My wife, Kristyn, and I recently returned from a tour where we had the privilege of sharing our music in cities across North America. As we do on our tours, we partnered with most of our concert sponsors to host a lunch and time of discussion with church leaders, where I posed the question, ‘What are the things you ask yourself on Monday morning, in reviewing Sunday’s services?’ I do not recall that anyone asked, ‘How did the congregation sing?’
It seems curious that in a generation that has produced innumerable conferences, articles, blogs, and even university degree programmes on ‘worship’, the topic of congregational singing hasn’t been raised more often. But even if we had been discussing congregational participation, would we know what goal we’re aiming to hit each week?
I do not pretend to be qualified to write a theological treatise on this particular subject. Congregational singing is a holy act, and as I organise my thoughts, I hear my old pastor, Alistair Begg, reminding me that in our song worship, we have to be spiritually alive (dead people don’t sing), spiritually assisted (through the enabling of the Holy Spirit), and spiritually active (committed to daily walking with the Lord).
I offer here some practical advice on strengthening our congregational singing, drawn from what we have seen and learned in our travels.
1) Begin with the pastor
Look at any congregation not engaged in worship through singing and the most consistent correlation is a senior pastor equally as disengaged. Ultimately the buck stops with him in congregational worship.
Every pastor must be intimately involved in the language being placed in the congregation’s mouth, for that singing ultimately affects how they think, how they feel, how they pray, and how they live. The congregation should be treated as those who have been invited to a feast at the table of the King; don’t hand them junk food! C.S. Lewis believed singing completes our faith, explaining in his book Reflections on the Psalms, ‘I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.’ This is why I believe many of our pastoral heroes such as Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle, and Philip Schaff produced hymn books in addition to preaching and teaching. Other leaders such as Horatius Bonar, Richard Baxter and John Calvin wrote hymns themselves.
Pastors not only have a duty to be involved in preparing for the time of congregational singing; they also have a responsibility to personally model and demonstrate the importance of it. We need pastors who constantly delight in their congregation’s singing and who also joyfully and authentically participate themselves.
Pastors, take up your duty in this act of worship called congregational singing.
2) Sing great songs
If congregational singing is a holy act, and if we are what we sing, then we can’t be lazy in selecting songs. We must sing great songs – songs that skilfully exalt Christ with deeply meaningful lyrics and melodies we can’t wait to sing. Better to have a small repertoire of great songs (that you will sing well) than a catalogue full of songs recycled for sentimental reasons or chased after because they are the ‘latest’ thing.
Writing or selecting great songs is not an exercise in lyrical propaganda or marketing. It is not merely laying scriptural truth alongside any melody. It is an art form that arrests our emotions and intellect in mysterious ways. Just as a master chef selects ingredients that are at the same time nutritious, aromatic, and flavourful, the selection of songs for congregational singing must excite at a number of levels.
Great songs have stood the test of time. They have been passed on to us from our fathers, and we should pass them along to our children. Assemble any Christian group, and practically everyone can join you in singing ‘Amazing Grace’ confidently and passionately. We’re drawn to sing great music, much like we’re drawn to stand in awe of a beautiful painting.
There are great new songs – they breathe fresh air into our singing and help connect age-old truth with modern sounds. These are appropriate, too, though harder to find.
Art ultimately expresses life, and low-quality songs do not reflect spirited, serious believers.
3) Cultivate a congregation-centred priority in those who lead
Our corporate responsibility before God and to each other is to sing together. Throughout Scripture, the command to sing is given to God’s people more than 400 times. Ephesians 5:19 instructs believers to address one another in ‘psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’. Week after week, we are spiritually renewed, realigned, and sanctified by singing to the Lord and singing to each other as the body of Christ.
Sadly, some of the churches with the newest facilities are weakened substantially by lacklustre congregational singing. It is an awful witness for outsiders to watch believers so uninterested in singing to their Creator and Redeemer.
Many of our common faults can be corrected when we teach and encourage those involved in our music to be excited about using their gifts for the purpose of supporting the congregation. They should share in facilitating the high calling of congregational singing.
4) Serve the congregation through musical excellence
Scripture often commands us to make music that is both good and excellent. For example, Psalm 33 tells us to both ‘shout for joy in the Lord’ and also play our instruments ‘skillfully’ (v.3). This instruction is consistent with our calling as believers to work heartily at whatever we do, as for the Lord and not men (Col. 3:23). The music need not be complex or style-specific, but we must take seriously our role in such holy activity. This leadership requires people who are trained and well-prepared. There is no dichotomy between musical excellence and congregational worship provided the excellence is given in service of the congregation.
5) Manage the congregation’s repertoire intentionally
Having progressed in each of the areas above and putting them into regular practice in services, be intentional about what is sung and when. Don’t treat your library of congregational choices like selecting ‘shuffle’ on your iPod. Instead, be intentional in ordering the service, heeding Eric Alexander’s caution that congregational praise begins with God and his glory, not man and his need. Ask why you are singing at a given point in the service, and be sure that the selection for that moment is appropriate. Also, learn from the rich heritage of liturgy and how it provides a pathway of ordering songs for a service.
And finally
Why not begin the Monday morning review by asking, ‘How did the congregation sing?’ and, ‘How can we help them do it better?’ Starting here, we may find that the other questions begin to resolve themselves.
©2014 Getty Music. A longer version of this article can be found at TheGospelCoalition.com where it was first published.