Sing Anyway: The Importance of Congregational Singing

As always, please see the 'ABOUT ME' section in the right sidebar for a full disclaimer. Scripture passages in this piece are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible; dictionary definitions are taken from the 2009 American Heritage Dictionary. The reader is highly encouraged to listen to Matthew West's "The Motions"—available on YouTube here—before reading this entry.

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I play a lot of our Praise and Worship music from memory. Sometimes, I will sneak a glance out at the congregation, just to watch people in the act of worship. Quite often, I am startled to notice a large portion of the congregation—perhaps a third—just ... standing there. Some are smiling, some are even moving a little bit to the beat of the music—but their mouths aren't moving. This obviously bothers me as a musician, but it also has gotten me to thinking about the implications of a worship service in which the congregation does not sing.

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"We have praise singers and a praise band; isn't the music their job?"

con·gre·ga·tion (kŏng'grĭ-gā'shən)

3. a. A group of people gathered for religious worship.

b. The members of a specific religious group who regularly worship at a church, synagogue or other meeting place.

The congregation's role, then, is to worship. What does this mean?

wor·ship (wûr'shĭp)
v. intr.

1. To participate in religious rites of worship.

2. To perform an act of worship.

Notice the words "participate" and "perform." These are both active words; words that indicate the involvement of the subject actually doing them.

Contrast these with the oft-used comment, "I attend worship at St. Andrew's." Well... which is it? Does the speaker attend, or does he worship? Look at it this way: a man comes in the door, greets the greeters, and sits with his friends and family. He then sits, pays attention to the pastoral greetings and announcements, stands when he is called to (omitting the singing portion), sits back down, listens to the Offertory music, pays attention through the Sermon, stands again at the end (listening as others sing the closing song)—after he has done all of these things, has he, at any point during the experience, worshiped? He has certainly gone through the motions of a dutiful church attender; his heart may have been touched at some point—by the music, by the Word, by the sermon—but he has not worshiped with the congregation in the truest sense of the word.

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"I don't have a voice like (insert soloist's name here); nobody wants to hear me sing!"

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise."
—Psalm 98:4
"Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear, just sing; sing a song."
—Joe Raposo, American singer/songwriter

This has to be the most common excuse I hear from people when asked why they don't sing in church. That's the beauty of congregational singing, though—there is no realistic expectation that everyone in the congregation will be the next American Idol winner, unless those people place that expectation on themselves. Notice that the Psalm reads, "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth. . ." and not, "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth—unless you're not a very good singer, in which case God will smirk at you for trying." God doesn't expect perfection; why should you? All He asks is for participation.

As an aside, I learned that singing along in church was the proper thing to do by watching and emulating my parents when I was very young. To those of you with children: Are you modeling the kind of worship experience you would like your children to have? Do you want them to be active participants, or passive spectators? The way you participate—or don't—in worship may have more effect on them than is readily apparent.

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"I don't like (X song)." or "This isn't 'my kind of music.'"

"Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway."
—Emory Austin, American Writer and Public Speaker

In an effort to incorporate music that will reach a congregation as large and diverse as ours, we will all eventually come across something we don't like. With that said, I'm about to confess something, and it may come as somewhat of a shock: I am not madly in love with every song we sing in worship, either! It is my sincere hope that no one notices when we're doing a song I don't personally care for—because worshiping through song is not about me or what I like; it's about the people of God coming together and singing songs to Him. I have come to realize that there are songs that do nothing for me personally, but make some members' weekends when we sing them.

Every single song we sing in worship is not going to be everyone's favorite; however, when faced with one that doesn't resonate, remember Psalm 98:4. It also does not say, "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth—unless it's some Gospel tune you're not fond of, or some contemporary thing you never heard growing up. Then don't." Whatever the song, God asks us to sing anyway.

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"The acknowledgment of our weakness is the first step in repairing our loss."
—Thomas à Kempis, 14th- and 15th-Century Catholic Monk

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that there may be a legitimate barrier to people's participation in our worship music, and this is where I will depend on reader comments and feedback. Following are two possible approaches to eliminating this barrier, or at least reducing it.

We don't use the Hymnal in worship anymore. Occasionally we pull songs from it, but we don't put them at every seat. (Where would they go?) In fact, the only guide congregation members have for our songs comes from the projection screens—which only show the words. The Praise Team is there to assist with the melody, but this real-time, by-ear learning experience is neither simple nor universally adaptable.

Some people (this author admittedly included) just feel more comfortable with sheet music in front of them—at least until something is committed to memory. Others, on the other hand, might not read music; but, after hearing a song several times, they are able to sing along just fine. In order to help both of these groups of people, I have toyed with the ideas of making both Worship Binders—which would include sheet music of our arrangements of the songs we use for congregational singing—and Praise & Worship CD Assistants—which would include our band and our Praise Teams actually singing the songs we use for congregational singing.

Neither of these proposed solutions is a 'quick fix,' nor can either one be undertaken lightly. This is where you, the members, come in: would you use either or both of these worship aids? If not, is there another kind of worship aid you would use?

Please leave comments, feedback, and questions here or via e-mail; all will be taken into consideration when deciding how to proceed.

Popular Culture and Music In Our Worship: Conversations and a Perspective

A few notes. First: please see the 'ABOUT ME' section, at right, for full disclaimer.

Second, the bold quotations at the beginning of each section are questions I have received from both inside and outside St. Andrew's and the church regarding our services.

Third, all Scripture passages in this piece are quoted from the New International Version of the Bible.

Finally, if you would like to discuss any of the points presented in this note, please contact me via a personal message, either on Facebook or via email at awitte@standrewsomaha.net. I will be happy to discuss further with you.

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"Why is there music in worship, anyway?"

“Music takes us out of the actual and whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence, and whereto.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, American Poet (1803-1882)

I have had it asked of me—as recently as this summer—why we need music for worship, or so much of it. First, I would like to point out that it is perfectly possible to have a functional, uplifting worship service without the use of music. It would be difficult for me to fully participate in, but I realize that there are people for whom music is not a great joy. Furthermore, it seems to me that a well-worded, Scripture-guided message framed with passionate prayer can stand alone as a fine worship experience; any readers who may have attended Pastor Michael's Good Friday Tenebrae service in years past could attest to that.

That said, there are abundant references to using music in worship in Scripture—in addition to the obvious Psalms and Song of Solomon/Song of Songs, which exemplify such worship. To highlight just a few of the others:

• Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD : 'I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.' — Exodus 15:1
  
• David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals. — I Chronicles 15:16
• About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. — Acts 16:25 (Hopefully this rings a bell, from Bruce's sermon "To Save Me" August 29/30)
• Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Ephesians 5:19-20

As mentioned, there are many, many more. All of these passages indicate that we are to praise God with music.*

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"I guess I understand the motivation, but it still feels like entertainment."

"Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought."—E.Y. Harburg, American Librettist/Songwriter (1896-1981)

One of the traits of our congregation—one I find to be wonderful!—is its overwhelmingly positive reaction to the creative use of dynamic and varied music in worship. This, along with our pastors' deep love of music, is the main reason there is so much of it involved in our services. The question, then, becomes one of presentation.

To me, music is most effective as a set-up for or reinforcement of the message when it grabs people's attention and keeps them actively involved in the experience. Thus, I do my best to ensure the musical presentation has as much of the desired impact as possible—to make sure the congregation is left either receptive to the upcoming message or with tangible reinforcement of the message just received. If part of the experience is a feeling of being entertained, I would invite the reader to use that heightened sense of awareness to zero in on the pastor's message; to turn that feeling toward the thought, and combine them. Based on the questions and comments outlined above, I worry that the music is being compartmentalized into its own, separate entity by some in the congregation; this could not be further from the intent.
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"I understand why we have hymns and praise music. Those are about Jesus, God, and faith. How does secular pop music fit in?"

"Meet people where they are—not where you want them to be."
—Karen G. Schneider, American Librarian

This, I think, is at the heart of people's questions to me about our music. What role can music that is obviously not Christian in nature play in a Christian worship service? In order to fully address this point, I will ask the reader also to contemplate the question of other items from popular culture—television, movies, books, and the like—and their place in worship. For me, the two are linked in a very important way in our services, as I will explain.

Before going any further, I would point out that there is an entire school of thought that promotes using only Scripture as the under-girding for sermons, and asserts that the use of anything else—be it a movie or television clip, part of a book, or even a PowerPoint presentation—is extraneous and takes the focus off the more important things. In the interest of brevity, I have over-simplified this position; in kind, I will abbreviate my response to it. I would invite the reader to refer to the book of Matthew, Chapter 25. Although I could use any of these parables as an example, I will simply quote one:

[Jesus is speaking] "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
— Matthew 25:14-30

This is one of the most widely recognized of Jesus' parables. Notice that the majority of Jesus' message here is a story—possibly fictional, possibly real—of a man entrusting his servants with money as he goes on a journey. Jesus uses this example presumably because it would have been a familiar situation for his hearers at the time—regardless of whether they were already his followers. What he does, then, is reach out to people through an experience they have already had or known, outside the spiritual setting, and then he relates that experience to God. He meets them where they are.

This, always, is where I come from with the popular music we use at St. Andrew's. Readers who are also attendees will surely notice that we use Christian music for the congregation-involved and choir-presented portions of our services, and that music from popular culture is used differently. It is used as either a set-up for or a reinforcement of the Scripture-guided message in the sermon; in the case of the Beatles project, the music itself was altered to both set up the message and deliver it. It is to fulfill this effectual purpose I always approach this music, and it is with this in mind that I guide its presentation. To me, it is essentially the same as using a passage from a secular book or a clip from a movie or television program to further a point. The only difference is that we use live musicians to personalize the experience for the congregation.

In pursuing the ideal of the United Methodist Church's motto—Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors—it seems only fitting to me that we try to bring people to a (perhaps unfamiliar) spiritual place through familiar experiences. Some of our visitors may feel that coming into relationship with Christ is like being dropped into a foreign country where the natives speak no English; I envision our responsible use of this music—and books, television, and movies—as a friendly translator who, in time, will teach the visitor the native tongue.

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"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."
—Henry David Thoreau, American Poet and Naturalist (1817-1862)

Ultimately, musicians can only control how the music is presented; the interpretation is left to the discretion of the hearer. For what it's worth, the intent of this director is always that the music further the message, because worship is all about God.



*: It should be noted that there are those who insist that we should use exclusively the instruments explicitly mentioned in the New Testament—the human heart and voice. I am not a proponent of this particular belief, as I feel it to be unnecessarily exclusive and a bit puritanical; that, however, is a discussion for another note.