What Makes a Song a Congregational Song?
Part Three: The Function
Songs composed or adapted to the standard Congregational Song form are a wonderful gift to the church. Without these artful compositions, songs intended for use in praise and worship can lose their effectiveness. To understand how Congregational Songs work so well, we must take a careful look at how public worship can suffer if songs are used that do not do the work of worship.
Song Hazards to Avoid
Every artist who leads other artists needs regular and efficient measurements of how well he/she is doing. The Worship Leader, especially, cannot consider his/her work a success if the people of the church are not singing along. That is a major goal of leading worship—participation by the people. The characteristics of the Congregational Song are the result of generation after generation attempting to lead this communal art.
On the evaluation…
