Congregational Songs – New Songs for Corporate Worship

Quotes from Song DISCovery in the Round Conference

May 25, 2011

As I said in my last post, the Song DISCovery in the Round Conference last Friday was a very enriching experience. Here are some quotes from the day.

From Chuck Fromm, who started Worship Leader Magazine and was President of Maranatha Music for 22 years:

“Each generation is charged with making the Word new for their generation – to fit the times.”

“Five Words of Worship:
Maranatha – “Jesus is here – He’s coming again”
Hallelujah – “Praise the Lord”
Hosanna – “Save now”
Abba – “Dear Father” – not Daddy – Communicates both intimacy and respect.
Amen – “Complete” – Jesus is the Amen of heaven. It is finished.”

Quoting St. Augustine: “The essence of a Christian song is praise.”

From Charlie Peacock, artist/producer/visionary/multi-hat wearer:

“The great object of living Is to form within us all that love values.”

“You can’t get at who you love and what you love until you come to this: Jesus is the embodiment of God coming to the rescue of all He loves. He is life itself. And I love Him. And I will love what He loves. All my commitments will be defined by what Jesus loves. Everything has been made through Christ and for Christ. What does He love? What does it mean to love what He loves?” Wow. Unpack that for a few days.

“Sing back to God the certainties of what He loves and who He loves.”

“Pray to be a citizen of heaven here on earth. How do you get at God’s will in the world? Study the Word. Study creation. Tease out all the possibilities that are embedded in what he’s created. Everything you need to know about songwriting is there.”

“We get the privilege of the work and none of the glory. The glory is God’s. You get to be part of His story.”

From Margaret Becker, artist/songwriter/worship leader:

“It’s your job [as a worship leader] to present something that’s engaging, but not distracting.”

“Work that is acknowledged and marketed is only a small portion of what is really there.”

“Paint the truth with the colors on your palette. Your experience is a lot more common than you give it credit for.”

“Clearly know what aspect of Christ you are experiencing right now. This will make you effective in the community.”

“God help us if we all start to try to fit into a marketing box.”

“There are still aspects of performance in worship leading – worship leading is an event where the importance of it calls for our best.”

From Keith Getty, writer of new hymns (including “In Christ Alone“)/worship leader (imagine all of these quotes with an Irish accent):

“We stand in front of congregations every Sunday who live lives of quiet desperation. They’re going to worship something, and they will be fed many things in the week ahead. It’s so important that we fill their heads with the Word of God.”

“Are these words [in the body of songs in a service] painting a big picture of God as spoken in the scriptures?”

“The artists in the Old Testament spend a lifetime refining their craft.”

“To write melodies that work is a pain actually.”

“Write songs that build up people’s confidence in the gospel.”

“If you’re writing for the church, write for the church you’re involved with.”

Just writing these out has helped me solidify the things I took away. I’m grateful to all these people for their focus on the gospel and their concern for this generation’s worship songwriters.

Filed under: Songwriting