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» Do the fundamental things well
Number 9: Accurate overheads
I remember a moment at church during the last verse of “When I Survey”. Up until that point, the congregation had been in the grip of what can only be described as a glorious moment of reflection upon the sacrifice of Christ… then the final verse came up on the screen:
“Were the whole realm of nature mined
That were an off’ring far too small…”
We all sang the first line with gusto, then a few people stopped singing. Images of bulldozers knocking down rainforests, quarries and bore-holes flashed into our heads. Then a few stifled bursts of laughter erupted. But the moment of reflection was gone. The typo had ruined it.
This is a really simple area, yet we’re constantly finding mistakes, typos and discrepancies between song leaders’ lyrics and the lyrics that appear on the overheads. Sometimes a completely different song pops up on the screen!
It’s the song leaders’ responsibility to check the song sheets or overheads. After all, it's the song leaders up there feeling awkward when their leading bears no resemblance what everyone else is singing! Usually someone who has nothing to do with the music types up the lyrics - the church secretary or the guy that operates Powerpoint. If your secretary is happy copying out lyrics each week, that’s great, but it’s the song leader’s responsibility to check them. Every song, every week! (Just because a song had no typos last week doesn’t mean it will be right for next week.)
If the lyrics are being printed off, they will need to be checked well in advance of the service. If you’re using Powerpoint or some other computer projection, check the slides as you sing the songs during rehearsals.