Philosophy of Worship pt. 1
Published Oct. 16, 2024, 11:51 a.m.
Below are the collective responses to the first 4 survey questions. Please read through and consider your responses in light of the other team members responses.
After the questions, I present some of my own commentary on the answers as well as some analysis of our responses about RHC's strengths and weaknesses.
What is the goal of singing worship songs on Sunday mornings?
16 responses
The goal of music is to worship the Lord in a way that is meaningful and beneficial for the whole congregation. As musicians there will always be a tension between musical excellence and accessibility that we need to balance.
To offer praise and worship to God. To revive our souls.
To honor, revere, worship, and glorify the One True Living and Holy Triune God.
To glorify the Lord and uplift the congregation. And to not distract the congregation from that goal in the leading of worship.
To continue the practice of the Old & New Testament. To glorify & honor God.
The goal is to strengthen our relationship with the Lord, express adoration/thankfulness, and to soften our hearts to repentance. It reminds me of a verse I read recently again in Colossians, "Let the word of Christ dwell on you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
To glorify God creatively by telling him how awesome he is; it is also to take scriptural truths and set them to music to also target our hearts
The goal of singing worship songs on Sunday is to corporately worship the one true God and to bring him glory. By singing we are using our minds, bodies and voices to structure our worship in a pleasing and acceptable way. Ideally, the songs would "stay with us" in our minds at times other than Sunday mornings so that we can continue to worship God with song while alone or in smaller groups throughout our week.
The goal is to add to the diversity of the many ways we worship God on Sunday mornings. We do things like confess our sins, take communion, read scripture, teach/learn, and more. Singing is one of the biblically prescribed methods of worship that allows us to exercise many aspects of our entire being in order to worship the God of the universe.
To worship the Lord in obedience to his commands and to instruct one another in the truth.
To obey the Lord's command to worship Him.
In essence worshipping through singing has the same goal of worship through the reading and preaching of the word, and the administration of the Sacraments.
It brings unity, focus and and connection to God.
To praise God with my voice in preparation for worship. The music calms my thinking so I may focus on worship.
To give glory to God, to reorient our hearts to the reality of a God-centered cosmos, to encourage one another in our common faith, to be obedient to God's word, to love and honor God.
psalm 98
What is the purpose of a worship leader?
16 responses
The main purpose of a worship leader is to ensure that the various components of Sunday music are well-prepared and organized; for example, to make sure everyone has the same songs in the correct key, to make sure slides are made, and to have the worship team ready to lead music.
To faithfully choose songs which remind the congregation of who God is, what He’s done, and to pick songs which lead in us in an order of worship
To lead the congregation in proper worship of the Lord by singing praises to our God for who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do.
To lead the congregation in the worshipping of the Lord. To select songs in line with the message (and that focus on the Lord), and to provide context for those songs to the congregation as appropriate.
To lead in worship.
To assist our congregation in worship, to further guide us in a stronger relationship with the Lord, and to help feed us spiritually. The energy they put into leading and serving in this way elevates the overall passion in those who are worshipping in song.
Not to just direct music, but to lead the congregation to consider the truths we sing and challenge us to sing from the heart
A worship leader should encourage the congregation in their worship. This should be done through excellence in singing, excellence in playing music and by referring to scriptural mandates that call for singing "songs, hymns, and spiritual songs" and "Singing to the Lord", "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness" etc. A worship leader should not seek attention or self-praise or anything that would divert attention from worshiping God. Leadership in worship should follow the style of servant leadership modeled by Jesus Christ. John the Baptist's words "He must increase and I must decrease" seem appropriately applied to a worship leader's role.
The purpose of a worship leader is to facilitate worship. He/she should never be the focus of the music in any way. He/she should never overdo the execution of the music in such a way that anyone would be distracted into appreciating the talents of the worship leader but at the same time, he/she should be competent enough to ensure that the music is facilitated well (and that people are not tempted to think about missed notes, awkward syncopation, out-of-tune instruments, etc.). If the worship leader becomes a distraction for any reason (on either end of the talent spectrum), then he/she has failed in his/her job.
To facilitate the praise of the congregation. To provide spiritual and musical leadership during practice and worship, itself. To encourage and disciple the other team members. At times, to recruit other musicians, singers and av tech to use their gifts for the whole.
To provide guidance and inspiration to the congregation.
I don’t think we should have the position. It would be my preference to have 1 person playing guitar and singing unamplified at the front, but not on the stage. This way we could have reformed congregational singing, and not listen to a concert.
He holds the responsible to chose songs that reflect the messaging of the sermon, To guide the music team to strive for excellence and have a understanding of the teams capabilities. To encourage team members personally.
The worship leader should be leading the music and guiding the congregation with a short concise explanation of the music and how the congregation may direct their thinking towards praise to the Lord with the song
To help the congregation know how to sing the songs and keep them together tempo and key-wise while they sing; to help the other musicians to play well in order to fulfill the former purpose; to offer service and worship to God with his/her gifts and talents
to lead the congregation in the singing of praise
From my perspective, the best answers to "what is the goal of singing worship on Sunday?" and "What is the role of a worship leader?" are not subjective or democratically discerned, but rather the best answers are clearly aligned with scripture or derived from scripture. That being said, our answers to those questions were mostly in good alignment already! The first and second great commandments provide a template for our goals in worship:
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
(1) Worship should be God-focused. Our hearts, souls, minds, strength, everything should be directed toward God.
(2) As leaders of worship we should love our neighbors and consider their needs above our needs or desires.
Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Emotional responses may be and often are a byproduct of true worship. However, seeking to create emotional responses should not be our goal.
With respect to the purpose of a (song) worship leader: A congregational music leader is a role that is supported in scripture (1 Chronicles 15:22). It is a way for people musically gifted by God to share those gifts for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 12). I believe a worship leader serves to help the congregation in their worship of God. To that end a worship leader:
- Should be Skilled. (Psalm 33:3, 1 Chronicles 15:22)
- Should be a servant leader. (Matthew 23:11, Mark 9:35, 1 Corinthians 9:19 )
- Should provide guidance and seek unity with the team. (Luke 11:17,2 Corinthians 10:5, 1 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 13:11)
- Should not distract from worship. (1 Corinthians 14:40, 1 Corinthians 14:26)
The next two questions asked you to consider the strengths and weaknesses of RHC worship. In contrast with the previous two questions, these questions are subjective and we will do well to "democratically" take a look at what our team members think.
What are "strengths" of the RHC worship and sound teams?
16 responses
We all know each other very well and know how to build off of each other. We are familiar with many of the songs and we all are creative to come up with good ways of leading music effectively for the congregation.
They choose music which is theologically sounds, remind the congregation about who God is, communicate well and they are respectful of all congregation members.
Theologically rich song choices.
Many musicians with a variety of musical backgrounds and styles. This can provide musical (and worship) variety dependent on the musicians present on stage. Sound team, Frank in particular, is very good.
Lots of talent in our size church.
- Recommending each other different ideas to differentiate the verses/chorus. for example, using different techniques to come up with new varieties of the original song such as hand picking for one verse, strumming for another, using dynamics - Assisting each other in learning new songs - Each of the worship leaders have their own style and taste in worship music, which leads us to having a diverse amount of songs to be recommended, learned, and played.
Most of the songs are full of deep biblical truths
We have an abundance of very gifted musicians and vocalists. Our music teams have worked very well together. There are no overtly "showy" or obviously attention seeking personalities on the music / interpretation / sound teams. Everyone displays humility and a focus on helping the team to sound good, and to be clearly understood by the congregation. Our teams are very flexible and often adapt to whatever is required.
We have a deep bench. We have a few different teams that have different strengths and that leads to a diverse offering of song sets. We also have a number of people who can play a number of different instruments meaning we can usually have a "full" sound on most Sundays.
We generally play on tempo. We usually pick songs that are singable and Biblically true. We work together well without big egos, bickering or strife. We love the Lord. We are consistent and show up on time for practices. We do a good job using the equipment we have. We give care to the Deaf in our midst--thinking of them, even though they are just a few--is part of the song selection process.
Variety of music genres.
We have a lot of very talented musicians and singers who play well, and who are not trying to glorify themselves with their performances.
Willing to serve, using their knowledge of music and sound.
The lyrics of the music we sing is praiseworthy and gives glory to God.
We have a large variety of gifts and talents. We manage to play a relatively wide variety of music relatively well. We have little to no "drama." We seem to work well and communicate well with each other.
a rotation of different of people allows for more participation
This is a ChatGPT generated summary of our comments on our strengths:
Summary of Comments:
The music team is highly collaborative, fostering creativity and teamwork. Members are familiar with theologically rich, Biblically sound songs and prioritize leading music effectively for the congregation. They demonstrate humility, mutual respect, and a focus on worship rather than personal recognition.
Key strengths include:
- Musical Variety and Talent: A diverse group of gifted musicians and vocalists with varied backgrounds and styles.
- Collaboration: Effective communication, sharing ideas, assisting each other with learning songs, and adapting as needed.
- Song Selection: Singable, biblically truthful songs that glorify God and are considerate of all congregants, including the Deaf community.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: Teams rotate to involve more participants, and members can play multiple instruments to ensure a full sound.
- Commitment: Consistent attendance, punctuality, and dedication to using available resources effectively.
Overall, the team operates with unity, creativity, and a strong focus on worship excellence.
The next question asked us to share what we percieved as weaknesses of the RHC worship team.
What are "weaknesses" of the RHC worship and sound teams?
16 responses
Varying levels of preparation time; various levels of skill; uneven balance can occur depending on who is singing and mixing.
I haven’t found or seen any.
Although content is far more important, the singing could be better.
No consistent teams… at my previous church we had dedicated teams which allowed the musicians to grow together as a team and thus better understand and anticipate the playing styles of their fellow musicians. For a while, in the past, we had consistent teams at RHC which was helpful in that regard. Granted we’ve had some members leave and others, like myself, take sabbaticals due to surgery - but I think consistent teams could be beneficial. We also don’t practice enough imo. Soundboard, I don’t have background enough to comment on regarding weaknesses.
1) Services begin with hyper music. 2) some don’t sing well 3) some music is way too fast
- When we practice it feels a little more comfortable, fun, and energetic in comparison to when we start service. - Music can sometimes be repeated for a little while (it's understandable if it is a new songs we are trying to teach the congregation)
The musicians usually seems to be going through the motions, not much engaged in worshiping via the words they are singing, more as a duty than an act of worship
The blend of music and vocals is frequently not optimal. This is true both live and as recorded on Youtube. When the recording on Youtube has a bad mix, it can be hard to judge how musicians should adjust their playing and singing styles. Also frequently, some musicians / vocalists suffer from lack of amplification. Conversely, sometimes the lead guitar can be overwhelmingly loud. I don't notice anyone other than myself flubbing a chord or missing notes very frequently. I do think that all vocalists could benefit from some formal vocal training and vocal exercises.
We still have a way to go to figure out the optimal acoustics of the new building. I also think we could really use a consistent pianist. Now that Theo is at school, I miss the ability to lead classic hymns from the keyboard. At the same time, I also think we need a lead guitarist. Both would expand our ability to craft unique, diverse song sets and play them with an even stronger overall sound.
I think, based on losing some folks, that our vocals are sometimes weak. I also think our hymn repertoire is a weakness--but that is tough to overcome without a piano player. I think our overall group prayerfulness and spiritual readiness can be stronger. I think we are good, but without more set teams or more evening practices, we will not progress musically. That is normal for most small churches, not a veiled criticism.
Our teams aren't all equally strong.
I am frustrated with the concert-like atmosphere. I can’t hear the people of God singing, just a few select singers with microphones. I think this type of worship violates the spirit of Book Church Order 51-4. I am even more frustrated with our song choices, we should be singing at least some Psalms, and should follow the Book of Church Order 51-3. I think it is safest to interpret the wording “Hymns of the Church” to mean hymns from the Trinity Hymnal.
At times , I do not sense a present of joy in worshiping with the songs being played.
The slide projection of the lyrics needs to be flawless. Whomever is advancing the slides for the lyrics must be singing the songs with the congregation so there is no mistake.
There seems to be a lack of consistency with sound operators' mix preferences. There is sometimes a lack of consistency with how songs are played from worship leader to worship leader (although some may not consider this a weakness). This sometimes makes it difficult to sing along because you're not sure what rhythm a worship leader is using (or may be unfamiliar with it--like an unfamiliar rhythm used for a familiar song). We seem to be moving more and more toward a "performance" sort of arrangement, which I think is leading to some of the inconsistencies. I think there are some poor song choices.
not much practice
For your reference, Chapter 51 of the PCA Book of Church Order (BCO) contains the PCA standards for singing in public worship.
CHAPTER 51 The Singing of Psalms and Hymns
51-1. Praising God through the medium of music is a duty and a privilege. Therefore, the singing of hymns and psalms and the use of musical instruments should have an important part in public worship.
51-2. In singing the praises of God, we are to sing in the spirit of worship, with understanding in our hearts.
51-3. It is recommended that Psalms be sung along with the hymns of the Church, but that caution be observed in the selection of hymns, that they be true to the Word. Hymns should have the note of praise, or be in accord with the spirit of the sermon.
51-4. The leadership in song is left to the judgment of the Session, who should give careful thought to the character of those asked to lead in this part of worship, and the singing of a choir should not be allowed to displace congregational singing.
51-5. The proportion of the time of public worship given to praise is left to the judgment of the minister, and the singing of psalms and hymns by the congregation should be encouraged.
ChatGPT summary of our comments on RHC weaknesses:
Summary of Comments (Weaknesses):
-
Preparation and Practice:
- Varying levels of preparation and skill among team members.
- Inconsistent practice schedules and a need for more evening rehearsals to improve cohesion.
- Lack of consistent teams prevents musicians from growing together and developing chemistry.
-
Sound and Balance Issues:
- Uneven balance of music and vocals, with issues like overpowering lead guitar, under-amplified musicians, or suboptimal mixing.
- Inconsistent sound operator preferences and acoustics, especially in the new building.
- Slide projections for lyrics need improvement for flawless execution.
-
Engagement and Atmosphere:
- Some musicians appear disengaged, performing out of duty rather than as an act of worship.
- Worship can feel concert-like, with the congregation’s voices often drowned out by amplified singers.
- A perceived lack of joy and spiritual readiness in worship at times.
-
Song Selection and Performance:
- Some songs are too fast or overly repetitive, making it hard for the congregation to follow.
- Weak hymn repertoire, exacerbated by the lack of a pianist for classic hymnals.
- Song choices sometimes diverge from traditional preferences or theological guidelines.
-
Team and Resource Challenges:
- Uneven strength among teams and individual vocalists.
- Vocalists could benefit from formal vocal training.
- Missing key instrumentalists, like a pianist and lead guitarist, limits musical diversity.
-
General Observations:
- Recordings for online viewing often lack sound quality, making it hard for musicians to evaluate performances.
- Worship style seems to trend toward performance rather than congregational engagement.
In summary, these comments highlight a need for more consistent preparation, better sound management, deeper spiritual engagement, and greater intentionality in song selection and team-building.
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