“If people aren’t singing, then something isn’t right.”

This is part 2 in a 3 part series on choosing the right songs for your church to sing. You can read part 1 here: “Choosing the Right Songs Pt. 1”

Over this 3 part series we are unpacking how to select songs that…

1.) God wants to hear
2.) People want to sing
3.) Musicians want to play

So let’s talk about songs that people want to sing…

In the New Testament Paul specifically mentions twice the command for the church to sing together in worship. Once, in Ephesians 5:18-20 and again in Colossians 3:16. Singing together is obviously a way that we worship together and in fact, it’s the primary way that we worship together. It makes sense… There is a book of songs included right there for us in the scriptures. Singing together is a command, it’s important, it’s transformational for us as the church. We need to sing together and if people aren’t singing, then something isn’t right.

Worshipping through song shouldn’t be something that people come to watch the worship band do. It should be something that people come to participate in themselves. God wants to hear every voice sing his praise and we as worship pastors and leaders need to do the best we can to prayerfully create the opportunity for people to engage in worship and sing!

[SONGS PEOPLE WANT TO SING]

We won’t always do what we should do, or even what we can do, but we will do what we want to do. So how do we select songs that people actually want to sing in the church. Obviously, some of that is out of our control, but after we have prayerfully and purposefully selected songs we believe God wants to hear us sing together (read part 1) we need to think about which of those songs people will actually want to sing.

[Can We Sing It?]

Make a list of potential songs that you believe God wants your church to sing and then think through the musical fundamentals of the songs themselves. If you were to put these songs in a playlist and listen to them for a few weeks there would be songs that you repeat more than others.

Now, that may be because of the melody, the feel of the song, the lyrics, but something draws you to it. Why do you want to listen to it over and over? Then ask yourself if you just like listening to it or you actually like singing it. There have been many times in the past I have selected songs for the church to sing that I loved to listen to, but when we did the song in service people didn’t sing. As I thought about it more, I didn’t really sing along either. But man it was a jam!!! Why weren’t people singing?!?!

I looked back at a few of those songs as I was writing this post and realized most of it was simply fundamental. Ask good fundamental questions about the song. Think about the register, the range, the syncopation, the arrangement, and determine the best you can if the song is musically intuitive and if the song, at a fundamental level, is something people can actually sing.

Here are some things to consider…

Is the melody inside of a range and register that is singable?
Is the melody memorable?
Is the syncopation of the lyric simple or complex?
Is the song easily sung by both males and females?
Do you personally like to listen to it or sing it?

[Is It Meaningful?]

Have you ever been around someone who wanted to say something, but they just couldn’t find the right word? Then someone says the word and they thankfully finish their thought. That word was meaningful to them. They needed it to express something they were trying to say.

Have you ever been around someone who knew exactly what they wanted to say and they communicated it with passion and fire and it excited you as well. What they had to say was really meaningful to them and maybe it even inspired you.

We will talk about things that are meaningful to us and that stir meaning within us. In the same way we will sing songs that mean something to us and we will sing songs that uncover meaning within us.

Some songs have meaning because they put to music the prayers and/or vision of our church. We want to sing that kind of song. Some songs have meaning because they give a voice to something we wanted to sing, but we just didn’t know how. We will sing songs that stir meaning within us and call us to something higher than ourselves or songs connect to something we felt in the past. There is a lot to unpack in this thought, but for now, here are some things to consider…

Is this song something that people want to sing?
Does it speak to a specific issue on our hearts?
Does it express something the church is praying?
Is the language of the lyric something that we say?
Is the concept of the song something familiar to our church?

It’s obvious that selecting songs that people want to sing is not an exact science and there is no assurance of the result of a song, but I believe if we prayerfully choose songs that we believe God wants us to sing and we prayerfully desire our people to sing it will inform what songs we choose for our times of worship together. Remember, worshipping through song isn’t intended to create spectators. It’s meant to invite everyone to be a participant

Key Thoughts:

1.) Is the song musically intuitive and fundamentally singable?
2.) Is the song meaningful in the context and vision of your church?
3.) Do you personally like to just listen to it or actually sing along with it?