Saturday Lagniappe: 'How to Teach A New Hymn or Song to Your Congregation' And More

One way to beat the summer doldrums and to brighten church services on Sundays and other occasions is to introduce new hymns, worship songs, and service music. For example, have an old-fashioned hymn sing on a Sunday or weekday evening, followed by a meal and fellowship. Have the congregation sing for their supper. Sing congregational favorites and then introduce the new music. Be sure not to overwhelm the congregation with too much new music. Make it fun evening, one, however which emphasizes the importance of congregational singing to the worship of the church.

At St. Michael's we made enthusiastic congregational singing a priority, the kind of singing the late Howard Hanchey described as so enthusiastic that it knocks the church doors off their hinges. We selected hymns, worship songs, and service music that encouraged the congregation to do just that. No low drone at St. Michael's. We wanted St. Michael's to be a church known for its singing.

What I have observed from watching videos and livestreams of Episcopal church services and occasional visits to a local Episcopal church is the unimaginative use of music in the services and the lackluster quality of the congregational singing. In this issue of Anglicans Ablaze I  have posted links to a number of articles that can help a church improve the quality of its congregational singing. I am planning to post links to more articles in the near future, as well as several articles of my own. I have also posted links to Church Answer's latest Burge Report, two articles on silence, and four other articles.

How to Teach A New Hymn or Song to Your Congregation
Here are some practical considerations and suggestions for teaching a new hymn or song to your congregation...

Producing Pew Potatoes: Creating a Culture of Spectators
What is a “pew potato,” you may ask? It is a term I use to refer to a person in the church that takes on the characteristics of a “couch potato”–someone who sits on the pew in times of corporate worship and expects to be entertained without having to get involved in any way. Here is the sad truth: our churches, no matter the style of their worship, are producing and encouraging spectators in our corporate worship experiences to a large degree.

New Songs: A Worship Enhancer or Worship Killer?
Today’s post is my third installment discussing things we do to create a culture of spectators in our churches rather than creating an environment that helps people worship with heart, soul, mind, and strength in participatory worship. Be sure to read the last two week’s posts if you have not done so already.

Introducing New Songs
Last week, I continued my series on things we do to create spectators in our church rather than active, participative worshippers. I began my discussion of how new songs can be a worship enhancer or a worship killer. Be sure to take a look at that post if you have not yet done so.When new songs are first introduced, the people have to take their eyes off the Lord and concentrate on the task of learning the new tune. There are ways we can introduce new songs that reduce the negative impact and promote the tremendous positives.

9 Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship – Revisited and Updated
Ten years ago, I wrote the article, "9 Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship." Little did I know that this article would turn viral multiple times (in one day, over 100,000 people accessed the article), be published in eight languages, read in over 220 countries and territories, be viewed on this site over 1.5 million times, become the topic of podcasts and other’s blog posts and be republished on other platforms (with permission). Obviously, the content hit a nerve around the world. Worship leaders and people in the pew are realizing that there’s a great lack of participation in worship. I believe this article finally gave people some tangible understanding of why conditions of participatory worship had gotten so bad. Many of the people in the pews were saying when they read this, “YES. That is it. Finally, someone is voicing our concerns about congregational songs becoming less accessible to us.”

Nine Ways to Help Your Congregation Sing New Songs In my post further exploring Reason #1 of the "9 Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship," I stated:

The second most important concept to grasp is how we introduce new songs and the follow up to help them become part of the congregation’s vocabulary of worship.

Unfortunately, introducing new songs can kill worship. Therefore it is important that we introduce and reinforce new songs in a way that will quickly help people to make the new songs an expression of their worship. Here are nine ways to help your congregation become familiar with and sing the new songs you introduce to them...

Helping Your Congregation Sing!
Throughout Scripture, the command to sing is given to God’s people more than four hundred times. It is not an option, nor is it a recommendation. It is a command appropriate for everyone. The only requirement is to have a song to sing, and all Christians have a song to sing: the song of the redeemed. The great hymnist Isaac Watts said, “Let those refuse to sing who never knew our God.” We who do know God, who are redeemed, must never refuse to sing! There are no prerequisites to sing this song, other than to accept the redemption freely offered by God. When that occurs, God simply says, “Sing!”

Introducing Hymns to a Contemporary Congregation
I occasionally get questions about introducing hymns to congregations that do not sing them. Should a pastor introduce old hymns? And if so, how should we go about the process?

How do we introduce new music to our congregation?
The introduction of new music can be an energizing and enriching experience for a congregation, but for the music to be a benefit, those doing the introducing need to prepare carefully. First, it is important to know the congregation. Some congregations thrive on new hymns and easily accept a variety of liturgical settings. Others may find one new hymn every two or three months about all they can manage. Certainly a congregation’s tolerance for new things is an important guide for planning. Careful preparation with this guide in mind will help to smooth the way to successful introduction of new material.

The Burge Report: Why the 1990s Were the Most Consequential in Modern U.S. Religious History
The 1990s may have been the most pivotal decade for religious change in modern America. In this episode, we look at Ryan Burge’s analysis of young adults and the sharp rise of the religiously unaffiliated during those years. The surprising part of the story is that no single Christian tradition collapsed on its own. Evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Black Protestants, and Catholics all lost ground, while church attendance also weakened. The result was not just a momentary shift but a long-term realignment that still shapes the religious landscape today.

Faith is back in Democratic politics
After decades of watching Democrats dodge the God question, I think they finally have an answer.

Lay Preacher Training Informational Webinar
The role of lay preacher has been an important part of the church from its earliest days. As the clergy shortage grows and churches are under increased financial strain, the need for licensed lay preachers grows each year.

‘I Don’t Understand What I Read’: Bad Reasons We Neglect the Bible
This article recommends three strategies to help Bible readers overcome discouragement, dryness, and other defeaters to find consistent spiritual benefit from God’s word: Pray for illumination. Ask questions for insight. Consult study tools for instruction.

Worship in Silence
Silence is a precious commodity. We live in a noisy world. Not only do we have the sounds of automobiles and machinery in the streets, or the noises from computers and phones in our homes or offices. These beeps, clicks, bangs, and screeches are typical in our contemporary life. But there is also the noise of the human voice. Yes, it is most often words that are spoken. But how many words we must hear in a day! And how many of them are edifying or valuable? Our mass media and social media are constantly bombarding us with words, but so many words that we cannot possibly take them all in. Nor do we often take the time for stillness and silence in which to evaluate and consider them before new words are thrown at us.

Those of us who do manage to eke out some meaningful times of silence in our daily lives know that it is a great discipline to do so. And depending on one’s state in life it may be very difficult indeed. (I’m looking at you, parents of young children.) When we do find silence, it is almost always in solitude. When it comes to gathering in groups, silence is rarely on the agenda. Unless, that is, it is cultivated in a religious setting.

The Discipline of Silence in a World That Cannot Stop Talking 

The church cannot fix this well-trained hunger by merely padding the order of service with a minute of contemplative quiet. The problem runs deeper than scheduling. We have, by and large, lost the conviction that silence is a real spiritual discipline—one ordered not toward relaxation or mindfulness, but toward the knowledge of God.

How classical education can be an antidote to AI
AI is more likely to harm education than help it. Classical education will become ever more relevant.