6. I did not try to get rid of their old favorite songs.
Part of the damage of our race to acquire the newest songs is our simultaneous rush to discard the older ones. My congregation loves some songs that I don’t like as much or may even be tired of. But if the theology is sound and the musical setting is appropriate, let them sing. It is not about us!
7. I did not try to greatly expand the song library.
CCLI currently lists about 300,000 songs. And new songs are coming out every week. How many songs do we really need to sing every year? Probably about 40-50. We have more songs at our disposal than at any point in worship history. That means we need to say “no” to most of them.
8. I did not try rhythmically challenging melodies.
While the chord changes with contemporary worship are simpler than traditional hymnody, the melodic rhythms can be quite complicated. Smooth it out, take out the solistic turns and variations, teach it well, and make it congregationally friendly. Who cares how cool it sounds if the only ones singing are on the worship team.
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9. I did not try too many songs in a worship service.
We can argue about how people should really want to sing more, but every congregation has its saturation point for singing each Sunday. Most have not sung the rest of the week so Sunday is a vocal workout. If your congregation is singing well for three or four songs, but by the fifth song they are beginning to drop out, you may not be serving them by adding the extra song. Don’t criticize them, serve them and help them grow.
10. I did not have my band play on every verse and chorus.
Musical accompaniment has one major purpose: supporting congregational singing! The most important sound on Sunday morning is that of your congregation. Have the band stop playing occasionally and let the people hear each other. I promise they will sing louder and more heartily in response!
Let the people sing!
This article about congregational singing originally appeared here.
