This is the first in a short series of posts reflecting on worship and the songs we sing.
As a preacher, I spend quite a lot of time preparing sermons. Hopefully that’s not much of a surprise. But what may be more surprising is that I often spend just as much, and sometimes more, time choosing the hymns and worship songs, although I suspect I am far from alone in this.
Some of that is musical. I’ve been involved in church music for most of my life and music has always been one of the ways I pray. When I sit at the piano, I often find myself able to express things that I struggle to put into words.
Over the last few years, though, I’ve realised that I’m asking different questions when I choose music. I’m still interested in whether a song fits the readings or the theme of a service, but I’m also paying much closer attention to its theology. What does this song say about God? What picture of God does it leave us with? What does it encourage us to believe about discipleship and the Christian life?
Earlier this year I ended up having what I described as a theological clear out of my worship music. I threw away around half of my old sheet music because there were songs I no longer felt able to sing. My theology had changed, and I realised that a significant part of my music collection no longer reflected who I believed God to be. If you’re interested, you can read that earlier post.
A few weeks ago I came across an article about Chris Tomlin leading worship at events in the United States. It reminded me of that earlier post. As I read more about the events, the organisations involved and some of the responses to them, I realised that I was asking the same question again, but from a different perspective.
The first time I was thinking almost entirely about the words we sing. This time I’ve found myself paying more attention to the communities they come from, the people who write them, and the ways they are used. None of those questions has a simple answer. A song can mean different things in different contexts, and once a congregation has adopted a song it often develops a life of its own.
I don’t think we can or should pretend that worship songs are simply words set to music. We repeat them week after week, often over many years. As a preacher, I’m always hopeful that something from a sermon will stay with people, but I also know that many people will leave church humming a hymn or worship song. During the week it is often those words and melodies that come back to us. The songs we sing have a way of staying with us, long after we’ve forgotten the details of a sermon. That makes the words we sing every bit as worthy of careful thought as the words we preach.
So do I need another clear out?
My theology hasn’t changed dramatically, but the questions I am asking are a little different. Rather than simply asking what our songs teach us about God, I’m also beginning to ask what kind of Christians they are forming us to be?
Over the next couple of posts I’m going to start exploring those questions. I suspect there won’t be any simple answers. My hope is that these posts might start a conversation rather than finish one. If they prompt discussion and challenge our thinking then that is plenty to be getting on with
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts as the series unfolds.
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