This is an interesting article: The Slow Death of Congregational Singing. I think he paints with a pretty wide brush here, but the principles are solid and should be considered. He lays most of the blame for why congregations don't sing well on a music team that is untrained or insensitive. I think this most certainly could be the case (and have seen it many times as well), but in my estimation there may be some other factors that also play a role:
1. Weak preaching that does draw attention to the greatness of God. When a vision of God is huge a response to this God should naturally flow from those who love Him. The primary teacher/preacher in the church is real worship leader. Great music will draw people, but won't keep them if the preaching is weak.
2. Bad sound technicians that fail to mix the sound well (either too loud or too soft). You can read some more developed thoughts of mine on this issue here if you like.
3. Perhaps a large population of unbelievers or young believers are present and have not yet developed a love for the great things of God.
What do you think? What would you add?
(HT: Church Matters)
5 comments:
I'll add a couple more...
4. The choice of music itself is too difficult for the congregation to sing (bad melody line or range, over-embellished, or in a bad key for the congregation even though it may be perfect for the worship leader).
5. Mindset of the congregation. There may be a lack of understanding of what congregational participation in worship should look like. How is the church teaching that?
6. Worship isn't modeled by leadership (ie, pastor or elders don't sing). I remember when I first started going to 24-7... when I saw Jesse in the front of the room worshiping his heart out, I felt free to do so too. To a point, newcomers take their cues on what's appropriate from what else is going on in the room.
Julie,
I think you are totally right, especially about bad songs.
Along with modeling, I would also add the importance of teaching on why we sing and what singing is all about Biblically.
z
I especially gravitated to the section called "The Mcdonaldization of Worship." I think that some worship could be revitalized by giving the team a month off, and just bringing in a guy with a guitar who knows some old school techniques to draw everybody in. In some churches the congregation has never been given a chance to hear the sound of themselves singing.
JulieH: - Re.#6: I have unsuccessfully encouraged a number of pastors to walk up onto the stage during the last vs. or ch. of the final worship song to "transition" from worship to teaching, and if they feel so inclined, to sing out an extra reprise of the chorus. (This is somewhat common in Assemblies of God churches, but rare elsewhere.) I think that in too many churches music and teaching are seen as separate, unrelated elements. The pastor has to be seen as a worshiper.
Zach, I agree with the second reason (the "too loud" part), as I have experienced it myself at times in the past. I am usually a fairly hearty singer-- in other words, I sing loudly! :-) However, when the music is so loud that not only can I not hear the people around me, but I can barely even hear myself, it can be frustrating. With that said, I don't allow loudness to *keep* me from singing, personally, but it can be a bit hard to deal with, not being able to hear oneself or the surrounding congregation. It reminds me of going to a rock concert, and I still sing there too-- but I go to a church service for different reasons than I go to a concert. I genuinely find it a spiritual blessing to be able to hear my brothers and sisters in Christ singing in unison, like a Heavenly choir. When I can't hear them, I honestly miss that picture of God's glory.
About people not singing when the music is too quiet, isn't this ultimately the fear of man (a fear that I definitely struggle with in my own ways)? I think that we be encouraging each other to sing for the glory of God, freeing us from bondage to fears of what those around us might think of our singing abilities. As I said, I struggle with fear of man in my own ways, so I have real growing to do in that way too. However, I don't think that the volume should be set at a high level in a church service *because* some people are uncomfortable with their own voices. They can choose not to sing (an unfortunate choice, I think), or they can sing very quietly, so that others might not hear, but by contrast, I can't turn down the volume when it gets to be too much, and I have difficulty singing and hearing others sing.
I do think that a congregation's view of God can have *much* to do with the enthusiasm of their singing (or lack thereof). If we are not taken up with the sovereign, holy, gracious God who is greater than we can conceive, our singing will likely reflect it. One of the solutions, as you mentioned, is strong preaching that shows us the greatness of God, convicts us of sin, and leaves us deeply grateful for His grace-- so much so that we cannot *help* but sing enthusiastically! :-)
P.S. I'm going to see Soular tonight, Lord willing-- and I'm looking forward to singing loudly!!!
This hearkens back to the "near-death" of congregational song in the late 1700s and early 1800s in American churches (which makes me think this is a cyclical issue). At the time, there were many great hymnwriters such as William Billings. However, hymn books began to shrink and more and more songs were being sung to the same dwindling number of tunes. Finally, it was discovered that issue was a poor learning environment - people couldn't read music and depended upon a few people who knew the songs well.
Hmm, that sounds strikingly familiar. While many congregations still use hymnals and foster learning to read music, the growing use of contemporary music creates a unique issue. The solution in early 1800s America was the development of easy and fun music education (the establishment of free "singing" schools which taught using simple shape-note systems). This developed into the still-present Sacred Harp and Southern Harmony traditions which have profoundly influenced modern hymnody.
Now our issue: What action do we take now? I don't have an answer, but part of it comes down to meeting people where they are at and making learning worship music safe, fun, and attainable. Music is not the only way to worship, but we would be remiss not to make it inclusive. Note that in many traditions, particularly liturgical traditions, music is integral to the experience of worship and has been for hundreds of years. If we allow our fellow believers to remain passive during musical worship, we allow them to enter a dangerous apathy toward our sacrifice of worship.
Now I'm rambling. < /ramble >
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