In chapters 23 and 24 of Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin talks about planned/spontaneous and rooted/relevant. He tells a story about a church he played with in Philadelphia where they wouldn’t practice. It was very free form and they would play pretty much whatever the congregation started singing. Being flexible and being able to go without the flow of a congregation is very important. Knowing that things might not go as planned is important for a good set. He also talks about being rooted and relevant. He tells of a time when he used only scripture when trying to share the word of God. While rooting everything you do in the bible is important, being able to relate the stories from thousands of years ago to today is key. You can use stories from your life, other peoples experiences, or even other quotes/books written by respectable people to aid in a sermon or conversation. You alpo have to keep your sermon rooted in the bible. Starting to far away form the original text can confuse and distort people and the image of God.

I agree with all of the things Kauflin says in these chapters. Being able to be flexible in any worship situation is key. Sometimes you won’t feel ready to move on to the next song. Being able to communicate affectingly with your band using hand signals or subltle movements is essential for changing things up. You also need to make sure you are relevant without straying away from God’s message. Some pastors tend to try to relate stories that don’t really work with the message. Making sure that your overall message isn’t lost in translation is really important.