They Just Don't Sing Like They Used To

Why Congregational Singing Has Fallen on Hard Times

Sometimes I’m asked to speak on the topic of recovering congregational singing. So I ask the question “What’s wrong?” The conversation goes like this:

“Apparently people are not singing like they used to.”

“Why?”

“We’re not exactly sure, but we’d sure like to have some tools to improve the situation.”

I’m all for improving congregational singing. In fact, I’m passionate about it. But rather than jumping to solutions, I’d like to dwell a little bit more on the problem. Why don’t people sing like they used to? If we spend some time considering the problem, our solutions may be better grounded.

What follows are some of my observations of why congregational singing has fallen on hard times. Keep reading

This article was written almost a decade ago but Martin Tel's observations are applicable today as they were in 2007. I posted this article because I believe that robust congregational singing is essential to the spiritual health of the local church. The New Testament Church was a singing church. We need to be identify the barriers to congregational singing in our churches and to take concrete steps to eliminate or reduce these barriers. This includes teaching not only congregations but also worship leadership teams about the place of congregational singing in the life and worship of the local church.