Can A Genius Replace A Worship Leader?
I’m thinking it may be able to. I say, “it,” and not, “him,” or, “her,” because I’m not referring to a person but rather a piece of technology.
Many months ago Apple introduced a new feature in iTunes called Genius. The (simplified) premise behind this new technology is that iTunes reports your library of songs, artists and albums, along with a record of your listening habits to Apple’s online servers. It sounds big brother-ish but really the goal is that when this information is collected en masse it allows Apple to analyze and build associations between songs based on the collective listening habits of… everyone.
I’ll admit I’m a bit late to the game. I never actually tried out the Genius feature when it was first introduced. I decided lately to give it a shot. What did I find?
The Genius was able to take the song I had selected, Starfield’s I Will Go, and build a list of 25 songs from artists in my library. The result? I had a playlist that started with some great rock songs that eventually progressed into those famous “transitional” songs worship leaders like to use. Of course, no worship set would be complete without the obligatory finale ballads.
What about those times when the Spirit of God moves after the worship leader finishes his or her last song and all of sudden we feel drawn into a state of majestic worship with songs that cannot be described as up-beat nor slow, but rather as intense and powerful? Genius has you covered. My playlist wrapped up with just those songs.
Eerie? Maybe. Perhaps the Spirit of God moves through my iPhone.
Facetiousness aside, the playlist was well put together. The accuracy of the playlists does seem to reinforce that human beings are creatures of habits. The beauty of Apple’s implementation is that as time goes on the lists will only ever get more accurate and better-suited to the style you want to listen to.
So can a Genius replace a worship leader?
Heh, no. Of course not. But if you’re a musician on a worship team it will definitely get you a song list sooner! 
So when will they come out with a Genius sermon maker. Click on all the books you’ve read and, voila, you have a sermon series on the topic with illustrations and all. Now that would be funky technology!
Good commentary. Genius hasn’t impressed me much in my world. Perhaps it’s just what I have in my iTunes.
I have tried Genius a few times. I enjoyed it most times when I pick a worship song. However, from a worship leader’s perspective it’s not as good as a heart/spirit-generated song list. And from a musician’s stand point, it doesn’t really take into consideration “musical flow” either.
In my iTunes library, the new “Genius Mixes” isn’t a big seller for me. It chooses music from several different artist in the same style, but it seems to have too broad a genre for my liking. It starts off with some worship music, then play little bit of Switchfoot, and last, but not least, some Plus One (yes, the good ‘ole days) – all in the same playlist. It’s good if you’re in a random mood, but if you’re looking for some solid song choices that are similar – I wouldn’t use it.
LOL.. Yeah I hear you Dave. Genius would be great tool for worship leaders if you could type a couple of key words and select a genre. I haven’t heard one worship yet at Southridge that wasn’t somehow related to the message. I lead worship once in a while for Celebrate Recovery. The last song on my list is required to be related to the message in one way or another. Then I am required to have a response song ready.
Still, to be totally honest “those times when the Spirit of God moves”, I have yet to see a service where the Spirit of God moves and had anything to do with the “leader” or the “list” but it had everything to do with the response to the call to worship from those who were worshiping.
This is just my opinion, but You could sing “Ring Around The Rosy” and the spirit of God would move mountains if the response is there. From a biblical standpoint the act of singing to God with songs/music is merely an expression of worship and not it self worship to God, so ironically the iTunes Genius by it self would work just as well as Darlene Zschech if His people respond to the call to worship.
Your servant,
Don
“Being a servant won’t make most people famous, but it will produce great character in those who are in it for the long haul, and great character is a greater reward than fame.” – Anonymous Joe.