We are singing in keys too high for the average singer. There are lots of great, new worship songs today, but in the vast pool of new songs, many are not suitable for congregational singing by virtue of their rhythms (too difficult for the average singer) or too wide of a range (consider the average singer-not the vocal superstar on stage). We are singing songs not suitable for congregational singing.
People worship best with songs they know, so we need to teach and reinforce the new expressions of worship. I advocate doing no more than one new song in a worship service, and then repeating the song on and off for several weeks until it becomes known by the congregation. Indeed, we should be singing new songs, but too high a rate of new song inclusion in worship can kill our participation rate and turn the congregation into spectators. With the release of new songs weekly and the increased birthing of locally-written songs, worship leaders are providing a steady diet of the latest, greatest worship songs. Worship is moving to its pre-Reformation mess. Simply put, we are breeding a culture of spectators in our churches, changing what should be a participative worship environment to a concert event. What has occurred could be summed up as the re-professionalization of church music and the loss of a key goal of worship leading – enabling the people to sing their praises to God. At first, this advance in technology led to more powerful congregational singing, but soon, a shift in worship leadership began to move the congregation back to pre-Reformation pew potatoes (spectators). With the advent of new video technologies, churches began to project the lyrics of their songs on a screen, and the number of songs at a church’s disposal increased exponentially. The evolution of the printed hymnal brought with it an explosion of congregational singing and the church’s love for singing increased. The Reformation gave worship back to the people, including congregational singing which employed simple, attainable tunes with solid, scriptural lyrics in the language of the people.
In the name of jesus we will shout it out professional#
The music was performed by professional musicians and sung in an unfamiliar language (Latin). Prior to the Reformation, worship was largely done for the people. Songs: Lord I Lift Your Name On High, Dance With Me, Amazing Love, Shout To The Lord, Light The Fire, Sanctuary, Lord Fill My Life, Cry of My Heart, You’re the Source, The Happy Song, Lions, Hey Everybody, Jesus Loves Me (Twist), Blessed Be, Jesus Bop, Build Your House, Baptized, Wounded Soldier, Fear Not, We’re Family, Peace Like a River, Psalm 25, Jesus Loves Me Alleluia, I Believe in Jesus, and Light of the World.Worship leaders around the world are sadly changing their church’s worship (often unintentionally) into a spectator event, and people aren’t singing anymore.īefore discussing our present situation, let’s look back into history. It’s a set of some of the BEST sing-alongs and praise songs out there! We picked 25 favorites that are a lot of fun to sing, focused on Christ, and easy to teach. Sample Service: View the “Steps of Faith” worship service. Themes include: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Christian community, baptism, the Lord’s supper, peace, faith, and evangelism. Each service includes 3 skits, a faith statement, confession and forgiveness, and creative ideas. The Resource book contains 12 services designed for youth to lead in church, on retreats, or special events. Shout It Out 12 seasonal Youth Sunday services for youth-led worship