Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing,
Power and majesty, praise to the King;
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the works of Your hands,
Forever Iʼll love You, forever Iʼll stand;
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.
- Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech
What is a churchʼs song?
There are many ways to describe the churchʼs song. What begins as a single voice joins with
another until all voices are combined as one. In this united voice, the church:
- Expresses the faith of the body of believers
- Communicates with and worships God
- Shares the remnants of the past, the expression of the present, and the hope for the future
- Expresses its prayers
- Transcends into holiness; into the sublime
Dave White, a student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, expressed it very eloquently:
“What is the churchʼs song? It is the Word of God proclaimed. It is the joy of the people, the joy of the Lord. It is the lament of those who mourn; the comfort of the Holy Spirit. It is the timeless affirmations of the faith in Christ.” (used with permission)
Music is the medium in which we express the churchʼs song. It is through the texts,
melodies, harmonies, rhythms, pulse, and presentation of song that the church is able to experience something greater than the sum of the individual worshippers.
The song of each church is unique. Each congregation is composed of a unique blend of
musical talents. Each church has its own history, its own present and its own future. It is affected
by those that lead. It reflects the experiences of each worshipper.
The song of each church changes over time. The only thing that remains constant in this
world is Godʼs love for us. As we move through time, each personʼs thoughts, experiences,
and abilities change. The mix of a churchʼs talents change as people come into and leave the
church. In addition, we as both individuals and a church are affected by the changes in the
world around us. Therefore, the song of the church also changes over time and must reflect of the present church life. The process of discovering the churchʼs song is ongoing. It is an essential
part of church growth.
O sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
For all gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord make the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
- Psalm 96: 1-6 (NRSV)
In our worship of God, our goal and desire is to bring His strength and beauty into the sanctuary
of His church.
Making Music
The song of the church is more than just a group of people getting together to sing. It is about
making music in such a way that it can “articulate the individual and corporate faith of the congregation” (Linda J. Clark, Music in the Churches, The Alban Institute, 1994, p. 23) This is done through attention to the following details of worship:
- Planning, Preparation, and Practice: The lack of these three “Pʼs” creates distractions in our worship service. Rather than remembering the scripture texts or the theme of the sermon, many worshippers leave the service remembering only the mistake made by the choir/pianist/Praise Team/Worship Leader/etc.
- Praise, Prayer, and Dedication: It is important that the music represents all elements of our worship. There must be a time of praise, an opportunity for prayer, and a call to service or the opportunity to dedicate oneself to the Lord. To forget one of these elements is to find our worship experience lacking in its ability to uplift us a congregation.
- Cohesiveness: The music should be used to tie the various elements of the service together; it should be used to enhance the flow of our worship. It can be used to help with transitions - moving the worshipper from praise, to prayer, to listening, to a time of introspection.
- Continuity: The music of a service should provide continuity of a theme. It should help reinforce the central theme of the message. That does not mean that all songs have to be the same style, genre or text. But a message should flow gently from one song to another. Example: We are here to worship ==> Because God loves us ==> He cares for us and hears our prayers ==> We give ourselves to Him because of all He has given us.
- Leadership: If the music leadership is not working in unity, it will be impossible for the church to have unity in their song. Our leadership roles must be clear - pastor, musician, Praise Team, choir, music leader. As leaders we must work together as a united team in such a way that we build upon each otherʼs talents so that we bring harmony to our song.
- Familiarity: The foundation of our music should be based on songs that are familiar; songs that have meaning and value to the church and the worshippers within. That does not mean we should not introduce new music to the church. What is important is that we do this in a way that it embraces the congregation rather than excludes them. As a rule, always start and end the service with music that is familiar to the worshippers and introduce new music in the middle or as prelude/offertory. It is important to remember that what is new today may become the foundational music of tomorrow. This is true within our church. I asked a few of the church members to provide me with a list of songs that they felt represented the church. The people who responded represented many different age groups and ranged in length of membership from 3 to 30 years. The songs on almost all lists were: Shout to the Lord, How Great Thou Art, and Shine, Jesus Shine. Interestingly, the first and last songs have been added to the church repertoire in the past 3 years.
- Ease of voice: Songs should be easy for the majority of the congregation to sing. If there are complex rhythms, melodies or harmonies, it is important that those leading the music provide the ability for the congregation to clearly hear the melody and rhythms. Tunes should be transposed as needed. If words are on an overhead, they need to be easy to read and consistent with those being sung by the leaders.
- Spirituality: The Holy Spirit dwells within us as we sing. We need to be free to express how He is working within us. This may be through clapping, the raising of hands, or a special embellishment to the song. Sometimes it may be a change in the program as we move forward in our worship service. We need to remove our self-imposed constraints and create a worship environment in which we feel safe to express how God is working in us.
Growing in Song
...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- 1 Peter 2:5 (NIV)
How to we build our spiritual house so that we can become the holy priesthood that God expect
of us? How do we become the strong vine that is described in Ezekiel 17: 5-6 that brings
forth branches and puts forth foliage?
It is only through continual learning and development that we can grow in our priesthood. Just
like we participate in Bible study, Sunday School and personal readings to better understand
Godʼs message in the scriptures, we must do likewise for our churchʼs song. The songs we
are drawn to in our church are those that express the same messages we seek in the scriptures,
only through a different medium. Learning requires the use of multiple senses - sight,
sound and touch. For us to truly understand Godʼs Word, we must engage in learning that use
each of these senses. Music provides learning through: sight - the reading of the text; sound -
hearing the melody/harmony/rhythm/pulse; touch - feeling the Holy Spirit move within us. Developing an appreciation of new musical styles, formats and genres opens us to experiencing
Godʼs Word in ways we have not yet imagined.
Caring for our Song
What do we need to do to care for our song? By caring for our song, we demonstrate our desire
to care for those around us. In Singing, A Mennonite Voice by Marlene Kropf & Kenneth Nafziger, the authors concluded with the following areas of care for the churchʼs song:
- Care for What is Sung: This care is not only for what is sung but how it is sung. Because singing is such an integral and important part of our churchʼs worship, it needs to be recognized as critical to our spiritual formation. Text must be theologically sound. The delivery of the music must not distract from the songʼs message. The song leader has a tremendous responsibility to the churchʼs worshippers and this position must not be taken lightly.
- Care for Images and Metaphors: Songs of the church carry with them tremendous meaning, memories, and expression for an individual. We need to make sure that our music incorporates the needs of all worshippers - Praise & Worship, Prayer, Calling, Communion with the Spirit, etc. Each of us needs to be able to express our love, our joys, our anger, our doubts, our fears, and our sadness within a worship service.
- Care for the Craft of Music: For congregational singing, it is important that songs become ingrained in the hearts of the worshippers. There must be room for both the old and the new. As the book states, “No era in church music has been without its transient, more popular music.” It is not about using established hymns versus new songs. It is about bringing music into the church that binds our hearts to the Lord. We will carry these songs with us throughout our lives, regardless of when they were written.
- Care for the Churchʼs Role as Patron of the Arts: Many artists have left the church because their songs have not been accepted by their local congregation. These artists leave the church, find acceptance in the secular world, and eventually, their music returns to the church. As a church, we need to open ourselves to the world around us. How can we use our song to change and influence the world? We need to acknowledge, embrace, and nurture that which springs from our love of Christ, whatever its form. There is nothing that is wrong in the eyes of God if it comes from our hearts.
- Care for Hospitality Toward Anotherʼs Song: The book states, “Ultimately, it is an act of hospitality to learn anotherʼs songs.” We need to respect each other enough to open ourselves to those songs that are special to another, even if they are not to our taste. It is this acceptance that builds us into a unique fellowship. We are all different but together in God, we are one body.
For in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ and individually we are members one of another. Romans 12: 4-5 (NRSV)
- Care for Time Spent Singing Together: Because of the importance of singing, we need to make sure that our worship service includes adequate space for the churchʼs song. This is not an area that should be “cut” to allow time for other aspects of the program. In addition, solo performance must not take away from congregational singing. There is a time and place for each and we should not forsake one for the other. “The singing of the congregation is the most important must that happens in worship...The pleasures of singing are enormous, and the rewards of turning that pleasure toward the praise of the Creator who gave us that gift are infinite.” (ibid)
- Care for the Voice as an Instrument: The human voice should be “treated as a prime means of spiritual expression.” (ibid) We need to be aware that our voices should be honored and not drowned out by the instruments, amplification and the choir. Songs should be sung in a manner that they are easily followed and do not exclude a population of the congregation. “When it becomes clear to a congregation that its voices are not needed, it will most likely choose not to sing.” (ibid)
- Care for the Tradition: It is important to acknowledge the traditions of the church and to not discard them without thought and care. It is many of these traditions that hold the church together. “As John Paul Ledarach said at the conclusion of his story about ʻGod of grace and God of gloryʼ:
When you choose to walk in the path of justice, peace and reconciliation, take heart in knowing the path has been walked by others before you. Make sure to hold the hand of good friends who will walk at your side. Take a song with you. Put it deep inside so that no matter what happens, its seed can burst forth when you most need it. And know that it is the God of grace and the God of glory who breathes life into the seed and light onto your path.” (ibid)
Conclusion
It is my prayer that this paper, can provide a church with the foundation for discovering and developing its song. Along with prayer, we can discern the will of God for His church so that we can grow and “produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine” (Ezekiel 17: 8b (NRSV)) all for the glory of God.
