Worship Music

“Worship is about believers speaking the message of Christ to one another. But when the focus of the service becomes about everyone on the platform doing the right thing at the right time, worship begins to look more like a performance than a gathering of believers.” - Lifeway

“In recent years, industry giants like Capitol Christian Music Group (CCMG), which, as of 2021, claims over half the market share of the Christian music industry, have invested more in catalog acquisitions and are seeing profits from publishing catalogs increase.” - CToday

“#1-Even if hymnals are available and acknowledged, hardly anyone…uses them….#2-Generally, there is very little to no harmony being sung….#3-It is much more difficult to teach through the stanza progression of hymns….#4-Only those familiar with the hymn can sing it.” - P&D

“A new study looked at how worship leaders pick music for services — at a time when a handful of megachurches dominate the market.” - RNS

“Bishop’s survey is based on an influential 1938 study that helped shape Southern Baptist church music in the 20th century. Published in 1939, that study used survey techniques popularized by George Gallup to gather data from 1,093 local congregations.” - RNS

“The medieval church had musical instruments and choirs…. Congregations sat mute as the ‘professionals’ performed. The Reformers rightly restored the singing of the congregation.” - Ref21

“There are valid and interesting questions about the particularities that give contemporary worship music its resonance—borrowed conventions of secular love songs and pop ballads or associations with the aesthetics of high-energy arena rock concerts” - CToday

“Crowdfunded by a Kickstarter campaign, the hymnal is a collection of 150 hymns, including centuries-old mainstays like ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God’ … and more recent works like Michael Card’s ‘Barocha.’” - CToday

“With corporate consolidation in worship music, more entities are invested in the songs sung on Sunday mornings. How will their financial incentives shape the church?” - CToday

“…he supports church musicians seeking excellence in everything they do… contemporary songs and technology that improve worship, as opposed to creating a ‘concert’ environment that separates stage performers from the congregation.” - GetReligion