Songs For the Service

     

Sometimes a sequence of worship songs and choruses put together by a skillful music minister really makes sense. One reason that song groupings sometimes have power is that they form a sequence of congruent musical and textual thought. However, there are other times when these put-together worship sequences do not form a logical or worshipful whole or they only serve to weary the worshipers.  

Not too long ago, I visited a church in city X. The worship leader and his faithful team had us sing and sing and sing until people began to lose interest and concentration.  I observed as the sequence continued at length that more and more people stopped singing.  Eventually, some people sat down and patiently waited until the worship leader and his praise team also ran out of steam and decided to throw in the musical towel. 

After the song service was completed, I imagined myself as a church mouse hiding in the corner of the staff meeting room bright and early Monday morning.  Would these dear people who had attended the worship service on Sunday morning get a “beating” by the worship team and its fearless leader? Surely it would be the congregation’s fault. If these people had come to church in the mood for a continuous, twenty-minute songfest, without doubt, all would have gone well. Certainly, I would have rightfully been one to blame if they knew my secret thoughts while the praise leader and his team droned on and on.

Since that time, I have mused on the thought that maybe these good songs would have had more effect if they had been strategically placed throughout the worship service. Now, that makes me “high church,” doesn’t it? Well, you might be right but this well-meaning team’s effort might have had the desired effect if they would have fed the congregation with smaller musical bites.

Sometimes, my logical German mind just aches for a congruent worship that makes sense as a unified whole. Maybe congregational singing would be more effective if the songs we sing in the worship service supported the lessons to be learned and were affirmations of our doctrinal and creedal beliefs. What could possibly be wrong with the songs being spread out for the purpose of having each song or worship chorus carefully and clearly support the unified purposes of our worship? The music could help to prepare our hearts textually for the preaching of God's Word.  Perhaps we should rethink congregational (and special) singing.  Maybe we should consider songs for the service rather than a song service detached from a unified progression of thought and response leading up to the preaching of God’s Word.