Helpful thoughts from Doug Wilson -
if we reject a form of music out of hand because it is not the form of music we prefer, then we are trying to kick against the variegated world that the triune God created. And if we are doing this in a spirit of musical snobbery, we are demonstrating that, however adept we are in the form we prefer, when it comes to music at large, we don’t really know what its for.
This is a helpful breakdown from Bob Kauflin on 3 important aspects of leading congregational worship -
Aristotle sought to help speakers be more persuasive by identifying three crucial areas to keep in mind. He called them logos, ethos, and pathos…
Briefly, logos is seeking to persuade through truth… Ethos has to do with the character of the person speaking… Pathos refers to the ability to stir the emotions of your listeners…
Words by Horatius Bonar, 1861; Music by Matt Foreman, 2011
Bonar loved to write and sing about God’s amazing grace. This text is one of his most famous hymns, where he articulates salvation by grace through faith apart from works – a heart leaning wholly on Christ…
Audio forthcoming…
Words by Frances Havergal, 1874; Music by Matt Foreman, ©2012
I read recently that this text was Frances Havergal’s personal favorite of her poetry. A copy was found in her pocket after her death.
Audio forthcoming…
Here are two new Christmas songs written in the last week. Both are fairly simple musically. But the lyrics are great!
The first is a version of Martin Luther’s “All Praise to Thee Eternal Lord”, with a chorus added.
The second is a hymn by Edward Caswall -
This is a great description of what happens in worship -
Gospel wakefulness means treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly. Treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly is simply the the long way of writing worship.
Worship is the ascribing of the worth to something or someone. In this case, of course, the recipient of this worship is God, the only one worthy of our worship. What happens in gospel wakefulness is that in our brokenness, our sense of self-worth and sufficiency in things other than God gets destroyed, and as the good news of Christ’s finished work is applied to us, our affections become reformed, renewed, and revitalized.
Jared Wilson in Gospel Wakefulness, p 77.
HT: Reformissionary
Words by Horatius Bonar, 1844; Music by Matt Foreman, ©2008
The first verse of this hymn might sound a little depressing, but even secular writers recognize the wisdom in beginning with the end in mind. Christians are to look for “the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). And such a heavenly perspective actually shapes our daily lives in the present – to live lives of holiness and purposefulness, prepared for that day.
This hymn by Horatius Bonar seeks to shape our minds and hearts with such a perspective. My favorite line has to be the third – ‘A few more Sabbaths here shall cheer us on our way, and we shall reach the endless rest, the eternal Sabbath day.’
Audio forthcoming…
Here are some helpful quotes from Stuart Townend, recorded by Mike Gilbart-Smith…
“We need both the objective and subjective in singing: objective reflection on the character and work of God and subjective emotional response to those truths”
“More people learn their theology through songs than through sermons. People are more likely you leave church humming a song than reciting the sermon! Therefore it is vitally important that our songs teach good theology.”
“Look at 3 months worth of your songs sung in church: are you choosing songs that reflect the breadth of the character of God”
“Songs must put the reality of the different experiences of life in the perspective of the reality of the character and promises of God.”
“Faith is not routed in dislocated ideas, but in history. We have a story to tell, and so there must be songs that don’t merely proclaim truths or evoke emotions: we need songs that tell the story.”
Story telling songs are great in evangelistic circumstances: non-Christians can truthfully sing “From the squalor of a borrowed stable” but cannot sing “I love you Lord” without lying.
“We want to undermine the idea, “I couldn’t come to church today because I was in a mess, and I need to clean myself up before I can enter God’s presence”. No! We come to him to be cleaned up.”
“True worshippers of God habitually give thanks to God. Idolators are those who “neither glorify him as God or give thanks to him.” (rom 1:21)
“Worship is on God’s terms and not ours”
“Those who lead worship are called to please God and serve the people, not just serve God and please the people.”
“The danger is that we so rely upon the means of revelation (songs, scriptures etc) that we do not look to the Spirit of revelation to use those means that he would reveal the Father and the Son. We must be prayerful.”
“Matt Redman, prefers the term ‘Lead worshipper’ rather than ‘worship leader’. The Holy Spirit is the ‘worship leader’.”
“It is important to realise that ‘worship leading’ is delegated responsibility from church leadership. There is a need for the elders to have knowledge and responsibility for what goes on in the Sunday service, so that if the worship leader gets a phonecall over Sunday lunch saying “why did we sing that song?” the worship leader can say, “the pastor said it was fine, so you need to speak to him.”
“Really important to work with the musicians you have rather than try to ‘create a sound’ that you may not have the musicians to create. “
Part 5 of the article – “Theology and Practicum for Worship Music”
1. Edification – The primary function of music in worship is to edify and help the congregation in worship, particularly by focusing thoughts on God’s Word and drawing out the heart in response to His Word. The key question then for all music is: is it edifying and helpful? “All things are lawful; not all things are helpful.” All the other values for music in worship flow out of this one. What songs to choose, both textually and musically, is an edification question. How they are arranged is an edification question. How they are to be played is an edification question. Who is best to play and lead them is an edification question. (If we can assume the theological questions of what songs to sing and spiritual qualifications of leaders and musicians, the following values applicable to worship leading flow out of this first one…) Continue reading
Part 3 of the article – “Theology and Practicum for Worship Music”
Music Is Controversial Because Worship Is Hard
Despite the wonderful power of music (or perhaps because of it), music in worship has often proved controversial. Proverbial wars have been fought in church history over music. Music is controversial because it is powerful and important. When music goes wrong, something vital, something enhancing is lost for worship.
It might be better expressed: music is controversial because worship is hard. Think about it. What does it mean for finite creatures to worship an infinite God? What does it mean for sinful creatures to worship a holy God? Worship is attempting to comprehend the ineffable.
Think of some of the tensions that are involved when we are worshipping – Continue reading