REACTION PAPER ON MUSIC AND WORSHIP

PREPARED BY MERCY KAMAU

SDA LANGA LANGA CHURCH
SYL 2021/2022, September

INTRODUCTION

The people of God sing. The role of music in worship is biblical. After escaping from
the Egyptians and crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel sang a song to the Lord
(Exod. 15). Singing was part of Israel’s formal worship in both tabernacle and temple
(1 Chron. 6:31-32, 16:42). The Psalms bear rich testimony that in joy and sorrow, in
praise and lament, the faithful raise their voices in song to God. Hymn singing was
practiced by Jesus and his disciples (Matt. 26:30). The Apostle Paul instructed the
Colossians, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one
another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and
spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3: 16-17).

The Role of Music in Worship

Music and song continue to play a vital role in the life of God’s people today.
Contemporary culture and modern technology bring new possibilities and new
challenges to the music ministry of the church. People’s lives are surrounded with
music—television and radio, the background music of video games, the muzak of
shopping malls, CDs, and synthesizers. Yet much of the time music functions as
“background” rather than as an opportunity for serious listening, much less
participation. Outside the church there are few occasions or opportunities in Kenyan
cultures for people to sing together. Much of the popular music (including Christian
music) composed today is for performance rather than for participation.
The church also has greater access and has shown greater openness to a greater
variety of music—from classical hymnody to Christian rock, from Christian country to
Christian blue choruses. As far as such diversity is welcomed and celebrated as one
that reflects the diversity and richness of God’s creation, greater variety and options
in music call for greater discernment and care in planning and implementing the
music ministry of the church. The people of God sing; what they sing and how they
sing are important issues.
1. Music is a gift of God and part of the created order.
From its inception, “when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings
shouted for joy” (Job 38:7), to its consummation, when “every creature in heaven and
on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them” will sing to the
Lamb on the throne (Rev. 5:13), creation is musical. “All nature sings and round me
rings the music of the spheres.” Human music-making participates in the music of
creation and reflects the order, beauty, and diversity of God’s creation.

2. Of all the musical instruments that may be employed in the

praise of God, the human voice has priority.
Other instruments are to be used primarily in the service of the singing of God’s
people. Singing is not an option for the people of God; it is one of the essential
ministries of the church:
What we can and must say quite confidently is that the church which does not sing is
not the church. And where…it does not really sing but sighs and mumbles
spasmodically, shamefacedly and with an ill grace, it can be at best only a troubled
community which is not sure of its cause and of whose ministry and witness there can
be no great expectation.
The praise of God which finds its concrete culmination in the singing of the
community is one of the indispensable forms of the ministry of the church.”

3. Singing is a ministry that belongs to all the people of God.

The congregation is always the primary choir. The role of professional or volunteer
choirs and musicians is to aid the whole people of God in their worship. While
anthems or vocal and instrumental solos may be offered, they do not have to be.
Congregational singing, however, is essential. While it is possible to be actively
engaged in worship and in prayer while listening to an anthem or solo, a diet of
worship which does not regularly include ample opportunity for all the members of
the congregation to join in song will be impoverished worship, and the life of the
church and the faith of its people will suffer.

4. Of all the art forms that may be employed in worship,

singing is especially corporate.
Indeed, it is the art form most suited to expressing the church’s unity in the body of
Christ. Different voices, different instruments, different parts are blended to offer a
single, living, and unified work of beauty. John Calvin recognized the power of
congregational singing in helping the church express and experience the unity of the
body of Christ. Asserting that the human tongue was especially created to proclaim
the praise of God, both through singing and speaking.

5. The church's ministry of song is for the glory of God.

The principal direction of congregational singing is to the Lord (Ps. 96:1). Music is
made first of all to the Lord and only secondarily to each other. Music should
communicate and express a sense of awe and wonder in the presence of God; it
should lead our thoughts toward God rather than toward ourselves.

God can be glorified by beautiful sounds and spirits may be uplifted by a pleasing
melody, but it is primarily the joining of the tune to a text that gives meaning to
Christians’ songs. Not only should both text and tune glorify God and be consistent
with each other, but the tune must serve the text. Music is always the servant of the
Word. John Calvin cautioned that “we should be very careful that our ears be not
more attentive to the melody than our minds to the spiritual meaning of the words.
Such songs as have been composed only for the sweetness and delight of the ear are
unbecoming to the majesty of the church and cannot but displease God in the highest
degree.”

6. The church's ministry of song is for the edification of God's

people.
Through congregational singing Christian faith is not only expressed; to a very real
degree it is formed. Since people tend to remember the theology they sing more than
the theology that is preached, a congregation’s repertoire of hymnody is often of
critical importance in shaping the faith of its people. Here again, it is the meaning of
the text that is of primary importance. It is through the sense of the words that God’s
people learn of the nature and character of God and of the Christian life. Noting that if
one prays in a tongue, the “spirit prays,” but the “mind is unfruitful,” the Apostle Paul
vows, “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also” (1 Cor. 14:14-15,
RSV).
Christian hymnody contains some of the most tightly packed, concise doctrinal and
devotional thought of the church. Through congregational song God’s people learn
their language about God; God’s people learn how to speak with God. Songs of
worship shape faith. It is, therefore, very important that a congregation have a rich
“vocabulary of praise.” Simple, repetitive music such as praise choruses and Taizé
chants are very appropriate in worship and can be very effective in moving individuals
to prayer and to praise. But it is also important for the congregation to know some of
the great hymns of faith in order to have a sense that the Christian faith is both
relevant and enduring, and to be enriched by the faith of the “great cloud of
witnesses.” Hymns, both ancient and modern, which stretch minds, increase
vocabulary, rehearse the biblical story, and teach of the nature and the mighty acts of
God are essential for the congregation’s growth in faith.

7. The emotional power of music, rightly employed, is a vital

and moving aid to worship.
Music can indeed “excite piety,” and depending on its mood, move individuals to
penitence, thanksgiving, adoration, love, or any one of a host of emotions. Those who
love the Lord are encouraged to sing till we feel our hearts ascending with our
tongues. It is important that the emotional mood of a particular tune be
commensurate with the sense of the text. It is also important that the emotional
power of music in worship be evocative rather than manipulative, honest rather than
manufactured, and that the congregation’s singing allow for the full range of
emotions in worship.

Guidelines for Evaluating and Nurturing Congregational

Singing

Evaluating and choosing music for Christian worship should be a careful process,
guided primarily by theological considerations. Pastors, musicians, choir directors, and
worship committees may be aided in this process by being attentive to the following
suggested guidelines.
1. What theology is expressed in our congregational singing? Is it biblical? Is it
consistent with our theology? Is the range of what we sing representative of the
“whole counsel of God?” What do our songs and hymns say or imply about the
sovereignty and grace of God? About the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of
Jesus Christ? Hymns used in public worship should be in harmony with the beliefs
of our church.
2. Is there sufficient pastoral breadth in our music ministry? Do we sing songs that are
appropriate to the many and variable life situations in which believers find
 themselves? Does our congregational singing include the many moods and types of
prayer, including praise, thanksgiving, confession, lament, intercession, and
dedication? A congregation which sings only “upbeat” praise choruses and hymns,
for example, will have a diminished and restricted understanding of prayer.
3. Is there sufficient liturgical breadth? Does our congregational singing include songs
and hymns appropriate to each of the seasons of the church year? For the
celebration of the Lords Supper? For the various opportunities for congregational
responses in the order of worship? Is the congregation provided with the
opportunity to sing those parts of the service that are better sung than spoken?
4. Is there sufficient historical, cultural, and generational breadth? Does our
congregational singing express belief in the communion of saints? Are all the saints
present encouraged to join in singing, and do our songs also express our belief that
we sing with saints throughout the ages and around the world? Do the hymns and
songs include contributions from other cultures, languages, and eras? Are songs
included which allow for the full participation of children? For those beginning the
journey of faith as well as for more mature Christians?
5. Is the language of our hymns inclusive? Do our hymns make use of the full range of
biblical imagery for God? Can all believers, male and female, young and old, feel
included by the language of our congregational songs?
6. Are we providing our congregation with a sufficient vocabulary of praise? Marva
Dawn suggests that a hymn text “is great in proportion to what we can learn from
it.” What do we learn about God and the Christian faith from what we sing? Can
the text stand on its own?
7. Does the music serve the text? “A hymn tune is excellent only as it is subservient to
the words, undergirds the thought, and captures the dominant mood.” Does the
tune help us to recall the words by bringing forward appropriate features of the
text, or does the tune call attention to itself and contradict or stand in the way of
the words?
8. Does our music encourage corporate worship? Does the music encourage
congregational singing or is it designed for the solo artist or does it come across as
entertainment? Are soloists and choir effectively leading and supporting the
congregation in its worship or are they merely displaying their virtuosity? Do the
hymns and choruses we sing express the faith of the gathered community or do
they tend toward individual and private expressions of faith?
9. Is the music appropriate to the ability of the congregation? Do our musical
selections respect the past practice of congregation? Do we include enough
familiar hymns?
10.Do the hymns and choruses we sing assume and encourage growth in
discipleship? Is continuing congregational education in music and worship a part of
our ministry? Do we take the time and effort to learn new hymns and challenging
hymns? Worship is a “living sacrifice,” and therefore our gifts to God should
represent some cost to us. Learning more difficult music and coming to understand
and appreciate richer theology may be difficult work, but it can also be a source of
spiritual renewal and growth.