Corporate Music for Corporate Worship by Terry L. Baldridge

Corporate worship is what happens when we gather together as a body of believers to praise our Creator. The adjective corporate implies that individual persons have assembled or joined themselves for a common purpose. This unity suggests that the worship experience itself is shared and that everyone participates. We often describe our weekly services as times for God's people to unite and celebrate what He has accomplished in and through the body during the week. We are admonished in Scripture not to neglect the assembling of ourselves for this purpose.

The nineteenth-century Danish religious thinker Kierkegaard suggested the analogy of worship as drama. The people of the congregation are the actors—the active participants in the work or service of worship. Gathering together Sunday after Sunday, however, does not in itself necessarily insure that corporate worship takes place or that unity occurs with each member actively participating in the drama of worship.

Traditionally, the aspect of our worship most conducive to active participation has been congregational singing. Yet it is this part of our services that has been most often neglected. The desire for “better” music has, in some instances, practically pushed congregational singing out of the service. In an attempt to make worship more meaningful, the Council of Laodicea (343-381) outlawed congregational singing, relegating this responsibility to trained musicians. Fortunately, there have been those who saw the fallacy of this practice and sought to restore corporate music into corporate worship. Men such as John Huss, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John Wesley saw the necessity for the people to participate in worship.

A similar dilemma occurred in early nineteenth-century American churches. American church choirs, organized only a few years earlier for the sole purpose of leading congregational singing, began usurping the privilege of singing from the people. The desire to perform more elaborate music led to choir specials—in many instances to the exclusion of congregational participation in music. This development led to a countermovement during the second and third quarters of the century, knows as the “Church Music Reform.”

When the Temple worship was established, the Levites were chosen to be priests and to sing praise to God. But Christ made it possible for all to be priests—not only in the offering of sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin but also in the singing of praise to God. In the light of this, participation in congregational song is both a privilege and a responsibility. Every major revival movement has resulted in the creation of a new congregational music. Beginning with Christ and the singing of the disciples and early Christians; to John Huss and the singing Moravians; Martin Luther and the congregational song of the Reformation; John and Charles Wesley and the heritage of Methodist hymns; the Second Great Awakening in America and the development of revival hymnody; the mid-nineteenth-century revival and the development of gospel hymnody; the holiness movement in the late nineteenth century and holiness song; and even the “Jesus Movement” of the twentieth century and the development of a folk hymnody—all have resulted in a renewal of congregational singing.

Worship should involve several elements. Although it centers around celebration—celebration of what God has done in the past, is doing in the present, and will do in the future—it must not stop there. The purpose of our celebration is to equip us for edification and proclamation. New Testament worship focuses on these two elements. We are instructed to encourage and build each other up so that the world will see love in action and be filled with a desire to become a part of the body. This, in turn, enables the new believer to celebrate with the body, edify the members, and finally proclaim this love to others. The worship cycle is therefore continually building the body, both in strength and numbers.

One important way to accomplish all three elements is through congregational singing. We sing hymns of praise and consecration as we celebrate, hymns of testimony and encouragement as we edify, and our enthusiasm for these two aspects witnesses to others as we sing of God’s love and mercy. Nineteenth and early twentieth-century congregations were often known for their enthusiastic singing, and nonbelievers were attracted to the services through corporate music.

Is corporate worship what it should be today? We have so much music in our services, but how much of it is corporate music? Has this highest form of worship music been forced to move over in deference to “special” music? If the members of the congregation are indeed actors in the drama of worship, the place and purpose of music becomes clear. Congregational singing is presupposed if the church is actually engaged in the action of worship. Could it be that we are so strongly influenced by the TV church that we have forgotten what constitutes real corporate worship? If our assembling together is to be a corporate worship experience, we need to be sure that the body of believers actively participates in a corporate manner. What better way to accomplish this than through congregational singing.

In principle we recognize the value of the congregational song, but rarely do our services exemplify this. We go to great lengths to ensure the success of our special music. We hire ministers of music and then measure their success through their personal performance proficiency and their ability to organize and provide special music for us. Even our sanctuaries are architecturally designed and furnished to meet two basic criteria: (1) the amplification of our special music, and (2) the comfort of our people as they listen to this music. We do not realize what we are doing to congregational song, both through emphasis and the physical properties of the sanctuary itself. Padded pews and plush carpet dampen and deaden any congregational participation that takes place—especially singing. When the music of a particular church or service is reviewed, the focus is usually on special music with congregational singing seldom mentioned. Many churches are musical churches but not singing churches. Although special music may tend to attract more people in today’s society, it is congregational music that unites the people. People of all ages and backgrounds are joined in a common act of worship through singing.

In our attempt to make congregational singing special, the emphasis should be placed on the text to be sung. If our efforts do not enhance the spirit of the hymn we will end up with meaningless involvement on the congregation’s part. There are several ways of adding a special element to corporate music.

1.Discuss the impetus for the hymn. Under what circumstances was it inspired?

2.Read a portion or all of the text in unison and responsively.

3.Read a passage of Scripture upon which the hymn is based.

4.Incorporate hymn singing into a sermon. Have the congregation sing individual stanzas as they relate to a particular portion of the message.

5.Have someone testify as to why the hymn has been meaningful.

6.Stop in the middle of a hymn, as suggested by John Wesley, and ask the people if they are really thinking about what they are singing.

7.Sing the text to a different tune—one that is familiar to the people. In singing a well-known tune from memory, the focus is suddenly on the text in front of you.

8.Have different portions of the congregation sing a stanza or line of text. Using ladies and men, or perhaps children separately often enhances our awareness of the text. Some hymns incorporate a call-and-response pattern that would allow the choir and congregation or segments of the congregation to answer each other.

9.Have a section or all of the choir sing a descant to part of the hymn.

10.Use instruments to enhance the hymn. Alternate piano and organ, or incorporate an instrumental solo obligato or instrumental ensemble.

11.Use modulations to create excitement. Short interludes leading to a modulation can be effective.

12.Have the congregation sing in unison with the accompanying instruments playing an altered harmonization.

13.Use a soloist or small ensemble on a verse. Care should be exercised not to take away from congregational involvement.

14.Use unaccompanied singing! Once the congregation catches the excitement of corporate music, the beauty of the human voice, God’s created instrument, singing unaccompanied is unsurpassed in richness.
As worship leaders seek to be creative in this area, other ways of making congregational singing special will surface. Perhaps one method of focusing on corporate music would be to have a congregational special. A good place for this would be immediately preceding the sermon. This would allow the congregation to be actively involved just before the pastor speaks, and having the people stand for this hymn would also allow a change in physical position. If a sermon hymn directly related to the theme of the message were chosen, the attention of the people would be focused on the subject of the sermon.

There is so much potential in corporate music. The power of God’s people praising Him through singing is often an untapped resource. There is no need for us to compete with the world or even the TV church when it comes to special or entertainment music. We have a much higher calling. Let us make full use of congregational music as we gather for corporate worship—in celebration, edification, and proclamation. If past spiritual revivals have brought a revival of congregational song, perhaps we should start by praying to that end. In the meantime, however, we can begin working toward a renewal in church music. Who knows, it might even enhance a spiritual renewal. Let us all examine our goals and priorities in church music and strive to cultivate an awakening that will reestablish the priesthood of the believer in song. As we gather to worship corporately we should do what we can to ensure that the people actively participate in the drama of worship. This can best be accomplished by emphasizing corporate music for corporate worship.