Singing to the Lord in the congregation can be one of the most exciting and meaningful activities of the local church. No other activity equally engages the mind, will, and emotions. No other activity requires the precedent of unity around the truth of God’s Word. It is a wonderful experience when God’s people are fully engaged and unified in worship.
What qualifies a song for corporate worship? How can we choose the kind of music that encourages such unity and engagement? Unfortunately, it is not enough to simply appeal to music from the distant past. How can we evaluate our songs, both new and old, for their biblical and practical use in the congregation?
Here are four essential ingredients that I believe can unify and engage the congregation in passionate singing.
The song is God-centered.
By strict definition, biblical worship is an obedient response to the truth of God. For corporate worship to take place, biblical truth must be accurately and clearly presented and the congregation must respond appropriately and obediently to that truth.
The truth about Who God is and what He has done should elicit our highest praise and most joyful singing. But how can such a response be possible when the text of the song does not present clear truth about God? What good is our singing when it isn’t clear to whom and about whom we are singing?
First, our songs should be directly and objectively about God. While personal testimonies and subjective experiences can be helpful and meaningful, we must be sure we sing objective truths about God that relate to the general experience of all Christians present.
Not only should our songs be directly about God, they should also be directed to God. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both end with a clear command that our singing is to be “to the Lord.” When was the last time your singing was more than a mere ritual? Do you consciously direct your singing from your heart to the Lord?
The text presents clear biblical truths.
The truth presented in our songs should be clear. The congregation should understand what they are saying. Singing a text that is vague or archaic will ultimately make congregational singing a mere ritual—a vain repetition for the sake of tradition instead of a heartfelt response to truth.
The truths presented in our songs should also be complete. That is, they should allow the church to sing many of the great doctrines of the Bible throughout the course of a season or year. Theologians of the past have long considered the songs of a church to be a systematic theology for the church.
The music encourages an affectionate response.
If all that mattered in congregational worship was the presentation of truth, there would be no need for singing. However, worship requires an appropriate response. Every ritual of worship is an opportunity for the Christian to demonstrate clear affections for God and His truth.
The music to which we set biblical texts should be carefully crafted with two goals in mind. The first goal should be to attach the appropriate emotion to the music. Music is the language of emotions, and we must allow the music to encourage the types of emotions appropriate for the truths we sing. “Stylizing” our music after any trend, old or new, places our focus on the music instead of the truth being presented.
The second goal is to move the congregation. Some have said that music is the only direct line of communication to the heart. If you couple powerful music with biblical truth and you can deeply move the congregation in their singing to God.
A word of caution here: Music can be used to manipulate superficial responses or to deeply move the affections. The difference is simple. In the first case, we move from emotion to truth. In the second case, we move from truth to emotion.
While we should be careful not to suppress Spirit-led emotional responses in our singing, we should always try to sense whether our emotional responses are led by the Spirit or by the senses.
The song includes the entire congregation.
The most important musical group in the church is the congregation. Take careful steps to ensure that the congregation is encouraged and equipped to sing. Preach about passionate singing. Give them great songs to sing. Facilitate opportunities for musical development. Structure you service in such a way that emphasizes their singing more than that of the platformed musicians.
Be mindful also to choose songs that are accessible to your congregation as well. Is the song in a singable range and style? Is the congregation familiar enough with the song to sing it as a congregation?
As you evaluate the songs that you will use in leading a worshiping church, ask these questions: Is it God-centered? Does it present clear biblical truth? Does the music encourage an affectionate response? Does it involve the entire congregation?
