Tag: Song Leaders

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Which Song Should We Sing…

Often our repertoire for singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is nothing short of limited. We sing on Sunday morning, maybe Sunday night and the for the ‘faithful’ we’ll sing on Wednesday night. But if you were to really push yourself, how many songs (from the hymnal) do you know? Song leaders, honestly, how many options do you have at the ready when Sunday morning comes? If you were to list out 5 or 6 “Communion” songs…which ones would you write down? Right now, as you read this, can you list out 8 or 9 songs that would be good to lead before a prayer?

We have our favorite hymns, but do we know which ones should be placed where in our ‘order of worship?’ What would top your list? Would you include; “How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Ivory Palaces” and “It Is Well with My Soul?” Certainly you would have some of the all-time favorites such as; “How Great Thou Art,” “Amazing Grace” and 728b, “Our God, He is Alive.”

Let’s try this short exercise to see how you would pull together an order of worship for Sunday morning…which of the following would be good for opening worship:

“Be Still and Know,” “Faithful Love” or “O Worship the King” (Why do you choose that song?)

How about the song before the Lord’s Supper:

“How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Bind Us Together” or “Break Thou the Bread of Life” (AGAIN…WHY?)

What about the song before the lesson, a sermon entitled “Heaven is My Home,” would you lead before the lesson;

“My Jesus, I Love Thee,” “Sing to Me of Heaven” or “This Is My Father’s World” (CONSIDER THE QUESTION…WHY DO YOU PICK THE SONG YOU PICK?)

So many options are available, but perhaps with this exercise you can see that just because you like a song or you think it’s a good one, you need to ask why you’re picking each specific song. Realize you have the responsibility to ‘set the mood’ for the moment of worship, then your song selection becomes more focused. And keep in mind, if your repertoire of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is limited you won’t be able to grow in your worship and leadership as you lead the congregation in singing.

Let me encourage you to wear out your hymnal. Spend long hours reading the words and come to a better understanding of what you’re singing. Then you’ll see what Paul was talking about when he wrote I Corinthians 14:15, “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with understanding (the mind).”

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Heavenward ‘Applause’

For a moment, think about how we train our young people. Those in our children’s Bible classes and up through the teen years.

So often we talk about teaching our young men to lead, but stop short of providing them with the opportunity. We provide summer trips, monthly activities and weekly Bible studies, we even practice song leading and preaching (with Leadership Training for Christ, Lads to Leaders, Timothy classes, etc.) But how much of the teaching and training of our young people is focused on actually leading as opposed to entertaining. Young men prepare talks, practice singing and then stand up before the congregation to lead. But rather than accept audience-applausetheir work, honor their contribution and receive edification from their message, we smile and applaud. In like manner a young person makes the great confession, is baptized into Christ and the first thing they hear coming up from the watery grave is the sound of clapping. What message are we hoping to give when we clap for their service? Are we saying, “good job,” or “congratulations,” or “we approve?”

In a society that is devoid of hard work, the sound of applause is heard at the accomplishment of a task. A beautiful, musical score played or sung by a talented musician is means for applause. The athlete hitting a deep drive into the gap, or making a catch or scoring the winning run is honored with a standing ovation. But when he’s training and practicing for the performance, where is the clapping? Yes, we want to recognize the accomplishment, but why clap for one who is training to lead and teach? Too often we honor the servant when we should be glorifying the Master. In John chapter 13, verse 16, just hours before His arrest and crucifixion he said, “…truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.”

A congregation in Nashville, Tennessee (Woodson Chapel church of Christ) participates in the Lads to Leaders program. During an extended training opportunity for their boys who have been trained, one young, 3 year old boy asks if he can lead a song. Not being old enough to participant in the ‘official training,’ this little man stepped up to lead the congregation. Listen and watch him as he ‘directs’ the saints in the song, “Blue Skies and Rainbows.” But more importantly listen to the lesson this body of believers teaches him AFTER the song has been sung.

You’ve heard it said, “Actions speak louder than words.” Our children will learn from what we do as well as what we say. If we truly want to glorify God, we’ll consider carefully how much ‘glory’ we give each other. We must train our father son singingyoung people to ‘…honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God and honor the king.’ I Peter 3:17. Honoring all people and the king doesn’t mean to applaud their service. Loving the brotherhood doesn’t refer to clapping at their new birth, but fearing God does mean…‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’ Leviticus 3:10 Remember the preacher and the song leader are nothing more than servants, and each of us should concern ourselves with who we honor and how we honor them. Perhaps we should focus more of our ‘applause’ heavenward.

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That’s All I Want…Jan 20th

A friend of mine shared a GREAT idea about posting the order of worship for members of the congregation and prospective worship leaders.  This simple use of the world wide web will allow those interested to get a glimpse of what’s coming up for Sunday morning.  Nice idea, and one I think will benefit those who what to learn about the songs we’ll be singing on Sunday.  This post will reflect this past Sunday morning (January 20th).  Be looking for the next few weeks as we’ll be posting the order of worship by Friday or Saturday before Sunday…

Sunday morning, January 20, 2013

Robert Oglesby has been the pulpit preacher at Waterview church of Christ since February, 1963.  Yes, in a few short days he and his family will be celebrating 50 years as the preacher for this solid congregation in the Kingdom of God.  Our sermon topic on Sunday was titled, “That’s All I Want”.  Our scripture basis was the 23rd Psalm, so our hymn selection was almost a given.  The following is an account of our order of worship and all song numbers are from the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.

“We Will Glorify” – 578

A great song that praises our God and King; beautiful way to set our minds on worship.

“The Lord’s My Shepherd” – 134

The music for this popular arrangement dates back to 1854.  All six verse of the 23rd Psalm can be sung in this song.  This is a perfect example of Ephesians 5:19 “…speaking to one another in PSALMS and hymns and spiritual songs”

“Hear Me When I Call” – no book

This has become perhaps my favorite of all Tillit S. Teddlie songs.  Certainly one that asks for our God to hear our call and ‘attend unto my prayer.’  What better way to describe my weakness than to request that our Lord, ‘…hold my trembling hand, lest helpless I should fall.”

“We Have an Anchor” – 467

The question is asked by those who sing, “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?”  In other words, how are you doing in your relationship with God?  We echo in response…”We HAVE AN ANCHOR!”

“I Need Thee Every Hour” – 837

This song of prayer serves as our invitation on Sunday morning.  Would that we all come to understand and truly say, “I need Thee, O I need Thee…”

“I’d Rather Have Jesus” – 581

Singing the first verse this song you are stating that you prefer (would rather have) Jesus over the riches of this world.  More than houses or lands…do you really?  Would your wallet agree?  Take a look at your bank statement if you want to see if you really believe this song.

“I Love the Lord” – 359

Penned in my life time (1970), this song by Tommy Wheeler makes the statement that proclaims our love for God.  We sing “I love the Lord”, but why?  You know and you sing, “…on Calvary His dear life He freely gave…that I might live some day with Him on high.”

“The Lord My Shepherd Is” -126

Like song #134, the music for this arrangement was in the mid 1800’s, but when Isaac Watt’s penned this psalm, he followed the poetry in the message from the shepherd/king David. An affirmation of who my Shepherd is…the Lord.  And knowing that…what else could I want?

At Waterview church of Christ we use a screen to project all our songs.  This allows faces to be up (out of the book) and voices to be projected forward.  All songs on the screen are accompanied with the sheet music for those who will sing 4-part harmony.  In a world that seems to be getting faster and faster, and schedules that we tend to pack to over flow, let me admonish you to be careful and not push Jesus out of your life.  You and I both know that with Him in our life and when Christ is first, we can honestly say…That’s all I need!

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What Are We Singing?

Singing is an important part of our worship.  However, do you know that some of our songs are clearly at odds with God’s word?  Unfortunately there are a few songs that we’ll sing on any given Sunday (or Wednesday) that come from a worldly view of who God is and what God expects.  When the world influences our singing, it should come as no surprise that we will have songs that contain errors.  Though some of our newer songs (contemporary songs) are uplifting and inspirational, we should be careful what we’re singing.  I would encourage each of us to test each song (traditional or contemporary) and determine it’s Biblical accuracy… otherwise we run the risk of ‘singing without thinking’.

Consider these three questions as you look at hymns:

  1. Do I think about the words of the song or am I ‘caught up in the music?’

  2. If is a song is counter to God’s word, how will I know for sure?

  3. Will I eliminate an ‘un-Biblical song’ from my selection, or accept it as poetic license?

Song leaders…we have an obligation to properly prepare and diligently examine the songs we lead in the Lord’s church.  A preacher worth his salt will spend countless hours preparing for Sunday’s sermons; how much time will you give to preparing for Sunday’s song service?  Perhaps thirty minutes before worship is not only insufficient time-wise… it’s careless preparation too!  The ‘Singing with the Spirit’ Seminar talks in more detail about this scenario.  If you’re interested in learning more about song leaders and their song selection, let me know.  Together we’ll take a look at… What Shall We Sing
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Can We Sing Without Thinking?

Clearly singing is an important part of our worship.  However, do we fully grasp the fact that some of our songs might be at odds with God’s word?  Unfortunately there are several songs that we’ll sing on any given Sunday (or Wednesday) that come from a worldly view point we it comes to who God is and what God expects.  When the world influences our songs, it should come as no surprise that we will have songs that contain errors.  Though some of our newer (contemporary) songs are uplifting and inspirational, they can be the furthest from God’s Truth.  I would encourage each of us to test each song and determine Biblical accuracy… otherwise we run the risk of ‘singing without thinking’.

Consider these three questions as you look at hymns; Old & New:

  1. Do I think about WHAT I am singing or do I sing without thinking?

  2. If a song is counter to what I find in God’s word, am I willing to eliminate it from my ‘song selection’ or just accept it as poetic license?

  3. How can I check the integrity of a hymn; whether it’s new or not?

Song leaders…we have an obligation to properly prepare and diligently examine the songs we lead in the Lord’s church.  Stay here and learn more about “Singing with the Spirit and singing with the mind.”  I Corinthians 14:15

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Who Will You Follow?

In 1963, Little Peggy March recorded a song written by Franck Pourcel that many, if not all, of us have heard at one time or another.  Though this song was first recorded and release in Europe during the 1950’s; during the spring of 1963, it hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  This made Ms March the youngest female artist to have a U.S. chart-topping single.  Its popularity resurfaced in 1992 when Hollywood featured it in the movie, “Sister Act”.  The song that enjoyed such early and recent success is entitled…”I Will Follow Him”.

As a child of God, a believer in Jehovah, we are called to ‘follow Him’.  Jesus said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  If you say you’re going to follow someone, to what extent do you (will you) follow them?  Too often we follow until the road gets too rough.  We don’t mind ‘going along’ as long as the way we’re going is easy.  But make the way unsteady or difficult and watch how many give up, sit down and stop walking.

So what does any of this have to do with singing?  When it comes to our songs of praise and edification, are we doing what God wants or what we enjoy?  Are we following His ways or our ways.  We can sing and not know what or why we’re singing, but is that ‘singing with the Spirit’?  I have declared both publicly and privately that I will follow Him, but that must also include my selection of songs, my understanding of songs and my devotion to singing songs.  Many men in our society today have determined singing is not masculine or macho.  Maybe we need to reconsider the difference between manly vs. Godly.  Personally, I would rather be a man that follows Him instead of a him that follows man…

I will follow Him!