My role at LifeWay Worship gives me the unique opportunity to see and hear about what many different churches are doing in their worship and music ministries. Granted, most of what I experience happens in Southern Baptist churches, but more and more I see other evangelical churches and I have an observation to share…
The people in our churches aren’t singing anymore – not really.
To be sure, there are many churches that have congregations singing with enthusiasm, but generally speaking, our people do not sing like their parents and grandparents did. And even worse, the leaders of those churches don’t seem to know it. Let me explain.
In many of our churches today our worship has become very produced with visual enhancements and top sound re-enforcement. That’s not a bad thing – it fact it can be a great thing! But when the stage lighting effects dominate the experience, the leaders on stage cannot even see the faces of their congregation. It amuses me when a leader has to put his hand over his eyes to try and see his people. Hello? Is something wrong here? Add to that a highly produced sound mix with in-ear monitors and a full stage mix in the floor monitors, and, well, they can’t hear them either.
So, if we cannot see or hear the congregation, how would we know that the people have stopped singing? It would do any pastor or worship leader a world of good to spend a service just watching the people. They might be surprised – and disappointed.
I have several theories as to why many churches have stopped singing. This is my very subjective opinion – or as I say sometimes, my humble opinion which, of course, I highly regard. I’ve even made a suggestion or two after each one.
They are not singing because:
They don’t know the song.
I love new songs as much as anyone else. As a matter of fact, I believe it is Biblical to integrate new songs into our worship. As we grow in our faith and mature in our worship expressions, new songs find their way into our worship and bring new clarity to our faith. But, in many churches, there is such a focus on the latest new song that the familiar is overlooked. People like to sing songs they know and songs that resonate with them. I recommend using new songs, but slowly and deliberately. By the time a worship leader brings a new song to the church, he or she will have lived with it for weeks and grown in their familiarity with it. The worshippers in our churches should have the same opportunity before springing it on them on a Sunday morning.
They can’t sing the song.
The single most common concern voiced to me these days is that the songs we sing are too high for the congregation. Do people sing lower than they used to? I suspect not. I think the problem rests in the way a song gets to the church these days. Many songs go straight from the Christian artist’s recording to the worship service. Often the key sung by the artist translates right into the arrangement sung by the church. And very often it just doesn’t work. (Non-musicians bear with me as I talk a little shop here.) The melody is often in the upper register of the tenor voice which makes it too low for sopranos. So they are forced to sing alto (something they don’t like to do), or sing in their upper register (watch out if you’re sitting in front of them!) or, sadly, drop out. Bass lines are out of style, too, so right off the bat half of our people are out of luck. Worship leaders should guard against putting songs in their own power range and think more about how (and if) the congregation can sing it.
Do people sing lower than they used to? I suspect not. I think the problem rests in the way a song gets to the church these days.
But it goes deeper than key. Often newer songs have rhythms that don’t lend themselves to congregational singing and rather than struggle, the worshipper will just quit. They may love the song – they just can’t sing it – especially if they barely know it. As they become more and more familiar with a song, they can handle harder rhythms. But we often don’t give them a chance before moving on to a new song. If a certain song is vital to the worship because of a unique message you might make an exception and use the song. But the reason many of our people have stopped singing is these type songs have become the rule in many places.
Another reason they can’t sing the song is one of the few downsides of the PowerPoint generation of worship practice. They may never see the notes to a song and be forced to pick it up over time by rote. Problem is, by the time they catch on to it, the worship leader again, has moved on to new songs and no longer sings the one they struggled to learn for some time. (By the way, there are many positives PowerPoint has brought to our worship too!)
They can’t hear the room singing.
This may one of the most important observations so far. The typical person in the pew is not in love with their own voice. But if they can be part of something larger, where their individual voice is not distinguishable they will sing their hearts out. In today’s rhythm driven worship so dependent on sound reinforcement the decibel level often gets pretty high. When that happens the individual worshipper can hear only two things – the sound coming through the system and their own voice. They cannot hear the sound of the congregation singing – the part they can “hide” their voice inside. So, they stop singing.
The typical person in the pew is not in love with their own voice.
There certainly are times when the volume in an exciting energetic service can get on the loud side. The problem comes when it is constantly at that level. If the individual cannot hear the whole room singing, they will feel like they stick out – in fact, they do stick out to themselves. And that is the average worshipper’s worst nightmare and happens when the sound is too loud, especially if the band, choir, and vocal team are blaring.
Occasionally I am asked what a church can do to improve their congregational participation. If I could only make one suggestion it would be this – turn your sound down and sing with a variety of accompaniments (including a cappella). Let your congregation “win” when they sing and watch their confidence (and their singing) get better and better.
They think they are not expected to sing or needed in the worship.
I’ve been to many churches where everything about their worship space – lighting, sound, and stage scream loudly, “We don’t expect you to participate – sit back, relax, and enjoy your worship ride.”
How does that happen? When your congregation is sitting in the dark, and the performers on stage are in the latest theatrical lighting effects, you are saying to them they have come to watch something. So, that’s what they will do. I like the atmosphere lighting can provide – but be careful here. What does your stage arrangement say about what you expect your congregation to do? If they are sitting in the dark in a theatre type room with a blacked out ceiling and tour-like stage lighting affects, singing songs they don’t know, accompanied by a loud, artistically styled mix of sound, and a feature “artist” throwing in every vocal lick under the sun, well… you get the point, they are not going to sing – because, in their hearts, they know you don’t want them to.
They smell a rat. Okay, here’s where I start meddling. The reason I’m so passionate about this point is that in one season of ministry I was guilty of this attitude and here it is: I had an agenda.
I had to be broken before I learned that you cannot plan and lead worship with an agenda. And my agenda was that I had come to rescue the church from their traditional worship. I was “transitioning” them to more current styles of music and more contemporary responses of worship. Every Sunday, every song, I was training them to worship the way I thought they were supposed to worship – with the music I liked and the energy I thought we had to have. I thought if I could “do my thing” that God would show up and vindicate my leadership. Then they would crown me savior of the church and declare a feast in my honor.
I had to get to the place where I realized God had not called me to lead worship – I was called to lead people.
When people didn’t like something, I wrote it off as their problem and declared that they just didn’t “get it.” I justified that attitude by explaining I couldn’t be bothered with the “nay sayers.” I was focused and so I continued my quest of changing the music style of the church. I was in a battle and I was going to win! And let me tell you from experience, people will not follow a leader with an agenda like that one. And trust me on this, they will smell that rat every time.
I had to get to the end of myself before I realized that I couldn’t simply lead a church through a musical change and accomplish worship. I had to become a spiritual leader, one that had spiritual credibility, and not a spoiled musician that would write off any person that didn’t get the groove. I had to serve people and take extra care with those who were struggling with new songs and new worship experiences. I had to get to the place where I realized God had not called me to lead worship – I was called to lead people. I had to die to my “bag of tricks” and start praying and leading with a spiritual focus. I had to start building bridges and climbing walls – I even had to blow up a few walls that I’d built myself.
They will never say it this way – but people in a church can tell when their leaders are taking them somewhere they are not sure they want to go. They can smell a rat. And if you have that agenda, no matter how noble what you are doing may seem, you will not be leading God’s people. You’ll only be leading a cause.
So just what does this cost us?
I heard someone say recently, “What difference does it make? Do people really have to sing in order to worship? Why can’t the singers sing, and everyone else just listen and worship?” From this line of thinking we could easily get to the place of saying that non-participation in corporate worship is not a hindrance to the worship experiences of a church. But is that true?
And passive worshippers, I’m afraid, leave our buildings Sunday after Sunday to live as passive Christians in a world that desperately needs them to be anything but passive.
I would suggest that losing this time honored part of church practice has cost us far more than we realize. The Bible clearly describes two types of worship experiences for the believer – private and corporate. No matter what is happening on the stage, the individual can worship in a corporate setting even if the body as a whole is not participating, that’s for sure. But I fear when we create a passive environment in corporate worship where the only expected response from the whole is to listen, then we lull our people into being passive about all the aspects of the corporate experience including how they listen, and most alarming of all, how they respond to the call of God on their lives. And passive worshippers, I’m afraid, leave our buildings Sunday after Sunday to live as passive Christians in a world that desperately needs them to be anything but passive.
But in those places where the entire congregation is active in every regard in the corporate experience, they hear more, express more, and understand more about what God is saying and expecting in response. And I’m convinced they respond more to Him and His call on their lives. And when it’s over they are more encouraged and ready to engage a world that desperately needs to know the unique nature of our Lord, the One we worship, Jesus Christ. Isn’t that the goal of the corporate worship event?
Summary
So, if you ask me, turn up the lights, and turn down the sound – pick songs and hymns that proclaim God’s truth and reveal the character of Jesus Christ. Use resources that let the people excel in their corporate expression of praise and not just fit the style and strengths of your artistry. And don’t waste energy trying to embrace a demographic of people when all you really need to do is embrace Jesus. The styles and trends of the culture where you live will take care of themselves if you will do that one thing.
And serve your people – love them, let them lead you, and you will slowly earn the right to lead them. Pray about everything and ask God to change hearts, starting with yours. Jesus modeled it perfectly – he started where people were and showed great patience as He served them and put their needs above His own.
God help us – and may His church start singing again.
This is a great article!! We winter in TX and the church we go to stands for 30 minutes , singing off of a screen, and the songs are new to us. I am an alto and need the NOTES to sing the songs.
I have decided this year I am not going to church until 11:30 . I love the sermons but my attitude for church rapidly gets down the minute they start singing.
Another thing not brought up-These little chourus do not have the powerful messages the old hymns have and I can only repeat a phrase so many times in a song!!
Mike,
Thank you so very much! Great article – timely – desperately needed in a large percentage of today’s churches. Most all of your comments were spot on!
Too many pastors, worship leaders and tech people tend to follow the trends of the biggest, greatest, latest, newest – cutting edge just to impress, just so their ministry or maybe their church can stay the flavor of the month among Christians and all those seekers rushing their doors.
If you are of a certain age or above – then forget about singing anything you may be even vaguely familiar with or be able to sing with any fervor or joy. If the song is 3 years old then it’s probably very old and outlived its usefulness.
Many have faced this battle and it doesn’t seem to have made church or worship any better – even the younger ones really don’t sing as well as their parents and grandparents did.
I am a worship leader who believes if there is no message with singable/memorable melody and lyrics that reach the heart – then all we have is a bunch of noise put on by the “stars” on staff.
You are correct THEY ARE NOT SINGING ANYMORE,
As a non-paid worship leader in a small congregation I constantly take time to prepare each weeks song service to include different styles of music; hymns, choruses, praise songs, gospel songs, anything that will reach someone in the congregation. I know that music touches people differently and I don’t want to leave anyone out. There are times when I think we had a great service, then the next week it seems like no one, of any particular age, is singing. They are just observing. It is discouraging to think that what you work so hard to do, to bring them to the foot of the cross, is not appreciated or that it matters that much to be God’s people singing together. I do think it is a sign of the times that if folks can rent movies and not have to leave their homes then they don’t have to put the effort into being with others to enjoy a movie. So they come to church expecting the music to entertain them, but if they would remember that GOD is the audience and we should be doing the praising!! I pray for revival in our churches.
Why, cut my legs off and call me Shorty! After decades of ‘seeker’ and ‘culturally oriented’ and ‘post-modern’ churches (and the publishers and vendors who sold them stuff) deliberately pushing fourth-rate theology set to fifth-rate music, promoting technology-driven Sunday mornings, removing the hymnal from the pew, and never ever advocating for music and worship education within the walls of the church—a Christian music industry publishing exec notices that people have ceased to sing in church. And their commitment to congregational life and faithful living seems to have waned as well.
I’m shocked. Stunned. Gobsmacked.
It’s why I departed Southern Baptist/Evangelical life nearly a decade ago. The signs of decay had manifested, and everyone was having too much fun to notice that things were coming unwound. The shuttering of the School of Church Music at Southern was just one inevitable result of a lot of deliberate decisions made throughout the Convention and its publishing arm.
I now sit in a nice, boring, non-seeker, non-post-modern church that has windows. And a pipe organ. And coherent sermons. And a congregation that sings, with a robed choir that sings the heart of the anthem at offertory.
They never have enough parking on Sunday morning, and the parishioners take on the world as Christians with relish every week.
I write these thoughts, knowing with full confidence they will never publish here.
Good luck, and God bless. You may want to take a look at the McKinney and Sims hymnals as you ponder what to do next.
Mike, wow…
You have stated so well, so plainly, “yea verily” biblically what I have been trying to do in my little church — get back to true corporate worship, being active worshippers. Also, I’ve have been talking about that with music students and music faculty at NOBTS — and we all seem to be in agreement, even those who do prefer a more contemporary approach in worship style.
I teach rapid reading and part of the instruction is getting people to become active readers (mentally prepared, mentally engaged) — it is only when they reach that point that they can begin add comprehension and retention to their increased speed. And how true that is with worship — people have to come prepared, be engaged in order to be part of the corporate experience and really “get” from God as they “give” in worship.
Let’s get and keep this before God’s people before irreparable damage is done in any church. After all, it only takes one compromised beam in a house to weaken the whole structure.
Blessings abundant & thanks!
thanks for articulating the deep feelings alot of us have. i love the majority of new songs extant but we should be careful they are singable and are presented carefully and thoughtfully.
i am especially proud of the way LifeWay has produced the new versions of old worship songs as found on the website and the contemporary hymn collection just published.
The amount of corporate involvement in worship is often determined by our decisions concerning music selection and presentation.
Wow… thanks to everyone for the comments. When I read your observations, my thoughts go to a request right at the end of my article: pray about everything and ask God to change hearts, starting with yours.
I’m glad the article has struck such a chord with you. Please feel free to share it with your friends and your pastors (not that those are necessarily different!)
Interesting….
When I started doing contemporary worship, I didn’t get the concept of contrast very well (plus I had a Sr. Pastor who repeatedly wanted everything “up” and said “NO DIRGE-Y SONGS”)
Now I will actually bring the band down and see if we can hear the people singing – especially if it is a song that is well-known. I do this in the traditional service too – Often I’ll almost completely drop out on the organ and let people sing acapella… it is so cool when that works (and it usually does!) I also only use one ear of the in-ear monitors so that I can still get a sense of the crowd dynamics.
*****
I am faced with opposing ideas from people who give me feedback…. I’ll get one set of folks complaining that we do some songs too much, they want all the “new” stuff they are singing on the radio… and another set who complain that we don’t do the songs enough for them to know them well. Some want it harder, more rock and roll, some want it more acoustic and Celtic, some want full brass and praise choir, others want….
Sheesh. Well, you get the point.
Planning and leading worship is no longer simple (especially for those of us who do multiple styles) – there are so many ways to go and such varied tastes.
One thing I resonate with though is your statement “don’t waste energy trying to embrace a demographic of people when all you really need to do is embrace Jesus”. The common ground I see in churches that are succeeding is a staff/leadership that is surrendered to God, loving the people and a congregation who has followed that example. Regardless of your style, if those are your foundations you will touch lives.
May we all have enough humility to follow where God leads rather than where we think the church ought to go.
Grace and Peace,
Great stuff. I have been teaching this now for years, but it is great to have it so wonderfully articulated and reinforced by a godly musician in a position that to whom so many will listen. Thanks, Mike. Blessings. Please know that we are praying for you.
Love it! You really hit the nail on the head. Thanks for articulatingso transparently what we all understand in our hearts!
Very interesting article, with many good points mentioned. I found it particularly sad/revealing/tiring(!) to once again hear the altar area referred to as the “stage”. I hear this term used more and more, as if we are, in fact, sitting in a theater, “watching” a show.
Maybe it would help if a few more people remember that they are not on stage performing, but rather leading worship in a sacred place.
Most new songs gleaned from the popular arena, whether it be gospel or pop tend to lie in the lower chest registers. So, I believe as a professor of voice and choir that this is why people often do sing lower than before. I am particularly speaking of women. Many women never sing in head register anymore. This is because the music they listen to avoids head voice. An example is Celine Dion. She makes it look like it is high, but if you go to the piano, you discover that her so-called high notes are mezzo. The only pop singer I know who sings high is Mariah Carey and that tone seems to emulate a whistle. On the other hand, many men have no trouble with highs because the music they listen to often lies high. We sing what we hear. I have to spend a lot of time with my sopranos teaching them head voice. Many say they are altos, but that defies natural tendencies.
I can hear the frustration in everyone’s comments and even in your blog, Mike. I feel your pain and have experienced the bumps along the road in the worship “industry” (for lack of a better word). I’ve been leading worship for a multi-cultural, multi-generational, multi-economical congregation and I have on more than one occasion felt tempted to ramp up the “show” or “new” in our music. People stop singing if they feel they’re being entertained. Period. We can’t lay blame at the church though, for it’s the way of our society now.
I’m still trying to find my way each week, each month, each year. It is my opinion that as worship leaders we have the obligation to bring the congregation to different arenas of worship. If we only sang one style of song every single week then when we hear a truly anointed song that is in different form from our standard we will tend to shut it down.
What’s that phrase, moderation is key? We have to find the right balance between styles, not just so we can please everyone (for as one commenter stated, they have a plethora of requests that will never converge), but so we can use the music to truly worship and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ. A song can have a line sung over and over, like “You are worthy.” You may not know how that act of repetition might sit with someone who is facing loss and pain. To repeatedly tell God that He is worthy despite our pain and suffering can bring tremendous breakthroughs.
It’s the balancing act to find music that joins together to create the atmosphere for worship. You basically summed it up in stating our need to pray and seek God. There is a time for the quiet, there is a time for the explosive, there is a time for candlelight, there is a time for smoke machines (hey, I’m no bore!). Each church will be different and we can’t expect to be like another, so find what God is saying to YOUR local church and run with that.
Abundant Blessings in Christ,
– Vicki
Please hear this as more of a question and thoughtful alternative behind our churches not singing:
Some say that our churches aren’t singing anymore because they’ve become cultural “bastions of boredom”. Where once the Church was the epicenter of creativity and the arts, this has long since been replaced by mere reproductions of of ‘the worldly’, made pure and palatable for predictable, programmed tastes.
While this has been a slow death, it’s been made more evident by the explosion of the Internet and social technologies that are connecting distant communities and allowing us to see what’s happening beyond our hometown on a regular basis.
More on these thoughts from Dr. Leonard Sweet at TheWorkOfThePeople’s site: http://tinyurl.com/LenSweetBoredom
Too many of the comments are “anti-style” concerning music and worship. I’ve seen this in all (both?) styles of worship. Also, I notice that we don’t sing for FUN, in community settings, as our parents and grandparents did. Karaoke sure, but not together. Some of you will laugh at me, but one thing I blame is American Idol. It has polluted our way of thinking about music and singing, and the message they give us week after week is “no, Dawg, don’t sing. Singing is not for you…”
Also I want to point out, concerning the contemporary styles, that the way a congregation learns a song now (the intricate rhythms especially) is by hearing it over and over on the radio. So in that sense it makes sense that contemporary worship would use whatever songs are current on the airwaves.
My AGENDA as a music/worship leader is the postmodern one: there are things of value to be found in all music: ancient, future, familiar, unfamiliar. Let’s explore! But my frustration is that congregations are not as open and accepting and excited as I am. “That was pitchy, Dude…”
Here is a link to an address given back in 1999 to the national gathering American Choral Directors Association. In my opinion, it remains one of the most spot-on addresses I’ve ever heard on the foundation for music-making in a worship context:
http://www.worshipinfo.com/materials/best1.htm
This is such a fascinating discussion, but interestingly, not a new one. The music of the church has been a subject of conversation and debate for decades. In my travels, I picked up a little red book entitled “Church Music Manual” by W. Hines Sims, Secretary, Church Music Dept, Baptist Sunday School Board in 1957. I found his comments in the chapter about congregational activities interesting and applicable today.
“Congregational singing is the very heart of the church music program. It is a part of the service in which each member can and should participate. It reflects the enthusiasm of the people for their God, their church, and their program for carrying out the divine commission. [It] is the only part of a worship service in which all may join hear and voice in praise, adoration, and personal testimony. It constitutes the only act of worship which we are sure we shall take to heaven. Surely singing is more that duty or obligation. It is the scriptural privilege of every person redeemed by the blood of the One who sang as He left the upper room. How can a Christian refrain from singing at every opportunity – with joy, enthusiasm, and a feeling of thanksgiving for a marvelous Savior?”
Ours is a singing faith. I don’t think it’s about what’s new or what’s old, but what is the best way for this congregation to express their faith through song today, in this service, with these scripture readings, with this sermon. Let us be good stewards of the gift of music and seek that balance that calls us all to lift our hearts in song.
To be continued, I’m sure…
Laurie B.
Amen! Especially the part about range; I’m a soprano who only wants to sing alto or tenor if the choir is short-handed. Some of the new stuff is good, but I simply cannot sing it in the original key and neither can anyone else.
Keep preaching!
Yes, we don’t sing quite as high as we used to.
And Yes!, many “leaders” choose key based on the original recording, or the chart they use is based on same, and therefore it’s too high. Or they pick they key based on what they can PLAY most easily. Of course, this is nothing new, the “wonderful” BH has for decades done things in a tad “leftist” (on the 5th circle) because most pianists prefer 4 flats to 3 sharps, & c. Why this is such an issue today when Kyser makes such a wonderfully useful quick-change capo for guitar is a little puzzling.
Yes, we don’t sing as a culture. Again, this is news? Arts programs aren’t what they were … the pressure to conform arts teaching to cultural models is colossal and palpable. Of course, the entire culture is dying a slow death. No shocker there, but it’s very disheartening. And while it’s certainly interesting to wonder whether American Idol is much to blame, I couldn’t care less about that.
I see 3 reasons why congregations don’t sing:
1. They aren’t saved!!!!
2. We don’t care if they DO … (‘cuz if we did, we’d not make some of these mistakes)
3. There’s little positive reinforcement at all if they do, as most of their attempt end in degrees of “phail” (which encompasses most of what we see here … bad keys, barely ‘singable’ melodies in many tunes, the “concert”/presentation atmosphere, elitist tendencies in the “leaders”, arrogant guitarists, finicky keyboardists, deaf drummers and incompetent or harassed sound technicians).
But I think we forget that MUSIC IS NOT WORSHIP.
Here’s a plan. Go out, and sing a loud raucous worship song. Finish up by smashing a couple of cheap guitars, maybe lighting one or attempting to, and, if your room is small enough, pull the plug on everything sound related, and the stage lights as well.
After people pick their jaws up off the floor, remind them that music doesn’t equal worship AT ALL, and that worship is a response to who God is that doesn’t have a lot to do with music in and of itself, but that music is just a tool that we use to express our feelings of worship, and words that have meaning to us about Him, and remind ourselves and others of spiritual truths.
Challenge them to WORSHIP by reading Psalms aloud, praying, giving from their substantial incomes to people who are in need, refraining from sins of all types as much as possible, sharing the Gospel with their own stories of the Lord’s redemption in their lives, and with their hearts, in “love and in deed” (I John 3:18, isn’t it?) Tell them to “humble themselves under the Lord, that He may lift them up…”
Then, tell them that when they are ready to really worship Jesus without any lights, without any “music” or people on the stage, you MIGHT just let the praise team lead “worship” again. Maybe.
I recently visited a church in Texas that had a very well produced music portion of their services and they began by telling us to sit back and enjoy the music. I looked around and most people were doing the same thing I was: chatting and/or playing on their phones or staring blankly into space.
I am a church musician who grew up in SBC churches, was educated in SBC instutions of higher learning, and worked in SBC churches for many years. However, I am now serving a different denomination because as a woman, I had a VERY difficult time being anything other than organist or church secretary in a Baptist church. That being said, I worship with my mother in an SBC church, and my constant concern over the years has been those projected WORDS with no music attached. The comments I’ve read already about how the singing schools were started in churches, and how we are losing our congregations’ abilities to read music show me that I am not alone in my wish that we’d bring back the hymnals — and the HYMNS! Thanks!
I would tend to agree. I lead worship with a praise team. Our Church is now about 50 people or so. We have no pianist, our only accompanist is my husband on guitar and he sometimes calibrates a drum machine. We try to do a mix of old hymns and choruses and praise songs.
However, one thing we do is a “song of the month” whereby we introduce a new song the first Sunday of the month and do that song every week that month in order to allow the congregation time to learn it, and then we can pull that song from our repertoire any time after that and they will have learned it. Also, you are right about the keys… being that we use guitar only, it is much easier for us and we rarely sing a song in the original key… we always change it to a singable key.
This was a great article… thank you and God bless.
I think that the style of the newer music often is more
geared toward instruments than vocal,and that,sadly,
there is a learned passivity passed on.One of my
most cherished recent memories is of singing at a
church with Brethren roots where the older folks still
knew the part singing.Truly a moving organic experience.
Our family sings fine acapella music,and as we travel,I am continually positively surprised by the resonance our music has among young people.
I think choral is due to make a major comeback,
with positive impact on the life of the church.
Wow, I agree that singing, or lack of it, is a problem. I think there is entirely too much concern over style and not enough concern over the heart–both of the leaders and congregations. Follow God where He leads you, whether it be to sing hymns or newer music. Prayerfully pull from what you consider to be the most edifying to your church. I don’t know about you guys, but I can think of some pretty awful hymns as well as pretty awful modern worship songs. So this silly battle between which is better is a very tired and worn out conversation to me. Neither style was around at the time Jesus walked the earth or in the Acts church! Just glorify God!
Don’t draw lines that you’re either “this” or “that” stylistically. That said, put together services that flow logically and transition well. God gave us minds to think with and talent to put to work. I wouldn’t think that trying to hit every genre of music would flow together well, but that’s just me; maybe it works where some of you are. At the end of the day, people need to be gently led and invited to sing. If we get up and lead in songs with no exhortation to sing in worship or explanation of why we sing (ie, who God is, etc), then chances are people will stare blankly. Sometimes, they’ll stare blankly no matter what you do or how you lead. You can have a roomful of passionate worshipers and some people will not be mentally or spiritually present.
The worship through music service should be a journey that everyone is invited to join in on. You can’t force them to eat, but you can set the table.
There will always be critics. Graciously accept what they have to say and follow God. Don’t follow the critics or your greatest fans either. Ask Jesus where He’d have you go musically and in content.
For every critique is an equal and opposite critique. Follow God. Serve the people prayerfully. Be prepared to get discouraged and then lifted back up again and again by His Spirit.
The church I am privileged to lead is a wonderful group of people. Many of them sing, many still do not (especially men). There are critics and there are worshipers who worship well on the days that we as a band play our worst. It’s about the heart people. Not the lights. Not the songs. Though those choices play a part and make a difference as God leads, in the end, it’s about the heart.
I really appreciate this article…and the comments, too! I read it all! Our congregation has gotten better at singing over the years, and I love it when I can hear them really singing it out!
We have both traditional and contemporary services. I’ve struggled a little trying to decide how many new songs are enough/too many. I tend to go with fewer new songs in an attempt to help our congregation sing!
I especially like Kevin K’s description of worship!
A bit late since this was written in 2010, but I left the church over this “praise team/loud band/contemporary music” thing. I can stay home, and sleep in, and listen to their podcast on line, without that awful “new age praise junk”. This stuff usually has one line, “You are an awesome God”, over and over, to loud drums and guitars, while the people sit and hope it ends soon. It leaves me out of the equation, so I worship at home. The “leaders” look down on the people, there is the elitist attitude that left me feeling like I was merely their Bank of America. Never went back.
While I agree with much of Mike’s article, I am saddened and disheartened by some of the comments here.
To those that say, “I have decided this year I am not going to church until 11:30” or “I can just stay home and listen to the sermon online”, I say this – you have chosen to live in sin. We are mandated to gather together as the body, as it states in Hebrews 10:25.
That aside –
After 25 years of ordained ministry, i am finally running out of patience with those who offer the tired, erroneous and invalid arguments of, “The new songs just have 7 words sung eleven times”, or “this new music doesn’t have the depth of the “good ol’ songs”.
You’re wrong. Find a new argument, or just stop arguing.
We sang in church on Sunday the hymn “Blessed be the Name of the Lord”. It’s basically “O For a Thousand tongues to Sing” by Charles Wesley, a GREAT hymn :), with the words “Blessed be the name of the Lord!” tacked on after EVERY line. And, what is the chorus????
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name,
Blessed be the name of the Lord!
I enjoy singing this hymn. It has less musical merit than many of David Crowder’s songs, and certainly less biblical information or deep language than anything Stuart Townend ever wrote, but that’s OK – I enjoy it anyway. And, MAN, is that organ and orchestra LOUD!!! 98 dba, by my Iphone decibel meter! Puts the band to shame.
Last Easter, we ended the service with the “Hallelujah” chorus, from our hymnal. Wow! That song only has 7 words, and one of them (“Hallelujah”), is sung HUNDREDS of times! I still loved it though. It reminds me of the angels in Revelation –
“Day and night they never stop saying:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come!”
Beautiful!!
In Revelation 14:3, when the Lamb finally ascends to the throne, it says the angels finally get to sing a NEW song –
“And they sang a NEW song before the throne…”.
Do you think some of the angels sat in the back and grumbled, “Hmmph! I like the “good ol’ song” better…”
The truth is, there is good and not-so-good music that becomes popular in every era, traditional or contemporary. As the writer of the article points out, churches and worship leaders should be seeking out the good examples through the ages, and gently winnowing out the less than stellar, or those inappropriate for congregational worship.
An even franker truth – those that condemn, and refuse to participate or at least seek out a place where they can, are very likely indulging in self-centered, judgemental and dis-unifying behavior, and are causing pain to our Savior, His Chuch and His children.
The New Testament example of singing is AMAZING.
They didn’t even use instruments (historians even agree on this) or ‘4 part harmony’ (hadn’t been invented yet). They used what God gave them – their voices! Now this part is just opinion – but i don’t believe they were interested in ‘sounding good’ – they were interested in Praising God! They didn’t put the best sounding men on stage – they sung together as ONE!
Maybe we should follow the New Covaneant example of worship – Acapella
How refreshing.
Wow….So much to consider in this blog but I would like to offer an alternate view if I may. As I read through the article and comments I asked myself again (and have been for 1.5 yrs) “What has the church created in this thing it labels as corporate worship?” and “Have we (the church) created dependencies in what we call the corporate worship ministry that are not spirtually healthy?”. Some of the observations made here are spot on in my opinion. I led worship as a leader for quite some time but have stepped back as I searched the scriptures for the answers to these and other questions. As I consider 1 Cor 14:26, Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16, I think the answer to my 2nd question is yes. I will put forth another question here that I presented to a brother in one of our gatherings. If, on a regularly scheduled gathering day, worship leaders/teams did not show up would corporate worship continue “without” any diminishment in participation or disappointment from the congregation? He was not sure. To me, that is an issue. As a pastor once asked “Are we now worshipping the worship?”….In other words, are we more concerned about the substance and content of this corporate worship ministry we’ve created than being led by the spirit? And to expound upon my first question, who is responsible for corporate worship and is it dependent on anything besides the Lord (instruments, harmony, sound systems, song selection, key, arrangements, lighting, musicianship etc…)? Thrown a lot out here and really want to hear from others.
As my church has tried to morph itself into something more seeker-friendly or “relevant” over the past couple of years or so, one of the things that keeps nagging at me is the increasing proportion of bland, new songs that could just as easily be sung to a nonspecific little-g “god”.
Am I crazy to feel distressed when the lyrics are all “you are great” and “I love you” but they don’t contain any scriptural depth, or even identify who this “you” is that we are singing to? Sometimes at the end of a song I find myself thinking, those lyrics could just as easily have been sung to Allah or Ra or Gaia or Elvis, and how would we know the difference?
Perhaps I make a mountain out of a molehill … but if you’ve really read the end of the book then you know what’s coming: not a global revival but, tragically, a global falling away. I worry that much of what is happening in relevant, tech-savvy churches today seems like it is readying the sheep for the shearing. But hey, as long as we’re all singing Phillips, Craig & Dean as we get fleeced….
Being a purrfessional sanger for over 40 years. I say YEAH, to your comments. As my wife and I have sat on the front row of hundreds, or thousands of churches waiting to “take the stage”, I have often whispered to my wife, listen to who’s behind us, not to those in front of us, and we will be able to gauge what the true response level to our music will be. When introduced you can think that silence suddenly filled the church, when in reality the silence was there all the time. The noise had slipped through the side stage doors,out the back in many situations, not to return until the next Sunday to attempt to wake God once again. I love noisy worship when it is as one unified voice giving glory to God in the highest. That thrills me, and the heart of God. Remember, He is the “which, wert, and art and evermore shall be!” I’m sure!!!
This was a fascinating article.
I’ve been singing in a band for over a year. It is a new experience for me.
I’m finding that people are not really singing. We have almost 200 people in our sanctuary every Sunday and with the exception of a few people…, there’s not a lot of singing going on.
I’ve struggled with this for some time. I try to analyze what’s going wrong. Is it song selection? Is the music too loud? Should we tone down the lights so that people can hide in the dark which might boost the confidence level? Should we sing w/out instrumentation more often? Are the people just not inspired to sing? Where are we going wrong.
I enjoyed reading the responses to the above article. It shed a lot of light on things for me.
I do at times feel that we are just on the stage performing, for various reasons. Sometimes we back away from the mics. and try to encourage the congregation to sing but they really don’t give it a lot of energy.
Sometimes I think that I’m putting too much energy into trying to figure this whole thing out.
I sang w/ the choir on the traditional side for four years and sang w/ other choirs of other churches years before that. I find that the people sing more on the traditional side than our contemp. side. It’s very interesting considering that people come to hear more contemp. music vs. traditional hymns…yet they still don’t really sing.
We do encourage singing while on stage but we have a long way to go and a lot to learn I suppose.
We have to do all that we can do to encourage singing but I believe that we also have to trust the Holy Spirit to work here.
David:
This is so dead on accurate. Thank you for voicing it. I moved from the platform to the congregation and immediately observed that people were not singing. As I analyzed the songs and the subtle signals from the stage, I came to many of your same conclusions.Additionally, I found myself stumbling over glaring theological errors in the lyrics. Having been on the inside of a major publishing company, I have witnessed first hand the 24 year old songwriters with little or no life experience and sometimes questionable spiritual depth cranking out songs in a writer room. They may turn out something hooky with a great sounding idea, but overal, the song lacks spiritual depth and often contains cryptic metaphors which would be lost on a congregation. THEN, the song gets cut bby a major Christian artist which, for some strange reason seems to give it an official stamp of approval for worship leaders to use it and – voila!
You have a worship song that was born out of the need to generate CCLI income for the writers and the company rather than the need to genuinely lead people in worship of the living God. I may sound a bit cynnical and I really don’t like to be critical, but the church isn’t speaking up! Few people will go to the worship leader and question or challenge the songs he brings to the congregation. When the congregation blindly sings “Let the church rise from the ashes”, I’m thinking “WHEN has the church ever been destroyed? Why are we singing this?? What gatekeeper, asleep at the wheel, let this song into the church repertoire? The imagery here is of something rising from the dead. Christ’s church has always been alive! I think this illustrates my point about the way many of our worship songs are written today. Some are wonderful and you can tell that they resonate with the congregation because people will sing them. (Bless you – Keith Getty)
In short, the worship leader is the gatekeeper for the music of the church and the highest level of spiritual discernment is needed here if the entire congregation is to be faithfully served and God is to be honored.
As a musician with many years and a few degrees behind me I thank you for putting this into words. Unfortunately, the people who could make the changes in worship more edifying are not likely to read it.
I think song leaders often find themselves at the musical discretion of the sound techs and the beguiling computer-technology that comes with a performance-model for worship. We watch…they sing …along with a big-bass, big-drums, and rock-distorted guitar driven band. This is just what I usually turn off on the christian radio stations that claim to proclaim the Gospel message with lots of repetition, very little theology and even less about sin, Hell, condemnation, conviction, repentance, redemption, worship, obedience and service.
You know,… just the BASIC tenents of Christianity, what someone really needs to hear, understand and believe (trust in) so they they might be soundly saved from God’s right to judge a world full of people who stand condemened in our sin and in desperate need of His mercy that He provided through Jesus’ sacrifice that satisfied God’s Law and His Justice. …something like that.
I find that sound techies usually have a very limited musical understanding (or even a musical education) and have had their musical aesthetics fossilized by listening to their own generation’s current popular secular music, and not always the favorite christian musical chart-toppers. I was a young jazz-rocker…once, and louder was better…then…before I knew better.
Even after voicing a kindly concern that anything over 100 DB is going to result in permanent ear damage have found decible-reducing ear plugs are still my only recourse if I am going to hear myself sing.
My answer? Learn to play an instrument and impose yourself…I joined the orchestra. Now I am sitting BEHIND the rock band ….and on the quiet end of my trumpet. Ahhhhh! BUT WAIT….what’s that sound in my ear!?!?…a click-track! ARRRRGG!
Amen! We have become a church that ignores the congregation in our congregational singing!
Thanks for the article!
MarTha garvin host of musical memories, radio and tv program of traditional hymns, http://www.musicalmemoriestv.com
I’m just a regular church goer who does not sing in church. I do not sing because I don’t feel the music is for me. My church has a band on the stage and the lights off with the band doing all the singing. I feel left out. All the attention and emphasis is on the band and not the congregation. Turn on tthe lights to include the rest of us. The message being sent to us is that YOU want to entertain US. We can still read the words on the screen with the ights on. If you want us to sing, turn the lights on to include us. If you want the band to entertain us keep the lights off like at the music theater and we will watch and be entertained.
We have two Sunday morning services at out church. The first is called “contemporary” and the second “blended.” My sunday school class meets during the first service, and I usually stop by the back of the church to pickup my bullitin and then go on to Sunday school class. The pounding on the drums, and the incesent strumming of guitars is so loud I find myself running out of the church! If that was the only service, I would not attend church any more.
Our church purchased new hymn books some time ago. Most of the old traditional hymns have been removed and replaced by modern “prase” songs and choruses. I am 75 years old, and frankly, I don’t come to church to be intertained! Why do singers have to always have a microphone in front of their face when they sing? Why does everybody have to clap and applaud when someone sings a solo? Is this worship or is this a television show? Someone once said, “You can never go back. . .” and so it seems when it comes to modern day church services.
Amen and amen!!! I agree with all the reasons mentioned, and also think it is partly a result of not having song or hymn books and the lack of music training in schools. We grew up at least being able to tell that the notes went up or down, and usually learning harmony from hearing others singing it. But with only words, we have lost a lot. And yes, worship leaders are called to lead people to worship the Lord. I hope we do not lose sight of that.
Each time I have come home from service overseas after two to four years of absence, I have noticed the same phenomena, growing with each passing year. In addition now my wife and I have also observed the same situation occurring in Bible studies, or small groups, or whatever name one likes to call them. Instead of leaders studying God’s Word and teaching it, developing applications suitable to their local context and sharing them with their people, we have seen a reliance on “professional” Bible teachers, through video, with generic applications, and little or no discussion about what the lesson means in one’s own life in the local context. People feel it is hard to compete with the polished prose and stories, the polished nails and professionally coifed hair, that come via video, and feel so intimidated they don’t even try to do a Bible study. Yet the Spirit works through the local church and the local believers to equip the church for growth and sharing the gospel. Videos can be helpful, but only in the right context. The church – the people of God who sit in the pew, or the theater-style chairs – needs to reclaim the priorities that God has given it, or we will forfeit our ability to fulfill the responsibilities that God has given us.
Hi Mike. Thouht that you would be interesed in this. My son, Carlos and I were invited to Brazil last January; he to direct the Conference Choir for the 30th Anniversary of The Brazilian Baptist Church Music Conference, and me, to give a 40 minute message on “Worship From Generation To Generation.” I used your article to close out the message(which turned out to be 50 minutes). IT was a great thought provoking article, and it received many favorable comments. Thanks and God bless.Wish that all of our Ministers of Music/ Worship Leaders woud read and think it over.
I find this concept very strange. Both churches I’ve attended in the past 10 years have sang their hearts out during worship. http://www.questcommunity.com and http://www.waterlinechurch.com. I love it. Music is my worship language. In fact, it is what inspired me to go into a worship ministry. 🙂
I don’t like the contemporary music of “today” in most mainstream modern churches. First of all, that’s not music. It’s just noise. Second of all, it’s all simplistic vain repetitions over and over again like Bible songs when I was kid. Gospel songs with clapping and hymnals are being phased out. By loud drums and guitars with these silly special effects (in some churches) like some obscure Pink Floyd concert. What some of us want is for the song service to accomodate everyone by putting in 50% of hymnals to balance things out. But it appears as though the pastor isn’t interested in that. So in response, some of us don’t attend song service anymore, we skip it and just attend the preaching. If I want to hear “noise” I’ll just beat my head against the wall. Some of us want to hear real music and not this nonsense they’re playing nowadays. Enough said.
Amen brother.
It is sad to see hundreds of years of church thought, theology, teaching and tradition be cast aside for the style this 20-year era. We are being led/driven by today’s tastes to throw away our historic and specific Christ-culture for something that has nothing to do with the church and corporate worship and it will take several generations to recover it.
Traditional hymns are written the way they are for many reasons. Multiple verses teach biblical truths that are easily memorized–wonderful resources in times of need and fellowship. They also have simple melody lines that are much easier to sing than CCM melodies. They are also easier especially for larger groups to sing together and easier to be led by a single instrument–that ideal instrument being one with a bass sustain and no decay in sound–i.e. the organ, but that’s another subject!). The melodies of good hymn are well-written to be easy to anticipate by even untrained musicians and easy to pick up after one hearing–even a trained musician has trouble with poorly-written songs, esp. when there’s no music. Loud, performance-oriented, highly-emotional fosters a tendency NOT to join in–it is not corporate or outward in its intent–thus the lack of singing.
The hymn-form was created specifically to be sung by the people of God in the House of God–for that singular purpose and thus they are highly effective when used for their stated purpose. CCM is derivative of another style and culture so cannot be as effective when transplanted. They may be effective for private worship, meditation, etc. but hymns foster corporate singing because they were specifically designed for that purpose.
A church’s worship–whatever form it takes–is a reflection of what they believe the Bible says about worship and God–it is a theological decision. That is why it is so sad to see so many of churches change this without so much as a theological study or biblical discussion on worship and what it means. It is so often done in the name of attracting people–especially young folks, who are notoriously fickle in church attendance–when most studies show that it is relationships that draw people to churches and people expect to see something different at church than they do in the world.
Don’t get me wrong–I love rock, country and even CCM–all in it’s rightful place. I just see–as you do–that worship is poorer, thinner, weaker, and the legacy of great hymnody that my parents passed down to me is weakened because we are ignorantly throwing out a rich gift, thinking we’ve learned more about church music in the last 20 years than the church did in the previous 500. Fat chance–sigh.
I come from an acapella Church of Christ background which admittedly colors my thoughts. I have read the article and many of the comments. Seems the Christian world has created a problem that was not anticipated. Secular and religious history indicates that the earliest church worship did not include instrumental music. It had not been commanded in the early New Testament scriptures as it was at times in the Jewish worship in the Old Testament. N.T. worship was simpler. There were no elaborate rituals and no necessity for clergy to intervene between man and God in assembly worship. Simple vocal music was commanded . Modern instrumental music has added an entirely new layer of problems. Most church members are not involved in instrumental music. It has taken on a life of its own and has become a production. Many member do not feel a part of that production. In fact, many times it has become closer to entertainment than worship. The music portion of worship was never intended to be a spectator sport. Song leaders that pitch songs too high for the members to sing are seriously out of touch with the congregation. Leading songs that 90% of the member do not know defeats the purpose of congregational singing—praising God, expressing adoration to Him, and edifying the fellow members. Songs that repeat phrases ad nauseum simply have little real value for most members. A casual glance around the auditorium on Sunday morning that reveals that few people are attempting to sing during the song service should cause some concern as to the effectiveness of that part of the worship. I recently read a statement that really stirred my thinking–when the preferences of the members exceed their passion for the gospel, the church is dying. Peace and love.
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