Why Do Christian Congregations Sing?

The Difference Between Concert and Congregation

This paper examines the premise that the congregation is the backbone of Christian

worship and congregational singing is an important element of congregational worship. What

makes congregational song so special? In Linda Clark’s contribution to Music and the Arts in

Christian Worship: Book One, edited by Robert Webber, she examines the difference between a

concert and congregational singing. Clark highlights three import congregational roles that do

not directly to a concert audience: performer, priest, listener. As performers, the congregation

differs from other performers in that the main purpose for their performance is not an artistic

production. Neither is the main purpose of the performance a display of musical skill. (The

Difference Between Concert Music and Music for Worship in Music and the Arts in Christian

Worship: Book One. Hendrickson Publishers, 1994) However, every member in the congregation

is expected to participate and to do their part in the performance. (James Rawlings Sydnor.

Hymns and Their Uses. Agape, 1982) As priests, the congregation offers a collective response to

God. No one should draw attention to themselves but instead focus on pointing the attention

to God while being hospitable and leaving space for others to join the song. Finally, the role of

listener differs from concert listening. Congregations listen to be encouraged and edified in

faith and mission. In examining the difference in roles, it is clear the congregational song is

extremely different than a concert.

As performer, priest, and listener every member of the congregation is expected to

participate. Congregational singing is never a spectator event and a broad sweep through the

history of the church will reveal a variety of expectations from congregational participants.
From its inception, church Fathers have expressed concern over the relationship between music

and human emotion. Augustine, who was brought into the faith later in life, examined the

potential effects of music by comparing his experiences in the church to those of his life before

salvation. He states the congregational singing can be a “dangerous pleasure or healthful

exercise” dependent on how one engages with the song. His warning is clear, the participant

must control their “inner feelings” to avoid being moved by the song more than text. For

Augustine, good music is able to emotionally move the listener but the most important aspect

of the song is contained in the truth of the text. (Augustine. Confessions. Book 10, Chapter 33.

Ages Digital Library, Heritage Edition. 2005)

The second stop in the sweep through history is the reformation era. John Wesley’s

Directions for Congregational Worship are generally well known by those educated in theology

and Christian worship. In his opening paragraph, Wesley unpacks the complex nature of

congregational singing. His rules are bound up by two important aspects: 1) congregational

singing must be acceptable to God, and 2) profitable for yourself and others. Wesley draws

attention to the multi-dimensional aspect of worship. Worship expresses the vertical

relationship between the worshipper and God but also the horizontal relationship between

worshippers themselves. In the earliest version, not the version located in a later hymn preface,

Wesley cites only five rules: 1) Sing all, 2) Sing lustily, 3) Sing Modestly, 4) Sing in time, 5) Sing

spiritually. (John Wesley. Directions for Congregational Singing. Ages Digital Library, Heritage

Edition. 2005)

Wesley’s first four rules seem to have a greater connection to the musical aspect of

congregational song. The final rule, singing spiritually, requires some unpacking. Singing
spiritually is directly related to the singers interaction with the text of the song. Wesley felt it

was essential that the congregation understand the words that they are singing. Austin C.

Lovelace described spiritual singing as “understanding the movement of Christian concepts.”

(The Anatomy of Hymnody. GIA Publications, 1965) If the text of the song is too heady or artistic

the song has little value for the congregations. James Rawlings Sydnor has this to add, the

spiritual aspect of congregational singing has three requirements. First, agreeing with Lovelace,

the congregation must understand what they are saying. Second, they must experience the

proper emotion. Lastly, the congregation must always keep their eyes fixed on God. (Hymns

and Their Uses)

The last stop on our broad sweep of history is the worshipping community of the

Vineyard church. Like Wesley, Vinyard’s John Wimber also states there are two aspects of

congregational singing. First, it is communication with God. Singers exalt God and lift him up

through confession, thanksgiving and adoration. Second, it is God meeting with the

congregation. Wimber’s descriptions of congregational activity are very physical as well as

intellectual. Congregational song is an embodied experience whose goal is intimacy with God.

Wimber divides the worship service into five (5) phases and congregational song is

indispensable in nearly every phase. Phase one is the call to worship where God invites the

congregation to meet with him. Phase two is engagement and begins the musical journey. In

phase two, the congregation expresses their love through song whose. They are primarily

engaged with their mind (intellectually) through confession, thanksgiving, and adoration. Phase

three identified by expression. A distinctly physical and emotional aspect will manifest. Song

will be accompanied by various postures, raising hands, kneeling, jumping; and emotions. In
phase four God meets with the congregation. Visitation is the phase where God moves in

salvations, sanctification, healing and prophecy. The final phase is giving, where the

congregation respond to God’s movement. (John and Carol Wimber. Worship: Intimacy with

God. Renewal Jounal 6, 1995)

The Phenomenon of Congregational Song

From this cross section of history one main thought will become clear. There are

contrasting ideas that will move in an ebb and flow throughout history. The contrast sometimes

takes the form of music versus text, at other times it is intellect versus emotion, still other times

it is voice versus instrument. Still, one thing remains constant, the people of God must sing. In

a quick comparison between Augustine and Wesley, we find textual engagement is most

important. Still, both authors place high value on the quality of music used to accompany the

text. The text, however, remains the main concern. Interesting, the text seems to be what is

lacking from Wimber’s discussion. For Wimber, music and emotion are not so easily bifurcated.

Robb Redman uses the term “rhapsody” to describe a Wimber type service. A high priority is

placed on the flow of music through the service. The power of music is embraced and song is

used to take the congregation on a spiritual journey to heaven, where worship of God is

constantly taking place. The point of emphasis in not the words of the song, but the ability of

the song to have an effect on the singer. (Robb Redman. The Great Worship Awakening: Singing

a new song in the postmodern church. Jossey-Bass, 2002.)

It is evident that congregational singing can involve a range of experiences. Wimber

correctly recognizes the inseparable connection between music and memory, and the emotions

that come with it. Thomas Long highlights three levels of memory invoked by congregational
song. First is the individual memory between the song and the singer. Second is the

congregational memory which connect to the experiences of the congregation as a distinct

entity. Lastly is the broad memory of the entire people of God. Congregational song celebrates

God’s story, his character, his mission, and his deeds throughout history. (Thomas Long. Beyond

the Worship Wars: An alternative approach to worship. Alban Institute, 2001.) Since these

emotional connections are inevitable, Redman wisely points out the dangers of using music and

memory to manipulate emotions and congregation.

Having reviewed all that separates congregational singing from other music

performances it seems prudent to adopt Sydnor’s five (5) values of Christian singing as a

conclusion to this discussion. Congregational song is proclamation of the doctrine and mission

of the church. Second, congregational song is the expression of ideas, experiences, and

emotions of the people of God. Third is edification, the building up of a community of faith

which includes education and encouragement. Fourth is fellowship, the unity that results from

congregational song which is one in voice but includes a psychological unity as well. And finally,

sustenance, as congregational song is also used as individual songs of devotion and piety.

Writing the Song

Having examined the uniqueness of congregational song it is beneficial not to trace

some important developments throughout history beginning with the inception of the the song

itself. Congregational song seems to begin as the musical telling of God’s story and in particular

his victory over his enemies. The earliest songs of the Old Testament are all responses to God’s

activity in the world. Miriam’s song, in Exodus 15, commemorates the destruction of Pharaoh

and the Egyptian army and the subsequent deliverance of Israel from oppression. In similar
fashion the song of Deborah in Judges 5 commemorates God’s victory in the land of Canaan and

the deliverance of the Israelites from oppression. Lastly, Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2,

celebrates a different kind of victory and oppression but the song ends with God’s victory over

all his enemies. The song tells the story of God and celebrates victory over his enemies.

In the time of king David, the song becomes an official aspect of congregational worship.

The ark of the covenant had, for many years, been making its way back to cult life in Israel after

having been stolen by the Philistine enemy over one hundred years prior. In an interesting

move, David takes the ark to Jerusalem rather than returning it to the tabernacle in Gibeon.

David builds an ark shrine in Jerusalem with an eye toward building the temple there. He

appoints Levite musician priests to minister before the ark in song, offering sacrifices of praise.

He also appoints a group of Levites to sing songs at Gideon as well so when sacrifices are taking

place at Gibeon, a song of praise is being raised in Jerusalem. Peter Leithart suggests that the

ark shrine denotes a transition from tabernacle to temple, but also for the Levitical priesthood

who would no long be carrying the ark of the covenant. Those who were once responsible for

the enthronement (carrying God) would now be responsible for enthronement in praise. A

sample song is provided in 1 Chronicles 16 which still proclaims victory over the nations, as we

saw in earlier songs, but now invites them to come worship Yahweh. (Peter Leithart. From

Silence to Song: The Davidic liturgical revolution. Canon Press, 2003.)

In the New Testament, the God’s song continues as we find Jesus and the disciples

singing a psalm to close their last supper meal together. The song of the Old Testament remains

but there are some new additions, namely the song of God’s story of deliverance through his

son Jesus Christ. Luke’s gospel contains four new and important songs: the Benedictus
(Zechariah’s song) and Magnificat (Mary’s song) in Luke chapter one; and the Gloria in Excelsis

(the angel’s song) and the nunc Dimittus (Simeon’s song) in Luke chapter two. In addition, there

are a few songs declaring Christ is worthy found scattered through the book of Revelation,

chapters four, five, seven, fifteen and nineteen. These additions add to the song of God and

declare his salvation through his son Jesus. Other song fragments may be found throughout the

New Testament. Romans 11:36, 2 Corinthians 11:31, Philippians 2:6-11, 4:20, and 1 Timothy

1:17 are examples of song fragments that help clarify the doctrinal issues such as the divinity of

Jesus Christ and the nature of the Trinity.

The Christian bible provides the substance and content for the lyric of congregational

song. As previously discussed however, congregational song is a unique phenomenon where

spiritual realities meet face to face with physical expression. Congregational song is

simultaneously the King’s song. In 2 Chronicles 7:6 the Levitical priesthood is singing praise to

Yahweh and some translations say that David himself is also praising through the ministry of the

Levitical priesthood. If left by itself, it would probably be best to view this as a translation error

but there are two more passages that may suggest that there is something profoundly spiritual

happening when the congregation sings. The first passage comes from Psalm 22:3 where the

psalmist claims that Yahweh inhabits, or lives in the praise of his people. Again, suggesting a

connection between the physical act of congregational praise and spiritual realities. The last

verse comes from Hebrews 2:12, where Jesus is said to be praising the Father in the praises of

the congregation. Interestingly enough, the writer of Hebrews is quoting from elsewhere in

Psalm 22.
 The function of congregational singing based on scripture is as follows: proclamation is

the most important aspect. The main emphasis of the psalm found in 1 Chronicles 16 is the

telling of God’s story and the proclamation of his victory. Edification would be the second

function of congregational song. Paul encourages Christians to teach each other through

psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Colossians 3:16) It is clear that education and

encouragement are a key component of congregational singing. The last function is

empowerment. Strictly speaking, spiritual empowerment in the goal. In Ephesians 5:18-19 Paul

links being filled with the Spirit to the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. As

previously suggested, Psalms 22:3 suggests that there is something profoundly spiritual that

happens when the congregation sings. Finally, Leithart suggests and simply the act of raising

our song in the congregation is inviting and empowering others to join.

Rehearsing the Song

The early church is characterized by diversity in liturgical practice but unity in voice. A

desire to separate themselves from secular worship results in the general prohibition of

instruments in worship. Hermann Gunkel suggests that form follows function and if the

function of song is proclamation, edification, and empowerment then the forms of the early

church are aimed at those functions. There are three forms of early song: solo singing,

responsorial between a soloist and a group, and antiphonal between two groups. Responsorial

singing is suggested in the writing of Tertullian, Augustine, and Hilary of Poteirs. Antiphonal is

believed to have been used by Ambrose to combat Arian heresy.

Examination of the early church begins with Augustine who provided a definition for a

Christian hymn. A hymn is praise, directed to God, and it must be sung. (Augustine, Psalm 73.
Ages Digital Library, Heritage Edition. 2005) Singing praises to God is a trademark of the early

church. In a letter to emperor Trajan, Pliny the Younger states that a Christian distinction is the

song of praise they raise to Christ as God. Paul suggests that it pleases God to exalt Christ

(Philippians 2:6-11) so Tertullian is correct when he states that the song of the church brings

great joy to the Father. (Tertullian. To His Wife. Book 2, chapter 8. Ages Digital Library, Heritage

Edition. 2005). Clearly proclamation is important, but according to Basil the Great edification is

also important to early believers. He calls the singing of the church an “education for the soul,”

pointing out the formative nature of congregational song. He claimed that long after the

sermon was forgotten, the song of the church remained on the lips of the people. (Basil the

Great. The Treatise de Spiritu sancto. Ages Digital Library, Heritage Edition. 2005)

Only a few short centuries later, the church was experiencing significant change that led

the Synod of Laodicea (canon 15) to conclude that the laity should not be allowed to sing. The

decision would not silence the church but would put a significant damper on the participation

of the congregation. John Chrysostom, an outspoken supporter of congregational singing made

note, not only of the declining voice, but the spiritual decline as well. In a sermon delivered a

short time after the decision at Laodicea he states that most of the congregation knows the

lyric to a number of secular, dirty songs, but are unable to recite even one psalm from memory.

(John Chrysostom. The Gospel of Matthew: Homily 2. Ages Digital Library, Heritage Edition.

2005) The song is about to be restricted.

Restricting the Song

 Laodicea marked the period where the church situation changed from persecution to

acceptance. The change brought with it a desire to standardize the liturgical practice and the

song of the church. Gregory the Great set up the schola cantorum, a school to teach the

ecclesiastic song of the mass. With a growing desire to change the quality of the song and the

need for a trained musician to perform the song, the song itself was turned over to the

professional which left very little for the congregation to participate in. (Paul Westermeyer. Te

Deum: The church and music. Fortress Press, 1998) Later changes removed almost all hope of

congregational participation. The institution of a low mass (private mass) removed the

congregational aspect of the mass entirely. There was no longer a need for the congregation to

participate. (Frank Senn. Christian Liturgy: Catholic and Evangelical. Fortress Press, 1997)

a) Major Developments (Boethius De Musica)

The Song at the crossroad

Was the song was all but declared dead by the time of the Reformation. While the

reformers revitalized the singing life of the church, not all reformer approached congregational

song with the same fervor. Martin Luther was the great promoter of congregational singing,

Zwingli felt the song should be prohibited, and Calvin represented the policing of song.

Luther loved music and almost immediately went about the work of creating a hymnal

for the church. Luther believed that music was a gift from God, so he was enthusiastically

engaged. Luther also felt that music had a unique ability to carry God’s word. Music is

proclamation, it is the song of Christ victorious and he promoted song with vigor. Zwingli,

arguably the better musician of the three, felt that worship was best conducted in silence to
give preeminence to the teaching aspect of the word, over and above the devotional aspect.

While Zwingli would restrict music in the worship gathering, he encouraged its use outside of

the gathered context.

Calvin’s approach to congregational singing was quite unique. To begin, his thoughts on

song are worked out in his Institutes, in the chapter on prayer. For Calvin, singing and prayer

were two sides of a coin. He examines congregational song from the Apostle Paul to Augustine

and concludes that the most important aspect of congregational music is the text. In Calvin’s

ordering of ideas, it makes sense that the best lyric for song would also make the best prayers.

The book of psalms, the Jewish collection of prayers, becomes the obvious choice. He proceeds

to present the following rules for congregational singing: 1) use metrical psalms, 2) use a

monophonic melody, 3) use only one note per syllable, 4) no accompaniment, 5) no choir. Like

Zwingli, Calvin did enforce his rules outside of the gathered church context.

Calvin enlists the help of two poets to produce the Geneva Psalter. Song life booms

under Calvin, and outside the church it booms with the use of instruments too. The Anglican’s

agree with Calvin and enlist Sternhold and Hopkins to produce their own psalter. Sternhold and

Hopkins uses a significant number of common meter and double common meter tunes.

Producing song books becomes routine with each book attempts to bring a uniqueness to the

repertoire. The Scottish Psalter, for example, breaks with the German tradition of assigning one

tune per text and produces a textless tune. The innovation broadens the accessibility of the

song to the congregation.

Remixing the Song

 Over time, some find psalmody to be lacking and other reject the form text nature of

the songs. Texts move further and further from the literal text until a distinction is made and

songs of human composition (hymns) begin to spring up. Benjamin Keach is not the first hymn

writer, but is known to be the first to connect hymn singing with the Lord’s supper. Keach called

congregational singing itself an ordinance, seemingly placing in on par with the Lord’s supper

and baptism. Hymns of human composition would bring a new level of conflict to

congregational singing, as demonstrated by the church split that happened soon after Keach’s

innovation. (William Lock. A Brief History of Congregational Song. in Music and the Arts in

Christian Worship: Book One. Hendrickson Publishers, 1994)

Isaac Watts was content to take the changes a little slower. He began by expanding on

the psalms themselves. Watts stated two specific goals: first, to interpret the psalms through

the narrative of Jesus. He understood the necessity to understand the psalms thought a

Christological lens. In addition, Watts believed his songs needed to be accessible to the people.

He states, when a person reads, they are hearing God speak. When a person sings, it is their

voice speaking to God. Watts valued good thinking and good speaking, so he chooses words

that are pregnant with meaning to meet the complex dialogical nature of congregational song.

(Isaac Watts. A Short Essay Toward the Improvement of Psalmody.)

Watts laid the foundation for the hymn writing of the Wesleys. John was profoundly

moved by his experience with the Moravian believers. Likewise, Charles experienced his own

epiphany when he experienced salvation. Together, the Wesleys wrote hymns that explored

the inward experiences of life both saved and unsaved. Evangelical concern is at the forefront
of Wesley hymnody. They write hymns that urge the singer to respond to the truths

communicate in song.

Teaching the Song

Moving into the eighteenth century, immigrants were making their way to America.

They brought with them their liturgies and the songs of their church. In order to accommodate

those who did not have hymnals, many practiced lining out a song which helped others

participate but lacked passion and spiritual engagement. Three ministers set out to teach music

to the younger generation and bring life back to the singing of the church: Thomas Walter,

Thomas Symmes, and John Tufts.

Distributing the Song

The Twentieth century is the era of media. The song of the congregation is now

available in a number of forms. Songs are heard on radio and recorded media, and sheet music

is available to anyone.

A Global Song

The make up of the local church takes a dramatic shift in the later half of the twentieth

century. The multicultural church is made up of many colors, cultures, and languages. Hymnals

take this into account and add songs that minister to different people groups from around the

globe. (Nancy Rosenberger Faus. Music of the Global Church. in Music and the Arts in Christian

Worship: Book One. Hendrickson Publishers, 1994)

To assist other cultures in creating their own congregational song, ethnodoxologists

seek to carefully and humbly assist. They attempt to remain transparent but encourage a

church to conduct background research into songs, song styles, and instrument. Next, make
intentional choices to decide what is usable and what should be set aside for another time or

generation. Third, they often conduct clinics and seminars to help indigenous cultures create

their own song. Lastly, they encourage a review phase to see what unintended consequences

may have transpired in their choices. (Brian Schrag ed. Tools for Encouraging the Growth of

Indigenous Hymnody. Summer Institue of Linguistics, 2002)