From the Experts: The Contemporary Debate

If ever there were to be a post this week that gets close to touching on the music debate, it would be this one. I scoured the net looking for great music articles to share with you, but the ones I found more or less supported the contemporary/christian rock movement to the extent where they could care less about compromising their Biblical standards.

When I did manage to find one from a conservative fellow, it was almost too conservative. I know that the Bible says, "I would thou wert cold or hot," but come on, we aren't talking doctrine here. In the media tip this week I listed a few Biblical principles to follow. The Bible isn't dogmatic about music, and so neither am I, but I do insist that it honor and uplift God every single time.

Without further ado, this week's articles:

4 Reasons Christians Don't Take Musical Conservatives Seriously by Benjamin Everson
Written by a conservative for conservatives, this article breaks down popular arguments and examines the basic problem. Many times musical conservatives build themselves up as a being the authority on what is right or wrong with music. Instead, we ought let the Bible be the guiding factor.

Review
This article is written from a very realistic and humorous approach and is a great read. I've got all praise and nothing bad to say about this article. Some of the headings seem kind of vague, but after you read his content, it becomes apparently clear as to what he means. This is a must read. If you read none of these other articles, read this one. Do you want to read more about Ben Everson? Check out some of his other articles.


Are Our Hymns Becoming Stupider? by Ben Myers
I'd call this another must read. This article examines what makes a hymn bad and why the songs that have come out in the last 50 years are better than the ones from 100-200 years ago.

Review
The article begins a little harsh. There is certainly no tact to be seen. Even in the title, he is quite bold. I think it's a little harsh to be calling most all hymns from the 19th century stupid. He does draw attention to the fact that there are a few great hymns (hymns like Amazing Grace and O For a Thousand Tongues) that stir your spirit and bring joy to your soul.

I certainly agree, though, that some of the more recent songs like How Deep the Father's Love For Us are infinitely better than the songs I listed the other day. May this be a challenge to any would be song writer out there. We need good hymns and spiritual songs. Will you commit to to serving God in this way?


Why Hymns? by Paul Lusher
Have you ever wondered why we sing hymns? What is the benefit or what good is it? This article will answer that question. It also...pushes them a little too far.

Review
I wasn't planning on this being a long review, for a review shouldn't be longer than the article itself, and this is a pretty short one. I really enjoy how highly the author values music. I agree with him that the only thing that deserves higher praise than our song is the Word of God itself. However, saying "no other musical form can replace the singing of hymns in the church" seems a little bold. Does not the Scripture instruct us to sing to ourselves in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? Just the same, where does Scripture say that we must only sing hymns? Who created the hymn book? It wasn't God. Who wrote the hymns themselves? It wasn't the prophets or apostles. That's my 2 cents.


Bible Guide to Christian Music by Somebody
Just so you know, I support this guy's conclusions, not the way he presents it. He's got all his information right, but he's a confrontational, in-your-face kind of guy that gives Christians a bad name. If a name isn't written with it, how do I know it's a guy? I just can't see a woman saying the things he does, I give you more credit than that ladies. You know how to be tactful in your communication. Sometimes us guys are just dumb and we don't think first (ask my wife).

I'm probably going to get myself in trouble here, but I only read this article for like 5-10 minutes. You need about 2 hours. It's long. Really long. From what I saw I stand by what I said above, but he could say something heretical later on that I didn't read and I just want you to know I don't support it if it is (I know that's lame to say, but maybe you'll feel like reading it if you like the confrontational stuff).


Why is Our Worship Music Conservative? by Robert Hammond
This article is primarily just a doctrinal statement on music. It's by no means all inclusive, but if you want some Bible verses to give sound principles to your music and my short synopsis was not long enough for you, then check this out. It contains a principle, Bible verse, and implications for each thought. I'll not write a review for this because it doesn't really need one.


What's your opinion about the whole issue? I would like to know where you stand. I would also like to know if you've learned anything helpful about the issue that you use when talking to people about it. Let me know in the box below.

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How the Hymns Were Written

Do you know how those solid hymns of the faith were written? Do you know what situations caused the writer to pen those mighty words? The hymns are just songs to us, but did you know they were often the fruit of suffering or great joy? Most hymns are loaded with history.

You can research that history in various books or online. I want to share some of that history with you. I've picked some of the most touching stories to share with you. There are countless more, this is just a selection. I didn't write these short stories, the sources have been given a link to the originating page.


It is Well With My Soul (Bible Study Charts)
Horatio Spafford decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic.

Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: "Saved alone."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.


Amazing Grace (Workers for Jesus)
During the first 30 years of his life, Newton was certainly a miserable, unhappy, and mean person--in other words, "a wretch." As a child he was rebellious and constantly in trouble. As a young man he used profanity, drank excessively, and went through periods of violent, angry behavior.
When Newton was in his early twenties, he became involved in the slave trade: living in Africa, hunting down slaves, and managing a "slave factory" (where the unfortunate captives were held for sale). Later he was the captain of a slave ship which made three voyages from Great Britain to Africa (where he loaded a cargo of slaves) and finally to America to sell them.

Three years earlier, Newton had acknowledged God for the first time. The ship on which he was serving, traveling in the Atlantic Ocean to England, was caught in a terrible storm off the coast of Newfoundland. As they fought the winds and rain, Newton asked God for help ("Lord, have mercy upon us!"), something he had not done since childhood.

Miraculously, the storm ended; and the ship managed to reach Ireland safely. There, as Newton later wrote: "...I began to know that there is a God who hears every prayer." Despite this experience, Newton continued to work at buying and selling slaves.

"I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home."

It wasn't until later in life that Newton became ashamed of his activities in buying and selling slaves. He believed that the death of his wife and his daughter's illness were part of a punishment.

Eventually he became convinced that slavery was unlawful and morally wrong. He spent a lot of time arguing for its abolition (putting an end to it) in England, convincing a lot of important people in London that he was right.

Newton died at the age of 82, twelve years before slavery was outlawed in his country.


Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (Bible Study Charts)
The idea for this song came from Anthony Showalter, principal of the Southern Normal Music Institute in Dalton, Georgia.  Showalter, a Presbyterian elder, was a well-known advocate of gospel music.  He published over 130 music books with combined sales of two million copies, and he became known through the South for his singing schools in local churches.

Showalter took a personal interest in his students and enjoyed keeping up with them as the years passed. One evening in 1887, he was leading a singing school in a local church in Hartselle, Alabama. After dismissing the class for the evening, he gathered his materials and returned to his boardinghouse.

Two letters had arrived, both from former pupils.  Each of the young men was heartbroken, having just lost his wife. Professor Showalter went to the Bible, looking for a verse to comfort them.  He selected Deuteronomy 33:27 - "The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms..."

As he pondered that verse, these words came to mind:

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

He scribbled replies to his bereaved friends, then, reaching for another piece of paper, he wrote his friend, hymnist Elisha Hoffman. "Here is the chorus for a good hymn from Deuteronomy 33:27,"  his letter said, "but I can't come up with any verses."  Hoffman wrote 3 stanzas and sent them back. Showalter set it all to music, and ever since, these words have sheered us in adversity.

What have I to dread, what have I fear, leaning on the everlasting arms.

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms. 

I know this was a long post. And if you read it all, congratulations! I hope you were encouraged and touched by some great hymns and their heart-wrenching stories. Share these with your congregation. Use them as sermon illustrations. Or just read them in your service for the sake of reading them. Let's educate our folk on why we sing the songs we do and what circumstances caused their penning.

Can you think of some other great hymn stories? Let us know about them. Do you have a favorite song you'd like me to research the story behind? Ask about it and I'll do my best to find information on it for you. Just leave your comments in the box below.

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Songs that Shouldn't Be Sung Part 2

This post is a continuation of Conservative Songs that Shouldn't Be Sung. If you haven't read that post yet, read it first. I've studied out some of these songs at the request of some readers, and I've also left out some that were mentioned by others yesterday. You'll want to check out what has or has not been discussed already.

6. We've a Story to Tell to the Nations.
A reader left a comment about this song in yesterday's post and I really wanted to research it a bit more and share with you what I learned. This is the worst kind of song. That's because it's tricky. It reminds me of the verse in Jude where the false teachers have "crept in unawares." A lot of people don't understand the theology behind a song like this. In a way, that's a good thing. It means they won't ever take the song the wrong way. But at the same time, it can influence your thinking to wrong doctrine.

This song is very strongly Post-Millennial. Right now you're saying, "What's that?" Post-Millennialism is the belief that we are currently in the 1,000 year time period mentioned in the Bible. Or rather that the thousand year time period will happen and people will live through it without a rapture ever taking place. While I don't believe that (it's a much debated topic among good men), it's the next part that has me screaming, "Heresy!" They believe that society will essentially become more and more good as Satan and his forces gradually become more and more defeated.

"How will they be defeated?," you ask. Why, by us witnessing and sharing the gospel. Yes this is the belief that evangelism will usher in the kingdom of God by making society more and more like Christ. That's a wonderful thought, but anyone who believes this has got their head stuck in the mud (yes, like an ostrich). I'm doing everything I can to get the word out about Christ yet society, from my perspective anyway, keeps getting worse and worse (Scientific laws of entropy anyone?). Does anyone else notice this too? Or am I the only one? (I'm being facetious if you can't tell).

My point? Don't sing it. It's subliminally teaching your congregation about bad doctrine.

7. Here I Am, Lord I'm talking about the version that has "I, the Lord of sea and sky" in the lyrics. I actually really like this song; the tune anyway. But as someone suggested to me, it's really kind of backward. It focuses completely on self, like I've Got a Mansion. What's worse is that it actually has you singing as God in the first person. I never thought about that when I sang it, but then again isn't that what I've been saying all along? We never think about the songs we sing. To place yourself in the place of God seems bad and prideful doesn't it? I suppose the rationale is to see it from God's perspective, which there is nothing wrong with trying to understand something from God's perspective. As a matter of fact if we had God's perspective of sin we'd think twice about some of the sins we blatantly commit.


8. On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand.
This is another reader suggestion. The whole premise of the song is that you are toiling through life and you stand at the banks of Jordan. Jordan was known to overflow in the rainy season and badly so, but soon you will cross Jordan and enter into rest, a.k.a. Heaven. The only problem is that Canaan Rest is a symbol of the peace that you find through God in this life. It's me accepting Christ as my Savior and now being at peace with God, having my sins atoned for (at-one-ment). Heavenly rest is the rest that the song has in mind. It is God's rest. It's the rest He took at the end of the Creation week and it's the rest that awaits for us one day.

The problem is that he didn't know the difference between Canaan rest and God's rest. He also didn't think that one through very clearly because Israel didn't have rest immediately upon entering the land. They had to clear it first, and then they didn't really ever do that, Hebrews says they never really got the rest they were supposed to have because of disobedience and unbelief.

If I take that approach then we're never really going to get the rest because Israel never got their rest either. Do you catch my train of thought? Did the guy intend to be Biblical? Probably. Did he succeed? No.

EDIT: Based on a conversation in the comments below I would like to clarify my comments. My problem with the song is merely the fact that the song has instilled a misconception in the minds of the our church members. Because of this song people relate crossing the Jordan with going into Heaven. When you couple this thought with Scripture it can create confusion. It is my opinion that we should avoid songs that create confusion.


9. Honey in the Rock If you ask my wife, she'd tell you that #1 on her list is Honey in the Rock, #2 on her list is Honey in the rock, and #3 on her list is Honey in the Rock. Now I don't know that I'd say the song is THAT bad. In fact, I have fun singing it randomly just to hear her go "No!" and watch her cover her ears. I did this last night at Wal-Mart and she started beating me with her purse all the while I'm laughing like crazy.
But truthfully, it's just an annoying song. There is a Bible verse to support the title of the song (Ps. 81:16). It references Christ being our Rock (which is very Biblical) and our joy can be found in Him. It actually seems quite encouraging looking at the lyrics, but the tune is just so obnoxious. It's on my "not like" list, but I can't call it unbiblical so I pegged it down toward the bottom despite my wife's feelings.

The only objection that I have for it is if the congregation loathes the song, then it's not accomplishing it's purpose of focusing our hearts on God, thus shouldn't be sung.


10. Good Christian Men Rejoice.
I'm probably stretching it with this song. The first line of this song probably wasn't written first. The second two verses are just fine. However, the first line, which actually talks about the day of Jesus' birth, instructs Christian men to rejoice because Jesus is born and is currently, at that particular moment in time, in the manger.

The problem is that "they were first called Christians at Antioch" a couple of decades after Christ's birth. If your argument is that Christians alive now are encouraged to rejoice, then you've got a time element disagreement. Christians now rejoice because Christ is born right now and in the manger. It doesn't make much sense.

EDIT: Read the comments below. I have rescinded my issues with this song. Plus, even if it did have some grammatical issues, that doesn't mean we shouldn't sing it. I probably shouldn't have put this on the list to begin with. I'll leave it here as a learning experience for someone who's interested.


I know there plenty more we could probably list, but we'll stop it here. I hope you haven't been discouraged by these posts. It's not my intention to discourage you because you can't trust the songs you sing, but instead to be like the Bereans in the New Testament and look in the Scriptures to see whether these songs line up. Plus, throwing out 10 songs when you've got a hymnal of 600 really isn't that bad now is it?

Just like last time, if you have any more songs to suggest that shouldn't be sung I would love to hear about it. Or maybe you think I listed a song that shouldn't be on the list. Let me know. Leave a comment in the box.

I'd also like to run a Questions and Answers article about music tomorrow. If you have questions, tell me about them on my Facebook page.

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Conservative Songs That Shouldn't Be Sung

Do you have any songs that just irk you? I mean, they really rub you the wrong way. I'm not talking about songs that you don't like because they're not your style or "flavor." I'm talking about songs that just sound unbiblical or that stretch the truth. I've got a few of them.

Now let me make something abundantly clear from the beginning. I am a conservative, I'm proud to be a conservative, and have no desire to be otherwise. However, I'm also not a hyper-conservative or anyone that believes "Hymns and nothing but." As a matter of fact, I'd strongly disagree with that approach. I align myself with the Bible, "Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."

Again, lest I sound like I'm about to start debating contemporary vs. traditional or classical vs. rock, I'm not. I'm missionary and a designer, not a musician or a student of music theory. If you are interested in those types of discussions, I've got some really great articles planned for this week's From the Experts on Friday. They are qualified to answer those discussions and I hope you'll look forward to reading them.

In an effort to help you music guys out there, I want to highlight a few songs that I believe to be unbiblical or have little spiritual value. Is not the goal of our song service to promote a worship of God? Is it not to remove our thoughts of ourselves and focus our hearts and minds Godward? How can songs that disagree with Biblical principles do this? They can't. So why do we sing these songs in church?

Here's my list of songs that I don't think are worth singing.

1. I've Got a Mansion.
This is #1 on my list. If there is a song that I can't stand it's I've Got a Mansion. There is so much wrong with this song. First, the focus is on me. Me, me, me. "I've got a mansion," "I'm satisfied," and "I want a gold one, that's silver lined."

The type of mansion people think of when they hear this song.

Secondly, it's awfully self-centered. It essentially says, "You know what. God, I can deal with what you've given me here on this earth, but boy you better have something good for me in heaven. I want a gold crown that's silver lined!" When you get to heaven the last thing you'll be thinking about is what types of crowns you should get or how big your "mansion" should be. You're going to fall on your face and cry "Holy!"

Speaking of mansions. Did you know that the Greek word translated mansion really has the idea of an "apartment?" That doesn't mean the translation is wrong. That word just means something different today. But the original penman's (of the Scripture reference about Christ preparing a mansion for us) culture was different than our own. In that day, a son would take on the family business which was often run out of the home or a near by building. In order to best help out with the business, the father would build an appendage to his house so that his wife and family could live close by. That's what God is going to do for us; keep us close to Himself.

Is the song wrong for using the word mansion? No, because technically it's in the Bible, but the interpretation of that word is horrendously misapplied.

2. The Eastern Gate.
This song poses a series of questions. How do they know it will be morning? Do they actually plan on meeting someone there? Plus this song seems to show evidences of a belief in salvation by works or at least a loss of salvation. "Then be ready, faithful pilgrim, lest with you it be too late?" If you are a faithful pilgrim, then there is no too late for you. That's it for my comments. You can see I was really passionate about I've Got a Mansion. It's about 3 times longer than the rest of these will likely be. But The Eastern Gate seems pretty unbiblical to me.

3. There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit.
There's a chance a lot of you won't know this song. But it's about the most worthless song in the history of Christendom. How does this prepare my heart for God? "There's a sweet spirit in this place. There are sweet expressions on each face." Okay? If you just want to sing songs, that's great, but we're supposed to be worshiping God, which this song does not.

4. We Three Kings of Orient Are.

This song is just unbiblical. It's unbiblical in that sort of oblivious sense. The author probably didn't intend to write an unbiblical song, but he did. It's like the assumption that everyone has that Noah's ark looked like a bath tub and had giraffe heads poking out of the ceiling. We (as Christians) are "great" for assuming that because there were three gifts, then there were three men. That's just a bad assumption. Can I prove there were more than three men? No, but can you prove there were only three? Certainly not.

And how do you know that they were kings? The Bible never calls them kings. They were called Magi. They were most likely astronomers or scientists. They watched the stars. How else would they have seen Christ's star? People assume they were kings because someone told them they were in a Sunday School lesson when they were kids. After all, those gifts are mighty precious to be given by anyone but a king, right? (Notice my sarcasm).

5. Bring Them In.
There's nothing theologically wrong with this song, it's just kind of awkward. At least it's awkward when you consider this scenario. You've been trying to convince your unsaved relative to come to church with you. He hates church and wants nothing to do with it, but he loves you. It's your birthday (or some other special occasion) and you convince him to come with you. He's already uncomfortable and already thinks Christians are arrogant. Then the music director asks you to turn to Bring Them In and you start singing "Bring them in from the fields of sin."  What a great impression that has on our unsaved visitors. Certainly they feel loved, I'm sure. They'll just be dying to come back after that one.


I've got 5 more songs I could list, and probably will list tomorrow or the next day. But I wouldn't want to spoil the fun for you.

Do you have any more songs that have bad theology? Ones that honestly and truly should not really be sung because there's no Biblical evidence to support it or it obviously teaches something anti-Bible? How about some that provide no spiritual value and aren't worth singing because they don't really praise God? I'd love to hear what you think about all this. Leave a comment in the box below.

If you find this article as interesting as I do or are as passionate about this topic, will you share this with your friends?

This post has a second part. Keeping reading Songs That Shouldn't Be Sung Part 2.

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Media Tip: The Ins and Outs of Church Music

Have you ever gotten into a hot debate with someone about how the church should run their music program? Well that's...NOT what this media tip is about. Instead, this is about how you can improve your current music program. Church music is a big deal because it sets the tone for the entire service. Bad church music makes for a bad service. Media is about communication and music is a communication tool. So here are 10 tips for your church music ministry.


1. Biblical Principles about Music.
Music should be God-centered, not man centered. Music that focuses on you and me and our life is misdirected. Music ought glorify and uplift God. Music is spiritual in nature and affects our emotions and inner being. Songs must be Biblical and based on Scripture. Any song that directly violates a teaching in Scripture is wrong, even if it is performed by a Christian artist or sung in church. Music ought be focused on the melody, not the rhythm, which is worldly.
(Exodus 32:17-18, I Samuel 16:23,
Psalm 95:1, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16-17)

2. Get Involved. Music is a great way to get involved in the service. Every week your pastor makes some sort of announcement begging people to get involved. He wants nothing more than to see you serve Christ in your local church. His whole goal is to see you develop as a Christian in your walk with God. You would knock his socks off if you came up to him and said, "Pastor, what can I do to get involved?"

Church music is one of those ways that you can get involved. Join the choir, sing a solo, sing a duet, sing in a quartet! Do you play piano? Ask if you can play a congregational song. Not up to that level yet? Ask to play an offertory. Do something! My church has a mini-orchestra. Do you play another instrument besides piano? Ask your pastor if you can sit next to the choir and play that instrument, even if you don't have an orchestra already.

3. Have a Song of the Month. Does your church sing the same songs over and over again? You probably have a hymnal with over 500 songs in it (800 if you have Living Hymns) and only sing about 100 of the songs. I know a rather larger church that only sings about 40 of the songs and it drives people bonkers! Why not pick one song a month to learn and sing it every service so that you get to know it. My friend's church does this and he says it's great.

4. Sing Songs Not in the Hymnal.
Your hymnal isn't a Bible. It's okay to sing songs that aren't in the hymnal. How can you sing them if they aren't in the hymnal, you ask? Well if everyone knows it, it shouldn't be a problem. However, this is one of the many uses of Powerpoint that your church can employ. Sing songs like Sanctuary, In Christ Alone, and As the Deer. In some cases, you could invite the congregation to open their Bible to Matthew 6:33 and sing Seek ye First. I'll bet you'll have some folks that didn't even know those songs were in the Bible!

5. Vary the Order of Service. People get tired of the same old, same old. This doesn't mean you should preach first and sing later (though, you could do that if you were having a singspiration and the sermon was merely a devotional). If you only sing the first and the last, sing all the verses. If you normally sing all the verses, only sing a couple (you're people might thank you. Sometimes song services can get overwhelming with so many verses). Sing 2 songs instead of 3 or 3 instead of 2. Changing it up a little bit will add variety (and keep some of the critics at bay!).

6. Have Special Music. I would say more than half of the churches out there already do this, so this might be a moot point. But I know a few churches that never have special music. Now it may be because they don't have anyone to do the special music. But my guess is they just haven't asked. As much as is possible, have special music at every service. My church is so packed with special music that we have to issue a monthly song schedule just to keep all our ducks in a row. This goes back to the getting involved point.

7. Powerpoint for Special Music. I already mentioned using Powerpoint with your songs, but here is another use, also mentioned in the same article. Say Joe is playing a song for the offertory and you have heard that song before, but you can't think of the song title. Instead of it eating you up the whole service, the title is wonderfully displayed on the screen and you can sit there and enjoy rather than be tormented. At least, I hope I'm not the only one who is bothered something like that.

8. Invite Special Singing/Peforming Groups. Groups like Proclaim Ministry Teams and the Academy of Arts (Excuse their website design. It's pretty bad, but they really do have great drama teams, I've seen one personally and vouch for their talent) make for great special services. I don't know how many of these types of things there are, but call around and see what you can find. Most Christian colleges like Pensacola Christian College, Bob Jones University, and West Coast Baptist College send out these special singing groups every summer. Call them up to book a team for your church next year.

9. Pay Attention to Song Order. Specifically, I mean in regards to meaning and thought flow. You may want to coordinate with the pastor on what his sermon is about. If he is preaching on Jesus you may want to sing "Near the Cross" or "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Place your more upbeat songs at the beginning of the service to get focus energized. Then put the slower, more contemplative songs right before the sermon so that it gets everyone's mind focused on God and ready to hear from God's Word.

Another potential thought in this area, if you can, is not having two slow songs in a row, or two fast songs. If you use a variety of hymnal and non-hymnal songs, you may actually want to put them back-to-back so that people don't have to keep turning in their book and then putting them away again.

10. Focus on the Words. This is more or less just a general principle that everyone should apply to every service. Does your brain shut off during singing? Have you ever caught yourself just singing the song not even thinking? I do it all the time and I trust you do too (Don't pretend you don't!). It defeats the purpose of the song service if all you do is regurgitate the words. The purpose of music is to focus our heart and mind on God and His goodness.

The next time you find yourself falling into that pattern (and you will very soon), stop and listen. Listen to the words, pay attention to them, and focus on them. Meditate on what it means for Heaven to come down and glory filling your soul. Is it just a song or does it mean something to you? Heaven, that is Christ, came to earth in human form and died on the cross for our sins, that through faith in Christ we might have eternal life and glory fills our soul.

Is that not a wonderful thought!? How can you contain your burst of excitement when you think about the goodness and love of God?! Yet our faces are flat, our voice boring and monotone, and our spirit not the least bit uplifted.

UPDATE

11. Song Suggestions. Based upon the conversation in the comments below I thought it good to add this tip to the list. Do you have a favorite song to sing at church? Maybe you love Victory in Jesus, but the problem is the church only sings the first and the last verses, but the verse that means the most to you is number 3. You could suggest to your music pastor what songs you would like to hear that way you, as a part of the body of Christ, are more engaged in praising God through song.

For the music pastor, my suggestion would be to have a song-leading hymnal if you do not already have one. Have one hymnal that is reserved for your song-leading. In it, you can write down all the notes you see fit to record. Maybe you'll circle all the songs the church knows. That way you can pick one they don't know every now and again. Maybe you'll star the song that the dear old lady in your church loves to hear. Anything other important song information can be written there for your recall.


Do you have anything to add to this? I'd love to hear your tips and different ideas that your church does to spruce up the music ministry. Leave a comment in the box below.

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