101 Ten ways to improve Worship

Today's worship leaders of the informal or contemporary service format must all be baby boomers--people whose hearing has already been damaged by 40 years of rock n roll concerts and battles of the bands. I noticed "10 ways to improve worship," "10 more ways" and then "10 additional ways," amounting to 30 suggestions on the Internet site of Donald Whitney. I really liked this one from the first group of 10. The author writes:

#9 Have congregational singing with musical accompaniment, not music with congregational accompaniment.

The music is so loud in some churches I've visited that I can't hear myself sing, much less hear the congregation. A few of the Psalms provide Biblical evidence that sometimes it's appropriate for worship music to be loud. But let's remember our priorities: the musicians are there to accompany the congregation, not vice-versa. Parenthetically, drums are especially problematic in this regard. If you have them, keep them from dominating the music.

However, #5 from the third group of ten suggestions was good too. (Numbers 1 through 4 were on singing Psalms whether your format is historical, traditional, or contemporary.) A few weeks ago we were worshipping at our Hilltop location, a lovely, older church building with beautiful stained glass windows and a well-designed chancel area. Its cross, altar, and soaring spaces were completely blocked by an ugly screen. One of our locations keeps no hymnals in the pews--you have to ask for one. Mr. Whitney writes:

5. Use slides, but don't lose your hymnal.

I was the guest preacher in a church that utilizes PowerPoint to display the lyrics to all the songs. The pastor told me of an incident with his children that changed his perspective about having abandoned the use of hymnals. While on vacation his family attended the church in which he'd been raised. At the beginning of the service the worship leader announced a hymn number and my friend and his wife reached for their respective hymnals. Between them sat their two children, approximately ages five and seven, watching. Recognizing that these books weren't Bibles they pointed to their dad's hymnal and asked sincerely, "What's that?"

"It made me realize," said my friend, "that I don't want to raise children who don't know what a hymnal is."

Using electronic means to display the words of songs has its benefits and conveniences, as I've personally experienced in many places as well as in the church where I'm a member. Still, there's a lot to be said for keeping hymnals in use (as our church also does). A songbook teaches the congregation knowledge about music and church history they wouldn't otherwise learn. I can't read music, but by observation and experience through years of singing from a hymnal (which has the music along with the lyrics, unlike mere words on a screen or handout) I have learned a bit about following a tune up and down, when to hold a note, etc. And when I read at the bottom of the page that the words to the song were written by, say, William Cowper, or another Christian hero, my knowledge of the life out of which the words were forged deepens my experience of singing them. (If a hymnal is unworkable in your situation, of course it's still possible to put the songwriter's name on the screen or the handout with the lyrics.)

We're becoming increasingly illiterate as a society. Retaining the hymnal says something about the value Christians place on books. Using a songbook in worship can also have an influence on the Christian growth and experience of our people outside the walls of the church building, for it's much more likely that our church members will use a hymnal in their family or personal worship if they sometimes use it in congregational worship.

http://www.ovrlnd.com/GeneralInformation/10WaysToImproveWorship.html
Copyright Disclaimer: All the information contained on the SpiritualDisciplines.org website is copyrighted by Donald S. Whitney. Permission granted to copy this material in its complete text only for not-for-profit use (sharing with a friend, church, school, Bible study, etc.) and including all copyright information