MADE TO WORSHIP

Choosing Songs for Corporate Worship

 

Choosing songs for corporate worship is an important responsibility and should not be taken lightly.  Gordon Fee says, “Show me your churches songs and I’ll show you their theology.”  What we sing matters, and should be taken into careful consideration before we declare it as truth on Sunday.  Another way of asking this would be to say “If your teaching on Sunday was limited to your songs, how well would you be teaching the Word of God?”  Our primary goal in worship should be to proclaim Gods Word, his character and his works.  Bob Kauflin tells us we have a choice we can; choose to let the music supersede the Word, we can avoid music because we think it undermines the word, or we can use music to serve the Word.  Our goal in corporate worship should be to use the medium of music to proclaim God’s word thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the gospel, cherish God’s presence and live for God’s glory.

 

We live in a time where we are bombarded with corporate worship songs to choose for worship.  Thousands of songs have been written in the last few decades and have been submitted for use in the church.  Worship music has become its own genre and in many ways it has become another commodity to be bought, sold and commercialized.  Worship leaders get all sorts of requests for songs that people want to sing on Sunday.  However, sometimes people don’t realize that not every song is suitable for corporate worship.   Below is my “Philosophy of Worship and Music in the Church”.  I’ve outlined some of my criteria for song selection, to give an idea of how and why I choose certain songs and why I leave others out.

 

Congregational songs vs. Performance songs.

First we need to clarify that just because a song is meaningful and stirs your heart does not mean that the song is fit for congregational worship on Sundays.  Music can be a powerful tool used to provoke an emotional response. All you have to do is go to a concert and watch peoples responses to see this truth.  Congregational songs should focus more on God than us and more on the group than on individuals.  Many songs that we hear on the radio are written from an individual’s point of view about a specific experience they had with God.  These songs do not translate well to a corporate setting. 

 

Where to start

A good place to start is to ask, what is currently already being used in worship?  I am constantly reviewing tons of music and hundreds of songs.  Here are some of the bands/groups that I use regularly because many of their songs have already met the criteria below.

 

All Sons and Daughters, Ascend the hill, Bethel Music , Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Caedmon’s Call, Charlie Hall, Chris Tomlin , Citizens , Christy Nockels, David Crowder Band , Desperation Band, Elevation worship, Heartsong, Hillsong , Hillsong United, Jeremy Camp, Jeremy Riddle, Jesus Culture, John Mark Mcmillan, Kristian Stanfill , Lincoln Brewster, Matt Redman, New Life Worship, Passion , Paul Baloche, Phil Wickham, Shane and Shane, Sovereign Grace Music, Steve Fee, The Digital Age, Tim Hughes, Vicky Beeching

 

Additional Sources

I rely on a few other sources to give me good feedback on the music that’s out there. I look at:

1. Other Worship Leaders

What are they leading in worship and which songs have they found useful?

2. Worship Leader Magazine and SongDISCovery

What is currently coming out and being reviewed?

3. Old hymns

What can be redeemed from our wealth of older songs, and how are they being re-written for the church now?

5. CCLI top 100

Although what is poplar is not always the best way to choose a song, it does help to get a pulse on what other churches are using.

 

Song criteria.

Choosing songs is a pastoral responsibility.  Song selection should be critical

and obedient to the Holy Spirits as He speaks through Scripture and experience. Furthermore, an average congregation can only learn about 10-15 new songs per year, and with such limited space, I have to be incredibly discerning and selective. So whatever passes through the following criteria makes it onto my list of potential songs.

 

1. Is it theologically precise?

The first and most important question to ask is, “Is the text in accord with the truth of Scripture?”  If the song does not meet this criterion, you need to stop here and throw it out!  Does the text potentially blur things, which are clear in the Bible? We should be clear about what we sing and communicate

 

2. Is it God-centered?

The next question should be, “Is the song directed toward God or to my subjective experience?” Is the song praising God, or merely reflecting on the benefits he bestows to me in the experience of worship?  There is an appropriate time and place to reflect upon ourselves and our state before God, but only in connection (either explicitly or implicitly) with how it brings glory to God. In speaking of our devotion to and work for God, is it always set in a context of our response to grace, rather than giving off a sense of earning God’s pleasure or favor?  Does it verge on boasting too much of my own commitment and devotion rather than the merits of Christ’s finished work?

 

3. Is it logically coherent?

Does the song convey one or a few main ideas, or is it scattered and piecemeal in its text and expression? Unfortunately, some songs fail at this point. They are seemingly random in their expression, from phrase to phrase, with little or no logical connection with what has come before and/or what comes after.  You can often see this in verse two or three of a song or in the bridge.  The songwriter has gotten sloppy in continuing with the theme or thought.

 

4. Is it singable?

Does it have a melody that is not overly difficult to sing, either because of large and frequent note-interval jumps or in overly complex rhythm? Does it contain a vocal range, which is appropriate to the average person?  

 

5. Does the music complement the text?

In the art of congregational song, the music is subordinate and subservient to the text.  Music should help describe the text not detract from it. And anything that distracts us in our worship of God violates the spirit of 1 Corinthians 14.

 

Not all songs that pass the criteria make it onto the playing field. There is a limit to the amount of songs a congregation can learn in a year, and sometimes congregations are at given times in need of certain messages or expressions of worship more than others. Sometimes I’ve even introduced songs only to sense one or two weeks later that it’s just not working or fitting with our congregation. Songs may be perfectly appropriate, but they may not connect with us at the moment.