In almost every congregation, there is an awareness that music is important. Some employ professional musicians, some have gifted volunteers, some just wish they had talented musicians.
But even where there are many gifted musicians and singers involved in the music aspect of a church, the selection of music can still be pretty haphazard. Often music is chosen because the lyrics resonate with the sermon theme, or with the long term members of the congregation in mind, or because most of the people in the congregation will know the song. Most contemporary worship music seems to emphasise our personal relationship or gratitude for God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, expressed in praise and worship.
These are all legitimate functions of music. But if they are the only factors we consider then we are missing the mark. For me, as we choose songs we should be aware of the potential newcomer from our wider community, who may be puzzled and alienated by some of the lyrics which use expressions that only make sense within our Christian sub-culture.
We also need to remember the younger members of the church, who don’t get to choose the songs. Someone I respect faithfully ensures that his congregation always has a quota of songs that are less than five years old, after the fifteen year olds in his congregation pointed out that songs written 15 years ago may still feel ‘contemporary’ to many adults in the congregation, but were a lifetime old to the young ones. (At the same time we should be giving them opportunities to be part of the music ministry and get involved in choosing and even writing new songs).
To be relevant to both newcomers and younger church members is to go beyond just grabbing the latest Praise and Worship tune churned out by the Christian Music industry. Some are great songs that say something profound, but many just sound pretty similar. Contemporary is not a style – and it shouldn’t always be middle of the road. Have a listen to Gungor, the Brilliance, David Crowder, The Porter’s Gate or Rend Collective and you’ll hear a range of contemporary approaches to music.
Most importantly, some or most of the songs we sing should teach us something as disciples. We need songs that pick up biblical themes beyond praise and worship, and songs which express both the good news about Jesus and the good news of Jesus – the message Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God in both word and deed.
A minister friend in a country church asked for some suggestions for introducing more contemporary music into their congregation. So here’s a preliminary list I’ve thrown together of songs which I think are worth using in worship. You will see that most of them are relatively new, they have a range of contemporary styles, and many of them talk about what Jesus has done for us (the good news about Jesus) or the message of the Kingdom which Jesus both preached and acted out (e.g. turning over tables, or loving your enemy – ‘brother’).
So that is my framework for song selection:
- Maybe one song that picks up sermon themes
- Once a month an old favourite for the long term members
- All other songs to:
- Be newcomer and young person friendly by being contemporary, but diverse – (with arrangements that allow young people with musical skills to participate)
- Teach us something as disciples
- Explore biblical themes beyond praise and worship
- Tell us the good news about Jesus and what he has done
- Tell us the good news that Jesus and the early church taught, about the Kingdom of God – the world as it should be.
At the bottom of this post there’s another version of the Crowder song with lyrics and chords.
Here are a few songs I’ve written that fit this brief – links on the glenbpowellmusic.net page include lyric videos and music charts:
Here’s the Crowder song from the top of the list with lyrics and chords.
Glen B Powell Music 