“The song may be familiar, but the moment is always fresh.”

Have you ever played “Name that Tune?”  It started as an old game show back in the day where people would declare that they could name a tune in just a few notes, sometimes as few as 2 or 3 notes and amazingly people could actually do this.  The songs were so familiar to them that they could instantly recognize them.  Songs that are familiar to us have power in our lives.  There are songs in my life I know as soon as the second note hits.  “Invisible Sun” by the Police, “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac, and “See No Evil” by Television immediately come to mind.

In our current worship song pool at 12Stone we have a group of songs that are really familiar to our congregation.  These songs are incredibly powerful and even though we’ve been singing them for awhile they play a very important role in our worship sets.  They are songs that we know will honor God and serve the church well and here are a few reasons why we believe that.

Familiar songs are easily accessible

We believe that if people are singing in church then good things are happening. Paul gives us an important encouragement in this regard in Colossians 3:16.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

When the church gathers we are supposed to sing.  Everyone should sing.  When the church sings people are encouraged, challenged, and even taught.  Familiar songs provide the opportunity for people to engage easily.  This sounds really simple, but if you fill a set with too many new songs or too many old songs you’re going to end up with a majority of people not singing.  It’s important to know that familiar songs are not the same as old songs.  If songs are too old they may pre-date many of the people in your current congregation.  If songs are new people obviously won’t know them well enough to sing along. Familiar songs provide an accessible opportunity for people to enter into worship and sing together.

Familiar songs are made fresh by the moment

Sometimes songs reach a point where they feel too familiar to us as musicians and worship leaders.  We have a tendency to discard something familiar because it begins to feel old to us more quickly than it does to the congregation.  We listen to these songs a lot in order to learn them.  Then we play them at sound checks, rehearsals, run-throughs, and multiple services in a day.  But each week a person in the congregation only hears the song once.  Think about how many times we as musicians have to listen to a song to really learn it and let it sink into our hearts.  I believe that it takes even longer for a person who isn’t musical.  Playing fewer songs more often is a great way to create a great group of familiar songs for the congregation.

Here is the truth I try to remember as a musician and worship leader that brings immediate value to a song that I’ve played many times.

The song may be familiar, but the moment is always fresh.

Here is an example of what I mean…

We are currently singing the song “Trust it All” by NorthPoint quite a bit.  It’s very familiar to our church, but each time we sing this song the moment is different.

Each week as we gather as the church we are different people. Our lives, our circumstances, and our perspectives are different.  Last week things may have been fine, but during the week maybe someone discovered they had cancer.  The song means something different for them now.  Maybe someone discovered they were pregnant.  The song means something different for them now.  Maybe someone’s car broke down and they have a great financial need.  All the sudden singing “Trust it all” is something different for them.  Some one may have realized that Jesus is their Lord and Savior and saying “Trust it All” is really fresh to them because now they mean it.

Familiar songs are made fresh by the moment.

Familiar songs are sign posts on our faith journey

Familiar songs are like sign posts on our faith journey.  Above I mentioned a few songs that are easily recognizable to me.  Part of the reason they are familiar is because I attach them to significant musical moments in my life.  The songs we sing as the church are no different and we attached them to our spiritual significant experiences.

Maybe you remember the song that was being played in the moment that you surrendered your life to Jesus or the moment you were baptized.  We remember the songs that we sang when God moved powerfully in our life and every time we sing those songs it stirs our hearts to remember God’s love, faithfulness, and grace.

This happened for Moses, Miriam, Mary, David, and several others in God’s Word.  They had moments that were marked by a song.  Those songs reminded them of the moments in their lives that changed them deeply.

Familiar songs are powerful and valuable to us.  In a culture that’s easily intoxicated by the latest and the greatest we need to be reminded that familiarity doesn’t always breed contempt as the saying goes.  Familiar songs provide an accessible on ramp for people to join in and sing together, they are made fresh by our moments together, and they serve as sign posts on our spiritual journeys.

Key Thoughts:

• Familiar songs are accessible on ramps in times of worship
• Familiar songs are not the same as old songs
• Familiar songs are made fresh by the moment
• Familiar songs are sign posts on our faith journey

What are some other values that you find in the familiar songs that we sing together as the church?