This is the third time I have written this issue’s Drop. Every time I write it, I read it over and decide that I should go somewhere a little different. My Drop for you this month is some ideas on choosing records that can be used for DJ led worship as well as actually leading worship. I kind of feel unqualified to do it, but I really feel that God wants me to write about it. So, because most of these ideas are untested, I’m simply going to talk about what I look for in music for DJ led worship as well as some ideas for actually leading.

But first, I think you should get a little background. A lot of you may know me, but I would say not many really know why I DJ and my ideas concerning it. Basically I spin for the sole purpose of worshipping God. I don’t do it just for fun (even though it is) or for recognition. Recently, I have been spinning at my youth group just getting them an idea of what Djing really is and such. One night, after we did worship, God just gave me a track list and said, “Go and spin those records.” So I did. I must say; it was one of the most intense worship sessions I have ever had. I no longer even prefer to call myself simply a DJ, I want to call myself a worship DJ, because that is what I want to do with my talents.

That out of the way, I’m just going to, first, give you a list of things I look for in records. Then I’ll give you some ideas on how to use those.

What I look for in a record:

1. I have to like the song itself. Its obvious, I won’t play a record that I don’t like. So I have to like it first.
2. Is it lyrically sound? If there is any question in the lyrics, I won’t consider using it. Same thing applies to samples. The idea is to make sure that nothing to distract someone worshiping.
3. If there is no lyrics or samples, is the music have the right “vibe” I have listen to records before and, I don’t know why, but they just didn’t feel like something you could worship to. Keep an eye out for that.

How I look for those records:

1. I searched www.dancerecords.com. I have gone there and complied a pretty good-sized list of records that I thought were good to use for worship.
2. Just search using keywords like “God” and “Jesus”. I’m sure you will find some records that would work. When I went to dancerecords.com I found about 100 hits for the keyword “God” alone. Most are not appropriate, but I would say about 25%-30% could be used.

Ideas on how to use:

NOTE: These ideas are ideas for use in a younger crowd, late teens early twenties. So it may not work for older/younger crowds.

1. Just remember that probably 50% of the records that can be used for worship (vocal stuff, not necessarily sample stuff) will have a line or two that can be taken 2 different ways. The way you want the people to take it (the one that points to God) and the way the producer probably meant it (the one that points to sin more then likely). Because of this, you have to control how the people take it. We all know that DJs control the mood and such of a crowd in clubs, we can do the same to keep the peoples eyes on God.
2. Go multimedia. Use things like projectors to control how the music is presented. Kind of building off of #1 here, if there is a part in a record that can go both ways. Use a projector to make the people take it the God way. One of the better examples I can think of is “Go with the Sun” by DBA. If you take and make it “Go with the Son”, it can be used really well. So keep your eyes out for different ways to use different forms of media to keep the people focused on God.
3. Have a few strong Christians on stage to quote Scripture, pray, or speak out as the Lord calls them during the set. I know it’s a taboo to have a guy talking over your set. But just remember, if you’re up there to lead worship, it’s not about your set. It’s about God. This can be really powerful when they are all doing it in the Spirit.
4. Have a really good keyboard player on ready. If the Lord wants to go to slower, quiet type worship, you can switch gears and have the keyboard go ambient.
5. Have a band on standby as well. God may call you to go to that type worship.
6. This is the most important tip. Be in a constant state of worship while you are leading. This is for a number of reasons. The first is that, from my experience, you can hear God speaking directions clearer. This will help you flow in the Spirit. The second is that when people see you worshipping it sets a mood and they may find it easier to enter into worship.

And now for the fruits of my searching: the list. My original list was about twice as long. But I trimmed it for a number of reasons. Mostly because I felt I should concentrate on only vocal tracks or tracks with samples. So every track listed has one of the two.

But do not disregard instrumental tracks. They can be awesome when used at the right time. Just remember, to find Christian records you just have to look.

Sample Tracks that Could be Used for Worship Events