Why Isn't My Congregation Singing?
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2022
- Season 4 | Episode 12
Few things are more deflating for a leader of congregational worship than looking out Sunday after Sunday on people who are distracted, emotionless, or not singing at all. But often the problem lies not in what people are doing, but in what we do as leaders. In this practical episode of Sound Plus Doctrine, David and Bob list 15 ways you might be keeping your church from singing more passionately and meaningfully.
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I've observed a pattern tracing the previous albums all the way to Unchanging God: in later albums, there are less and less in-song key changes. It seems to me SGM is truly getting better and maturing in songwriting and melody composition. :)
And the melodies have actually gotten simpler and more singable, but the lyrics/content is just as rich and engaging!
Praise the Lord for Bob Kauflin, David Zimmer, and all of SGM!
As a church pianist, I always play in such a way that the melody is prominent. This helps people sing, which is the whole point. Also, the praise and worship team needs to remember that we’re/they’re up there to lead, not to perform.
I read this article before coming across this video, and I can't agree more. Thank you for enlightening me on tesso turra. I was unfamiliar with this word at first, but now I will take it into consideration. Thanks 🕊🖤🎶
First of all, I LOVE this podcast! As a musical worship leader, you've been a great source of learning and inspiration for me! A lot of the principles on your list are things I've implemented over the past 12 years in my tenure as Director of Worship in our church. We've faced a lot of challenges, especially in recent years (and not just because of the pandemic), but God has continued to be faithful and provided guidance in places we were least expecting. So, thank you for your insights and your wisdom as well as your continued commitment to improving your own worship experiences and passing that understanding along to us. I deeply believe in the community of ALL the saints. We are siblings in Christ, you and us, and He has gifted you with the opportunity to help us from far away. Thank you!
Perhaps this will help :)
1. Wrong range (too broad)
2. Wrong tesso tura (usual range of song is too wide)
3. Singability (un/predictable melody patterns)
4. Too much content (no time to pause and reflect on the lyrics)
5. Too little content (congregation may need to expand their singing-thinking capacity)
6. Familiarity (auto-pilot mode in singing without thinking)
7. Lack of repetition (little to no time to solidify new songs)
8. Congregation not believing they're the main sound ("fruit of lips that give thanks to His name")
9. Too many new songs (related to #7)
10. Too many harmonies (the congregation needs to pick up and we want to serve them by making the melody easy to find)
11. Unclear leadership (poor leadership throughout the song, when to slow down, when to come in, etc)
12. Distractions (sometimes too many! e.g. overplaying)
13. Too effeminate / too masculine (reflect the balance of Jesus' tenderness and manliness)
14. Bad projection (lyric projection, late lyrics transition)
15. Lack of conversion (some people in the gathering are just not saved and cannot sing from the heart)
Our project person hardly ever changes slides on time. I have even looked up the lyrics on my iPhone in an effort to sing along with a very wordy unfamiliar song! Fortunately I’m very musical so I catch on to melodies and patterns quickly.
Thank you for dealing with this topic in a comprehensive way! Excellent presentation!
Bendiciones hermanos. Sería muy edificante que estos videos fueran traducidos al español.
Many songs are just not congregational. Too many performance songs for ‘Great Singers’ who can climb one octave. It’s just about ‘me the great singer’. That’s where we lose the congregation.
AMEN
As a person who can’t sing, there are a few things that keep me silent. The notes are too high. Second, I can hear myself sing and I don’t want anyone else to hear me either. Lastly, it’s just toooo loud that I have to cover my ears.
There's a theory that says the reason to have the music so loud is so people can't hear themselves singing and nobody else can either so that will encourage people to sing (no seriously, I didn't make that up)
When I consider a question like "what isn't working?", I think it is helpful to answer the question "what IS working?".
i.e. "Why isn't the congregation singing?" ~ "Why IS the congregation really engaged in communion, or tithing, or whatever thing they might be really in to?" My suspicion (based on my experience) is that they ARE in to things that the pastors and leaders repeatedly teach about.
So, I humbly submit, that in addition to the 15 reasons listed in this video, at least one thing that should be very high on the list of reasons the congregation isn't singing is that they are not being taught that they should sing, not being encouraged with regard to how singing, prayer, tithing, bible study, acts of service, etc. round out and add together to define what worship is. As often as a pastor encourages members to pray and do bible study, he could/should also encourage singing. Neither the pastor nor the worship leader should assume that the members come to church all mentally and emotionally 'ready' to sing anymore than it should be assumed that they are mentally and emotionally ready to sacrificially give of their income, or have their heart in just the right place to participate in communion. Whatever should be done regularly by the believer should be taught regularly by church leadership. The sheep need to be shepherded.
Beyond just singing, how do you get the congregation excited to be singing and singing out? A lot of times I see mouths moving, but in quiet times of songs, I barely hear anything, even hymns.
How does one address these issues with worship leaders who are very set in their ways? I have discussed certain aspects of worship with our senior pastor but he did not hear me or take me seriously. Almost everything that is mentioned in this podcast is a problem in our worship service. I have shared some of your podcasts with our two Pastors, who are both also our worship leaders yet they are not open to change. The Word is solid, word based but the Sunday morning worship is a serious issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi! I'm a long-time worship leader in a small church that has gone through a lot of change in the past few years. We've had a series of worship leaders over the years (pastors, too) who just aren't open to significant change within our "way of doing things". Here are a few things I've learned from working with them. 1. Modify your tone. I spent a lot of my early years railing vehemently against the "old school" ways of doing things because it drove me nuts! I wanted to do all these new and really cool things that I KNEW would take our worship and praise time to the next level, but the leaders just weren't interested in listening to me. So, I started engaging them in longer conversations about specific aspects of the service I wanted to see change. This started out as me asking questions about "why" we do something. Focusing on the spiritual benefits of how we do things and then suggesting some options for doing them in a different way that would improve the spiritual impact. 2. Set your expectations low, but your goals high. These guys have a 14-point list. I try to keep my change "wish list" to 3 or fewer at a time. Then, I prioritize which is most important. I don't expect change to be quick, but I try to get one significant change (note: significant doesn't always mean BIG) every year. I learned some years ago that ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and changed my tactics accordingly. My goals are pretty high, though. For example, one of my major goals over the years is to get 95% of our congregation to sing every Sunday. Not every song, but every Sunday. We're pretty close at this point. 3. Start with the team. Get on the team. Talk to the rest of the team. Ask questions about what the team wants to see themselves do to improve their ministry. Ask the team members for their input. Build that coalition. Any pastor or leader worth their salt will accept change if the majority wants it. If they don't want to bow to the majority, you've got bigger problems.
Also, and I CANNOT emphasize this enough: PRAY. PRAY. PRAY. Study the word. PRAY. Nothing can be done without God. Don't lose hope. God has commanded us to worship collectively. It's our responsibility as worship leaders to ensure that the worship experience and outpouring is as much an act of collective discipleship as it is about individual worship. May the Lord guide your steps and your words. I'll be praying for you and your church family!
First, is this church where the Holy Spirit has planted you? If the answer is yes, one component of discipleship is overlooking things at your local church that aren't quite what you would prefer.
I'm so grateful for all you do to serve the local church! A word about octave jumps, I think those can actually be very beneficial to the congregation. Shane Barnard actually uses this approach as I saw in one of his videos. On that first chorus, he'll sing at the low octave as if to show the men, they can sing down here and the ladies will sing at the octave above, and then when that next chorus comes in and he goes up the octave, the men will sing that lower octave and the women will be singing at the same octave as the leader. This has been very effective in my own congregation. It needs to be high enough so there is no question about where the men and women will go. It is the middle no man's land type of tessitura that can be confusing. This is helpful to me as a high tenor being able to lead in keys that are healthy for my own voice as well as inclusive of the congregation. Another thing we do is have our ladies lead songs as well. No matter what I try to do to include the ladies in the congregation in my keys, a lady leading will always be more suited to their voices. It's all a balance and learning experience.
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I have the opposite issue. My congregation sings much louder than I expect, and it's probably because I pick the same old / old new songs and don't introduce new songs much (I'm not in the inner committee of my church that selects new songs and they don't do it much either)