God and you’re leading the band to direct them on which part of the song you want them to play and then just take a minute and sit in it until you feel like you know what you want to say unless God says to be really brave and then just go for it.”

• “Sing alternative lyrics to a song that’s already written to train your brain to know how to sing without having to think about it and secondly, practice. If you play an instrument and you’re going to be spontaneous that’s a whole nother level because you’re going to have to [...] be ready for it. [..] But figure out what works for you and what you do excellently.”

• An example of playing an instrument prophetically is during the time when Jenn sang a line that went “You make me happy” on an old album. In this moment before Jenn had started singing the bass guitarist felt the presence of the Lord and started playing and from there the band came in and went into a chord progression that wasn’t in the song. Both the band and the worship leaders are being sensitive to what God wants to say or do. 

 

Preparing to lead worship on stage  Time: 8:13-13:04

 

• When Jenn steps up on the stage to lead worship she tries to clear her mind of things that are going on in her own life. She tries to come on the staged mentally and emotionally washed so that she can lead people to where God wants to take them.

•  “Sometimes God’s going to have you do a song that doesn’t move you but it’s a song that He wants the people to sing so let’s be open-handed. Even when picking our setlists, that we pick our setlists with just a clear mind.” Ask the Holy Spirit what songs to lead that go past your mind. “So we’re always going to lead the people where He wants to take them not from where we feel.” 

• Jenn will sometimes start the set with a praise song fully about God to help clear her mind. She goes straight into praise and doesn’t try to feel what God is doing in the room right away. “When you just go straight into praise and magnifying the Lord and declaring who He is it puts everything into order.” Cody Carnes’s song “Nothing Else” is a great song that is verticle to Jesus.

• “And I wanna remove from you the pressure to have to feel like you need to sing something prophetically every set. You don’t need that pressure. And there will be times that you will sing a worship set that your song won’t get chosen to even be sung. You’re ok. It’s totally fine. [...] Let it go. It’s fine. Be up there worship Jesus with your whole heart. Give Him everything, have no agenda to where if you don’t even open your mouth you just being on that stage as a vessel of the Holy Spirit, being a worshiper is enough. No agenda. No pressure. I’ve watched people try so hard to get a prophetic song they looked constipated. [..] no. It’s a gift. If He says something to you and it needs to be sung, it’s a gift.” If you felt that there was a theme or something that you never got to that right after worship connect with whoever is closing worship and talk to them about what you were feeling during worship and submit that to them to do what they want with it. It has happened before that what someone was feeling is what the preacher is going to be preaching on that day. “Be connected to your leader.” Bethel encourages the worship leader and the leader closing worship to be checking in with each other because right before the set ends are some of the sweetest moments. 

 

Playing instruments and interactions with the band  Time: 13:06-21:05

 

• “Excellence is really important. ...but Brain says that it’s kinda like going on a vacation. You plan your flights, you book your hotel for where you’re going, but once you get there it’s just [...] like whatever happens happens. [...] you go with the flow. And we kinda have that same mentality with a worship set.” Bethel works really hard at building their setlists. They have found that two of their main drummers are really good a putting together a really good setlist. Find the people on your team who are really anointed at picking what to put on the setlist. “Don’t be the end-all to your set. [...] don’t be a superhero.” Jenn likes superhero movies where they all have to do teamwork because that is what you and your band is like. “You need each other. And the spirit of God’s gonna gives them things that you need and vise - versa.” After picking the songs they feel like God is saying the team is sensitive to what is happening in the moment. Sometimes they will sing a song acapella when it is not on the setlist. If your band does not know a song that you feel that God is highlighting in the midst of a worship set check and see if one of the team members know it, sing the song acapella, or if you are playing an instrument and you know how to play the song then you play it alone. “But wisdom usually says ‘either do it by yourself if you’re feeling it and they haven’t rehearsed it or do it with only the people that you’re sure know it.’”

• When that moment comes Jenn makes it about Jesus forgetting that she is in the room. She puts her focus on the Lord, who He is and blesses Him for that. This helps put emotions in order. Jenn does a mental and emotional dance where she is worshiping God as if no one is in the room and then being aware of what He is doing with people. It is a flow and a connection that Jenn tries to stay in. 

• “Again, there is no pressure for you to sing a spontaneous or prophetic song. Just stay in your lane, sing the song that you feel like you're getting and if there’s something [...] and it needs to come out. And sometimes God’s going to give you things to sing or to say in the spirit that’s not on a microphone.” “You are an intercessor. You are called to feel the voice of God and shift what happens in this room and it doesn’t have to happen over a mic because it’s in the spirit. So watch what God’s leading you to pray. [...] But watch for who God’s highlighting and what the spirit of God’s moving on you [...] to say or to sing on or off the mic in those moments.”

• At Bethel, they co-lead most of the time “because we really believe in the power of co-leading.” There is usually “a main leader, a co-leader, and a BGV.” The main leader will normally be the one to make the calls in the set when making a direction decision checking in with the co-leader. It is not always the main leader that the spirit of God moves on it could also be the BGV. “[...] It’s a dance. Which I’m not a good dancer but it’s about your heart, it’s about just being open and [...] willing to hear and obey what God’s doing.”

• When co-leading it is common to have different visions, vibes, or a word that you feel strongly. In these moments Bethel honors the point.

• “The Bible says that David was skillful on his instrument. And what skillful means is not that he can play technically everything perfect and that’s where it ends it means you can play excellently but you’re so open and pliable to the Holy Spirit that you’re able to play, when David played over Saul I don’t think it was just one worship song I think it was the spirit of God moving him to play. So it’s really important that you play and sing as the Holy Spirit leads you when your not on this stage. Cause it’s like with anything else; what you practice you become great at.” “And the goal is really to move our mind out of the way so that the spirit of God can take the work we put in, take the sacrifice of the hours and hours that we have done this when nobody’s watched, He can take that sacrifice, He can put His fire on it, and His Holy Spirit comes and He can breathe through you. So this [...] gift of prophetic will not come if you’re lazy. You’ve got to steward a gift just like the story of the talents. You’re given more of what you steward. [..] You can plateau in your gift.”

• “[...] many churches are hungry for prophetic singing or maybe the worship team is and a lot of times the main leader is a little hesitant. [...]” Jenn grew up in a church similar to Bethel. She led worship from when she was ten in children's church up through high school until she moved when she was seventeen. After this, she went to the school of ministry at Bethel. That is when she started to co-lead and work with a team on the next level. Growing up her pastor back home never let her lead worship because Jenn doesn’t think that she was ready to lead worship in that setting. There might be someone in your church who is not permitting you to do something. In this case “don’t be mad. Just dig deeper. [...] refine your craft, and once again God will get you where you need to be when you need to be there. [...] serve wherever you can. Just lead where you can, [...] don’t be looking for stages look for where you can serve the body of Christ.” 

 

Connecting with your leadership  Time: 21:06-24:42

 

• Connect with your leader. 

• “A lot of times leaders are very scared but if you sit down with your leader and you say ‘hey, I really want to pastor the church in going to the next level in worship. How could we do that?’” 

• “And build a relationship with your leaders.” Be in it together. 

• It is ok that you aren't able to do it because some people aren’t ready. 

• Boil it down to this question with God: “God, am I called to this church? And your answer is yes then it doesn’t matter what your leader feels is great or not great, you’ve gotta honor your leader.” “Stay in your lane and honor them.” 

• If your leader is not ready for you to sing off the page then get creative. Say that in the middle of a worship set you feel God really strongly on His Love for His people. You could choose to sing “Oh how He loves us” to capture the theme and release that over the room although you can’t sing a prophetic song. P.S. The example of a strong sense of God’s love for His People is very generic. “Sometimes generic is powerful. [...] So no matter what the thing He gives you to sing don’t judge it just do it, get your mind out of the way and obey.” 

• The Bethel worship team has never arrived at the peak of perfection, nor do they view themselves as the best. They are encouraged to be courageous and they totally fail very often. They will totally miss God and they “don’t have it all together.” “The point I want you to hear is: take those risks, step out, practice in your private life with God doing things, hearing Him, and being brave so that when you are put in that moment of leadership it just rolls off.” 

 

Clearing your mind  Time: 24:43-27:00

 

• One thing that can be done to clear your mind before getting on a stage or in daily life is to pray in tongues. It has been proven that praying in tongues quiets the mind more than any other form of prayer because it was a spirit to spirit interaction which is our goal. “God loves your brain, He wants to use your brain, but He doesn’t want your brain to get in the way of what He wants to do.” You want to be “so submitted to the Holy Spirit that your brain submits to the spirit of God as He speaks through you, or dances through you, or whatever it is He is asking you to do. [...] It’s a weapon to shut your mind off and to come into alignment with the Spirit of God.” 

 

Prayer  Time: 27:13-27:35

“So Father I just bless these people. I thank You for what you’re doing and I ask You Holy Spirit just to come now as and sweep over them that You would give them the gift of prophetic singing that You would just give them the gift of being so skillful with discipline that they become pliable to Your Holy Spirit in those moments of leadership.” 

Jenn played piano over the students Time: 27:35-28:49