Church Music Page, August 8, 2011

• New Tunes for Old Words. A bad idea.

• Volume. Don’t make it painful, or let it be louder than the congregational singing.

• Instrumentals between verses. A bad idea.

• The Projectionist. The most important member of the band— the only crucial one.

• Never leave the congregation wondering what happens next.

• Fancy Leading. Don’t show off.

• Noticing the response. Have someone in the congregation who can tell whether each song is a success or a failure.

• Male leadership. This is important.

• Illiterates. Be considerate to them. Clapping, repetition, Pre-Schoolers, poor adult readers.

• Beauty. Don’ t think the aim is beauty.

• Songs that sound good on MP3s but need a recording studio and a trained voice. Avoid.

• Singing every verse. Pointless. Look at the meaning.

• Clapping at the end. Needs careful thought.

• Put the band at the back of the congregation, not the front. Then a woman can lead, even. if a man is leading up front.

• "There are two understandings of worship. The first sees God as the audience, with congregation, choir, and clergy as participants. It emphasizes objectivity, group participation, natural acoustics. The second sees the congregation as an audience to be convinced, taught, moved, or entertained. It emphasizes subjectivity, individuals up front, solos, applause, the word "I", and electronics. "www.rosskingco.com

• Much of the motivation is to get peopel numbed out. This is similar to a rock concert. Young people are used to that, they say. How about, then, handing out marijuana joints at church? That would have a similar effect.