Congregational Songs – New Songs for Corporate Worship

Rule of Thumb

July 1, 2011

This quote is from a yahoo group that I’m part of. Tim Sharpe, Director of Worship and Family Ministries at Christ Our Hope Church in Wake Forest, NC, was responding to a question posed by someone in the group about whether they should use a song in a congregational setting that had somewhat ambiguous lyrics. His response included this:

“I think I remember Kevin (Twit – of Indelible Grace) once saying that a great hymn text is both fresh enough to stir the imagination and clear enough to be understood the first time it is sung. I think that’s a great rule of thumb in evaluating congregational worship songs. Non-congregational songs can have more artistic license, as the hearer is not participating in the music and thus is more able to think about and process the lyrics. And, of course, all this should be evaluated according to the congregation that you serve (education level / artistic exposure / generation / etc.).”

Filed under: Leading Worship,Planning a Worship Service,Practical