Singing

Why We Sing
by Jonathan Leeman

Five Qualities of a Congregational Song
by Matt Boswell

Reflections on “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?”
by Carl Trueman

My Congregation Barely Sings; How Can I Help?
by Jonathan Leeman and David Leeman

Rediscovering Jesus’ Hymnbook
by Joe Holland

Music

Music and Meaning: Some Forms Are Better Than Others
by Ken Myers

Music and Meaning: All Forms Are Valid
by Harold M. Best

Stylized Soundtracks and Sunday Morning
by Bobby Jamieson

Leading

10 Questions Every Pastor Should Ask About Their Church’s Music
by Keith and Kristin Getty

In Praise of Low-Budget, Non-Professional Music Ministries
by Mark Dever

9 Choices for a Healthy Music Ministry
by Mark Dever

Should Your Second Hire Be a Music Pastor?
by Bob Kauflin

9 Marks of a Healthy Worship Leader
by Alex Duke

Who Should Pick the Music?
by Michael Lawrence

Context

Pastors’ Forum: What Do You Do and Not Do to Accommodate Ethnic Diversity in Your Worship Service Planning?
with Dave Furman, Kevin Hsu, Paul Martin, John Onwuchekwa, and Juan Sanchez

Voices from Abroad: Biblical Faithfulness and Cultural Sensitivity
with Murray Campbell, Tim Cantrell, John Folmar, Matthias Lohmann, Michael Prodigalidad, and Harshit Singh

Book Reviews

True Worship, by Vaughn Roberts
by Isaac Adams

Engaging with God, by David Peterson
by John Power

Unceasing Worship, by Harold Best
by John Power

Editor’s Note:

Singing is not one of the nine marks, a point which, not surprisingly, has come up once or twice with my minister-of-music father.

That said, okay, yes, 9Marks does have a few opinions on music. Our understanding of the local church pushes us toward a slightly different perspective on church singing than some of our evangelical brothers and sisters.

The difference comes down to the question of performance. Who is performing? The congregation or the people on stage? Dimming the lights and turning up the volume of instruments and leaders doesn’t necessarily mean you have turned the congregation into an audience, but it often does.

Or think about it like this: is the “worship experience” in your church a solo transaction between the individual worshipper and God as stimulated by a high-emotion performer up front?

Because here is an alternative: the musicians and song leaders help to facilitate an intellectually and emotionally engaged communal experience where members sing to one another while singing to God. The primary thing people hear is the faith-reinforcing praises and laments of their fellow saints. “I’m not the only one who rejoices like this…mourns like this…pleads like this. So does everyone around me!” They don’t listen for the organ, electric guitar, or praise ensemble. They listen for the folksy and hearty voices of other pilgrims walking alongside them on this long and rocky road of Christian obedience, rehearsing old memories of Calvary and new hopes of the heavenly city.

Are these just my preferences that I’m trying to impose? I hope not. Think about what the New Testament emphasizes when it comes to the church’s corporate music. It doesn’t talk about crafting a highly charged worship “experience.” Interestingly, it doesn’t use the language of “worship” at all in this context (which is not to deny that corporate singing is worship). Instead, the Bible talks about the congregation singing to one another (Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:19), and doing everything for the sake of edifying one another (1 Cor. 14). That’s it: people singing together. When it comes to the topic of music, Christians might do well to talk about the church singing or the congregation singing because that’s what the Bible talks about.

In this edition of the 9Marks Journal, we start with singing and the song. Why do congregations sing, what should they sing about, and how can they sing better? We then think more carefully about the music itself, particularly with two different perspectives on whether or not some musical forms are better than others. Finally we think about what is involved in leading music.

—Jonathan Leeman