Worship Songs You Would Gladly Never Hear Again on a Sunday Morning

[murlough23]

It's easy to go through CCM radio playlists and pick on all of the "worship songs" that we never liked in the first place. But how about at church? How about the songs that your congregation has actually picked up and used, and played them to the point where they're played out? Let's list those.

At my church, I tend to think our worship teams are fairly musically talented - we even have a fledgling Gospel choir. But as classy as some of the arrangements may be, that doesn't always mean that the song selection is so hot. So here are a few examples of songs that I hope our worship teams never touch again in a million years:

Come, Now Is the Time to Worship - Gotta love a worship song that gloats about how we'll get the "greatest treasure" while those silly fools who can't get into these cheesy worship songs will have to bow to God before they burn in Hell. The way it's usually ended with that redundant "Come" just sounds abysamlly awkward to me.

Trading My Sorrows - Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord, ad nasueum.

You Are My King (Amazing Love) - I didn't think it was a terrible song at first, but then I realized I was hearing it without the bridge, which consists of the same line repeated four times and no chord changes whatsoever. That kills the song for me every time.

He Knows My Name - I'm just not a Tommy Walker fan in general, but this one's especially schmaltzy.

I Love You Lord This one's usually sung as slow and awkwardly as possible by any worship team that plays it. Time to give it a rest.

God of Wonders - I actually really like the original recorded version of this song from City on a Hill, but we've really overkilled it.

Hungry (Falling on My Knees) - Nobody can seem to play this one at a tempo that really works for the song. So I'm really tired of it as a result. Unfortunately, it seems to come up during nearly every communion.

Awesome God - Nobody ever does the verses, which makes this one really boring and repetitive. Granted, the verses are cheesy, but still, do a song right or don't do it at all.

Create in Me a Clean Heart - I think there are two songs by this title, they both sound similar enough to confuse people, and they both bore me.

Lord You Have My Heart - I thought this was a lesser-known Delirious? song for a while, so I was fine hearing it from time to time, but enough is enough.

I Could Sing of Your Love Forever - This is classic Delirious? and I hate to pick on it, but honestly, it's probably one of the prime examples of their lyrics not making sense. Rivers don't flow over mountains and seas, and we're generally not dancing as we're singing it. It's just not a song you'd dance to. All that would be fine if the song hadn't gotten way more exposure than it really warranted. It's had its run, time to retire it now.

Enough - I like Chris Tomlin, but we sing way too many of his songs, sometimes all in one day. "Indescribable" and "How Great Is Our God" are newer and both excellent songs, we haven't done "Not to Us" and "Wonderful Maker" as much, and "Forever" is at least very upbeat and fun with the call-and-response thing. Do we really still need this one?

Lord, I Lift Your Name on High - This song deserved to die as soon as someone invented hand motions for it. Not that we do them, but I always get the image in my mind of someone doing them, which is enough to kill the song for me.

[Josh]

Thankfully, my church only sings hymns and Psalms, so I don't actually have this problem, and indeed, I really don't know a whole lot of worship songs these days.

I was having a conversation with someone the other day, however, about ho so many p&w songs could fit in perfectly well at a Unitarian church-- a chilling prospect, to be sure. I think "I Could Sing Of Yor Love Forever" fits this categorey quite nicely-- it's really more of an ode to vague spirituality than an actual song of adoration.

[murlough23]

Thankfully, my church only sings hymns and Psalms, so I don't actually have this problem, and indeed, I really don't know a whole lot of worship songs these days.

Certainly some of those hymns and Psalms must get tiresome if sung too often, though. This problem isn't exclusive to modern worship - though it may be more annoying with modern worship due to the more repetitive nature of a lot of the songs. I guess with hymns, you're likely only to draw from a pool of those that have endured for several decades/centuries, so the dross has already been burned away by earlier generations of the church. But still, there are probably hymns-only churches that sing "Amazing Grace" ad nauseum or whatever.

Some of the songs I listed, I didn't list 'em because I thought they were bad songs. I just listed 'em because they've been overdone. They all happened to be "modern worship" songs, but we do sing hymns as well (sometimes they can juxtapose interestingly with the contemporary stuff). We just don't sing any one hymn so often that I've become tired of it. (OK wait, maybe "Take My Life and Let It Be" is starting to get to that point.)

I was having a conversation with someone the other day, however, about ho so many p&w songs could fit in perfectly well at a Unitarian church-- a chilling prospect, to be sure. I think "I Could Sing Of Yor Love Forever" fits this categorey quite nicely-- it's really more of an ode to vague spirituality than an actual song of adoration.

Heh. Reminds me of the time someone told me that "Draw Me Close" could just as easily be a love song to Satan. Guess that brings whole new meaning to the line "To feel the warmth of your embrace."

I kind of go both ways on this argument. On the one hand, I don't feel that every song sung to God or Jesus has to explicitly refer to Him by name, any more than a love song to my wife has to name her specifically so that it's clear I'm not just singing about any old girl. I mean, if we're in church singing these songs, the context oughta be pretty clear and I don't think that's being done just to make somebody comfortable who prefers a vague spirituality.

Sometimes, the language of romance can work as an analogy to the relationship between man and God - romance is meant to mirror one aspect of that relationship, after all. (Similar thing with the language parental/fraternal relationships, platonic friendships, royalty and its subjects, etc.) It's just the fact that we've overused a lot of this language to the point where it's easy to forget the meaning and forget that it's only a loose analogy. But these analogies have been around for a long, long time - it's not just contemporary worship that uses them. Hymns have used them, too, as has the Bible. The difference is probably that hymns tend to be wordier, so they're more likely to get around to the specificities that make the context clear. But modern worship songs could certainly be written this way if a modern writer chose to do so.

As a general trend, I agree, modern worship tends toward the superficially emotional, the "experience". Hymns cater more to the intellect (though I'm sure many people have a deep emotional connection to hymns as well - I certainly do with a few of 'em). I think that if you take either element away completely, you have an incomplete act of worship. It's not wrong to want to use music that is pleasing to the ear and that can be learned by a congregation without too much difficulty as a means of worshipping God (though given how many congregations did just fine with hymns that were more melodically and lyrically complex for centuries, I do wonder why we have such ADD on Sunday mornings now). Perhaps we just need to develop a little more tolerance for that which is more complex and not as easy to learn or sing - you don't have to be singing to be worshipping, and meditating on words that are being sung is just as valid if you can't remember how to repeat those words back just yet.

I don't know; weren't all hymns considered "contemporary" at the time when they were composed? Did they have to go through this same process of being overused because they were new and popular, being put away for a while, and then having the cream of the crop get brought back out and newly appreciated? Or did things not work this way in earlier generations where the sounds coming from churches on Sunday mornings and the sounds coming from the radio on other days of the week were not similar? Was there not this problem back then with the temptation for worship writers to aim for "hits" moreso than aiming for theologically solid, meaty, and edifying songs?

NP: "Store Bought Bones", The Raconteurs

[Josh Powell]

I do my best to look past how cheesy some of the songs are.. and how often we've played them.. but it does get annoying. It's hard to pick out some of my least favorites, since it'd be quite a few. There is one in particular that I can't stand and just wanna plug my ears every time we do, but I can't think of the name right now.

And since I run the sound at our church, I have to hear them double (Once during practice, then again during service.)

Luckily for us.. we have Renee. She started coming a few months ago, and has already become a huge part of our worship team. This gal is awesome. She sings, writes songs (and actual good songs), plays guitar, bass, is an AWESOME keyboardist... etc etc. Officially she's in southern gospel, which generally I can't stand.. but Renee is a major exception. That woman can sing. So yeah, we have some nice original songs that's she written.. so we don't have to play the same old same old all the times. They're some really good songs too.

I think she's going to try to get in the recording studio sometime (calling around right now and pricing stuff), and if she ever gets an album out I'll have to upload some stuff for you guys to take a listen to. (If I can ever figure a way to hook the board up to the computer without this annoying buzz I'll try to bootleg some stuff for you sooner than that.)

Josh

[T-Bone]

Wow murlough, when I saw the name of this thread a bunch of songs popped into my head, and well, you listed most of them.  Just add "Holy is the Lord" and "You are Holy" to your list and you'd pretty much have mine.  I actually really liked "You are Holy" at one point, but it seems like we play it every week.

[murlough23]

"Holy is the Lord"

Is that the Chris Tomlin song? I'm a bit weary of that one, too. The way it seems to work with him is that I like his uptempo songs and his ballads; his mid-tempo ones are too plain for my tastes.

"You are Holy"

Do you mean "You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)", popularized by MWS's Worship Again album, with the overlapping male and female parts during the chorus? I still really like that one, more for the overlapping than for any other reason.

While we're on the subject of worship leaders who write their own songs, here's the MySpace for our church's worship director, though the stuff he writes/sings on his own is more of a mainstream-friendly, piano-based R&B sort of thing. Not something that would usually be my style, but I enjoy some of it.

http://www.myspace.com/justiskao

NP: "Surrender", downhere

[bethany]

I'd also like to add the Newsboys song "He Reigns."  It looks ok on paper, though the name checking of the Amazon and Asia is obnoxious, but I just really find it incredibly grating.

There's another one we sing occasionally at my church that everyone I've ever talked to hates, but I can't find it on google, so perhaps it's not very widely known. The most heinous part of the lyrics are as follows:  You are awesome/ You are good/ You nailed Your Son/ to a cross of wood"  *shudder*

I also hate almost all the 80's standards like "All in All," etc.

[Vlad!]

I grew up listening to a lot of these songs, so I can tolerate a lot. That's actually a bad thing, I think; when I'm supposed to be worshiping and instead my mind is wandering off into the odd fields of fancy it will go when I let it, that's not what I'm there at church for. But I do have particular beef with one you mentioned, Murlough: I could sing of your love forever. The way they sang it at one church I used to attend, they would sing that one line--I could sing of your love forever--over and over and over again, sometimes loud and defiant, sometimes quiet and contemplative, but completely ad nauseum. It's as if they are trying to prove that, in fact, they can sing of his love forever.

[T-Bone]

[bloop]

I do not like modern P&W almost as a rule, so I guess it's a good thing I attend a more liturgical church.

I like "Awesome God" (but you're right that the verses should be in place).  "Trading My Sorrows" sucks, indeed.  Any song with hand motions or a specific dance cracks me up (think "Be Bold") - it's just so lame.

[murlough23]

I'd also like to add the Newsboys song "He Reigns."  It looks ok on paper, though the name checking of the Amazon and Asia is obnoxious, but I just really find it incredibly grating.

That one works well as a choir song - our choir was going to perform it, but apparently that got aborted before the performance ever actually made it to a Sunday service. I remember a friend who was in the choir telling me that the choir members - who are mostly Asian-American - were amused by the "Asian believers" line.

The line that cracks me up in that song is "Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation, some were meant to persist", because when I hear it, I always think, "Yeah, but not this one."

I also hate almost all the 80's standards like "All in All," etc.

Do you mean "You Are My All in All"? That's an overlap song (the verses and chorus have the same chords), so I still really like it. I might be guilty of overplaying that one. It's fun to do in a small group setting.

But I do have particular beef with one you mentioned, Murlough: I could sing of your love forever. The way they sang it at one church I used to attend, they would sing that one line--I could sing of your love forever--over and over and over again, sometimes loud and defiant, sometimes quiet and contemplative, but completely ad nauseum. It's as if they are trying to prove that, in fact, they can sing of his love forever.

EXACTLY. As one college friend of mine put it, "Well, I could sing of Your love forever." They key word is could. Just because you're capable of doing something doesn't mean that you actually have to do it.

Any song with hand motions or a specific dance cracks me up (think "Be Bold") - it's just so lame.

I can't say that  know that one; I'll consider myself lucky.

NP: "Tears of the Saints", Leeland

[Silvah]

Gosh if I hear Above All one more time... I swear we sing it like every other week, or something close to that. No song should be sung that regularly... I'm actually mad my church doesn't sing more worship songs though, and the ones they do sing usually suck...

[Vlad!]

Actually, I'm going to have to second (third?) "You are my all in all" as well. Probably just due to overplaying.

[bethany]

Actually, I'm going to have to second (third?) "You are my all in all" as well. Probably just due to overplaying.

Yeah, the song itself isn't terrible, but it's been way overdone. All I can think of when I hear it is singing it every freakin' week at chapel in junior high. *shudder*

[Escuchame]

[murlough23]

[bloop]

Like you, I don't see a negative in purging songs that are lacking.  Growing up in a setting where hymns were the exception, I now find much of modern worship shallow by comparison.  At our church, we use "The Lutheran Book of Worship" and another, newer book titled "With One Voice".  Even there, I've noticed that some of the songs selected in the latter book don't stack up so well to Isaac Watts et. al., but I do appreciate the need to change things up.

Perhaps the best of modern worship will remain with us.  I think a few songs in the movement are genuine keepers - not very many I've heard, but I have to give credit where due.  But I also fear that many have acquired a taste (and it's not a hard taste to acquire) for busy, but vacuous music with little to no solid theology.

[murlough23]

[bloop]

"Busy" is debatable. That implies that there's something going on in the musical arrangement that requires thought. Unless you mean it's just useless noise to fill space, which I guess makes sense.

Yes, I do mean that.  It seems that some of the parts in modern worship songs are take-offs from modern popular music - trying to be impressive without really impressing, if that makes sense.

5, maybe 10 new worship songs a year that will withstand the test of time

I'm not sure I'm optimistic enough to say there are that many in total, to be perfectly honest with you.  I'd have to think about that.

I agree with the rest of your post, and I wasn't saying hymns are good because they are hymns.  I would argue that those that have stood the test of time are worth continuing to sing and, really, they're the only ones that are widely known anyway.  I'm not interested in any church that would kill good tradition on the altar of being "contemporary" or "relevant". 

I also think the very structured and, indeed, repetitive nature of the hymns we sing helps me to focus on the words where my focus would otherwise be almost entirely on the music.  In that way, perhaps a lot of modern worship is just too distracting.  As they say, sometimes, less is more.  The music should serve the purpose.

[adriftconscious]

One thing I've noticed about hymns is that a lot of them were written by theologians or big time church leaders-- the Wesleys, Luther, etc. Also, remember that communication was nowhere near as quick then as it is today. it wasn't like they had K-Love beaming songs to every corner of the Christian world like now in America. Songs likely didn't stray too far from their originating parish if they weren't created by one of those big shot Church icons, and so if they have survived up until now likely had to weather the opinion of their home church first. Thus, yeah, a lot of the crap songs likely DID get scrapped fairly early on, simply because the local church just got tired of singing it.

I think my biggest pet peeve in worship songs, though, is personal pronouns. When I hear "I" or "me" or "mine" in a worship song, I'm generally turned off to the song instantaneously. In fact, my favorite song of worship is the Doxology... maybe the simplest worship song out there.

[T-Bone]

[BecauseEdwardISEdward]

Ah, finally a topic to make me stop lurking for awhile....

The funny thing about that "Amazing Love (You are My King)" song is that the Newsboys and church people tend to not enunciate enough, so it sounds like "You are Mocking." I'm also not a big fan of songs that repeat the same three or four words and call that a chorus or bridge, and this is one of those offenders.

My biggest problem is that I also hear most of the songs I hear in church all week at work. So, by the time I hear "Indescribable" at church, I've heard it for the 15th time that week. It's an okay song (even though I'm generally annoyed by worship songs that go on for 5 minutes about how we can't fully explain God), but that bias will wreck anyone's view of the song.

Our musical leaders at church are an odd pedigree. The main music leader is Joel Hanson (of PFR fame) who does a fine job. The other main leader is a young lady who is in her 20s who is something of a "pomo" Christian, so she loves David Crowder and Sufjan Stevens. They usually stay out of the worn-out songs, we haven't sung "Lord I Lift..." in years, and try out a few different things now and then, like hymns or Violet Burning songs....Joel even sang a 77s song for offertory once.

Still, they like to pick David Crowder's "You Alone" a bit too much, especially considering the bridge consists of repeating the phrase "I'm alive" 16 times.

Thankfully, my church only sings hymns and Psalms, so I don't actually have this problem, and indeed, I really don't know a whole lot of worship songs these days.

I'm a little jealous Seriously, I'm okay with the concept a lot more than I am with the execution. When it works, it's beautiful. When it doesn't it hurts.

I was having a conversation with someone the other day, however, about ho so many p&w songs could fit in perfectly well at a Unitarian church-- a chilling prospect, to be sure. I think "I Could Sing Of Yor Love Forever" fits this categorey quite nicely-- it's really more of an ode to vague spirituality than an actual song of adoration.

I attended a Unitarian church once, and their songs are a lot funnier than P&W. I'll always remeber the song about exploring our God-ness sung to "Ode to Joy." Evangelicals aren't the only ones who rip off other people's music to fit our own agenda.

One thing I've noticed about hymns is that a lot of them were written by theologians or big time church leaders-- the Wesleys, Luther, etc. Also, remember that communication was nowhere near as quick then as it is today. it wasn't like they had K-Love beaming songs to every corner of the Christian world like now in America. Songs likely didn't stray too far from their originating parish if they weren't created by one of those big shot Church icons, and so if they have survived up until now likely had to weather the opinion of their home church first. Thus, yeah, a lot of the crap songs likely DID get scrapped fairly early on, simply because the local church just got tired of singing it.

I remember an article in the Wittenburg Door that quipped that hymns are written by people from around 1525, while praise songs are written by people between the ages of 15 and 25.

I have a book about the origins of "Today's Most Loved Hymns" written in the 70s. I grew up in a church that sang hymns almost exclusively, and I still didn't know about half of them. Some of the other half were songs I hadn't heard in about 20 years, some justifiably so.

[murlough23]

It seems that some of the parts in modern worship songs are take-offs from modern popular music - trying to be impressive without really impressing, if that makes sense.

Sure, the music should always fit the lyrics. That should be true of any type of song that has lyrics. Though I don't think that means the music has to be boring and unobtrusive. The pure aesthetic value of the music, if done tastefully and not just to "be cool" or "show off" is also part of the worship, I think. Otherwise, why even bother singing? You could just recite a liturgy.

But yeah, I've heard some pretty blatant take-offs from popular music. The worst two are youth group kids singing the "Doo doo doo"s from Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" at the beginning of "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" (nothing gets me in a worshipful mood faster than a reference to a song about drugs and blowjobs!), and one time at our church when a worship leader did an acoustic guitar intro to some song (had to have been in open E, whatever it was) that sounded so similar to Dave Matthews Band's "Crash into Me" that I nearly forgot where I was. (Yeah, that'll get me in a worshipful mood, too - songs about peeping toms.)

I'm not sure I'm optimistic enough to say there are that many in total, to be perfectly honest with you.  I'd have to think about that.

There might not be that many that you'd like, but I maintain there'll be about that many that will truly last.

I would argue that those that have stood the test of time are worth continuing to sing and, really, they're the only ones that are widely known anyway.

I'm not so sure about that, but then, I might be thinking of songs that are more Sunday School fodder than hymns, but that have been around for quite some time as well. I think you'll always have a few battleaxes that really need to die but are still hanging on.

One thing I've noticed about hymns is that a lot of them were written by theologians or big time church leaders-- the Wesleys, Luther, etc.

That's helpful, to have an understanding of theology when you write songs, but I don't know if a divinity degree is necessary. I think there's a place for worship songs coming from people at various stages of faith. Someone should be able to check them over and make sure nothing ludicrous is being said and that it really serves a purpose instead of just giving us warm fuzzies. But let's not despise the young for their age here.

I think my biggest pet peeve in worship songs, though, is personal pronouns. When I hear "I" or "me" or "mine" in a worship song, I'm generally turned off to the song instantaneously.

I agree that worship songs can become too "me"-centered. However, there's an extent to which we need to be able to personally own faith in what God has done for each individual person, so it's not out of line to spend some time on how God has changed me. It just needs to be balanced better with "we" and "them" and most importantly, "You". Where I think it really goes haywire is when too much time is spent on how much we love God or are going to do stuff for God, etc. Because all that's really quite piddly compared to what God's done for us. (While otherwise a good song, David Crowder's "How Great" bothers me for this very reason - "How great Your love for us, how great our love for You".)

even though I'm generally annoyed by worship songs that go on for 5 minutes about how we can't fully explain God

LOL. That's a very good point. Though that's where having music that is larger-than-life and really evokes a sense of wonder can help a lot (I'm thinking "The Undiscovered" by The Listening/Rock & Roll Worship Circus, though that doesn't necessarily work as a congregational sing-along.)

something of a "pomo" Christian

Oh, you meant post-modern. Phew, for a second there I thought it said "porno Christian", which made me really intrigued to see exactly what your church's average Sunday service was like.

They usually stay out of the worn-out songs, we haven't sung "Lord I Lift..." in years, and try out a few different things now and then, like hymns or Violet Burning songs....Joel even sang a 77s song for offertory once.

I'm a big believer in the offertory, or "presentational" song. It gives a worship team or a singer/musician within the church a chance to present something for the congregation to chew on that doesn't have to be easy to sing-along with... or designed for singing along at all. It should fit the theme/message for that week and not just be some random vocal showcase, but it helps break up the narrow musical focus a bit.

I remember an article in the Wittenburg Door that quipped that hymns are written by people from around 1525, while praise songs are written by people between the ages of 15 and 25.

Hey now. Didn't a teenager write "Joy to the World"?

[BecauseEdwardISEdward]

Oh, you meant post-modern. Phew, for a second there I thought it said "porno Christian", which made me really intrigued to see exactly what your church's average Sunday service was like.

Congratulations, you've been quoted.

If you must know, this is the Bible we use: http://www.catholicapologetics.net/wicked_bible.htm

[bloop]

[Vlad!]

5-10 good new worship songs per year? I'm not saying it's impossible, but if it does happen then most churches don't pick them up. I'd be surprised if any church I've attended introduced more than one or two songs per year that, by the end of the year, I still really liked.

Personal pronouns, however, don't bother me so much. I think it's good to acknowledge that worship is both a corporate and a personal experience.

[T-Bone]

I'm a big believer in the offertory, or "presentational" song. It gives a worship team or a singer/musician within the church a chance to present something for the congregation to chew on that doesn't have to be easy to sing-along with... or designed for singing along at all. It should fit the theme/message for that week and not just be some random vocal showcase, but it helps break up the narrow musical focus a bit.

I agree with this.  Our church has surprised me a few times with their song selections for the offeretory.  The biggest surprise was probably when our worship leader sang Derek Webb's
"Wedding Dress", which I figured would probably get a few people up in arms (thankfully it didn't).

[Josh Powell]

^ Oohh.. that sounds like a cool worship leader!

[ajyouthguy]

Our musical leaders at church are an odd pedigree. The main music leader is Joel Hanson (of PFR fame) who does a fine job.

my best friend plays in a band with Joel's brother, Jade, who was in a band called Believable Picnic himself while PFR was popular.

i realize that has nothing to do with worship songs, but it's a cool thing to me.

[worldofcm]

I guess I have to thankfully say that I don't have to deal with any of the ad nauseam songs that you guys do - cause we just plain don't do them.  Most of our praise songs are written by our worship leader or piano player.  They are fresh, new, and very cutting edge.  When we do do material that is no original - it usually consists of Israel Houghton or Martha Munizzi material.  We occassionally will do songs like "Blessed Be Your Name", "Beautiful One", or "How Great Is Our God", but for the most part - our music is very original with many older songs ("I Love You Lord", "We Exalt Thee", etc.) thrown in as well as hymns.

[T-Bone]

^ Oohh.. that sounds like a cool worship leader!

Yeah he's not bad.  He normally doesn't do stuff like that tho, which is why I was surprised.  Normally we have a fairly good balance of older hymns and contemporary worship songs, both in what we sing and the offeratory.  Still, there are a few songs (some of which I mentioned upthread) that we play too often.

[murlough23]

I'm skeptical.  Thinking of hymns, I don't think there were that many per year in their time that really, truly lasted, but I could be wrong.  Even our better, more tried-and-true hymn book has its b-list.

It may have a B-list, but those songs have still lasted.

(perhaps you're thinking of the individual who wrote or adapted the music rather than the lyrics to the song, because I'm pretty sure Isaac Watts wrote the lyrics well after he was a teen)

Yeah, that must be it.

5-10 good new worship songs per year? I'm not saying it's impossible, but if it does happen then most churches don't pick them up. I'd be surprised if any church I've attended introduced more than one or two songs per year that, by the end of the year, I still really liked.

That's just one church, though. Sometimes, unfortunately, certain songs will only become knows in particular circles and have a more difficult time crossing over, at least at first. Being involved in an inter-denominational fwlloship in college kind of illustrated this for me.

Personal pronouns, however, don't bother me so much. I think it's good to acknowledge that worship is both a corporate and a personal experience.

As with most things, it's the lack of moderation that makes this a problem. Forget to acknowledge one of those two things, and you get a shortage of good worship. Unfortunately, this is at odds with the capitalist notion that "If something seems to work well, do it ten million times and you'll make a lot of money."

Most of our praise songs are written by our worship leader or piano player.  They are fresh, new, and very cutting edge.

I think it would actually drive me nuts to go to a church where the worship team played that much original material - simply because there'd be even less likelihood of worship songs I knew and liked from CD's I had cropping up in church services and pleasantly surprising me.

You need some degree of familiarity - helps with people visiting from other churches and all that.

When we do do material that is no original - it usually consists of Israel Houghton or Martha Munizzi material.

Our church's worship director seems to have a thing for Israel Houghton as well. We've picked up a few songs of his that I really like - "You Are Good" (Lord, You are good and Your mercy endureth forever...) and "Sing" (Now is the time for all people...) are the standouts in my mind. Even when the lyrics are simplistic and repetitive, some inventiveness in the chord progression department can really add some variety to the flavor of Sunday worship - our worship director seems to have learned that lesson from Israel and others.

NP: "What If I Stumble?", Sarah Kelly

[Brenden]

I stopped complaining after attending one church where they literally sang the same 6 songs week after week after week.

Now I don't care if I hear the same song often as long as it's not all the same. Mostly.

But yeah, anyway.

[Vlad!]

> Unfortunately, this is at odds with the capitalist notion that "If something seems to work well, do it ten million times and you'll make a lot of money."

Sadly, that is way too prevalent in Christian circles as well, as I'm sure you were implying.

[enemy anemone]

the music for Joy to the World was adapted and arranged by Lowell Mason from an older melody which was then believed to have originated from George Frederic Handel. from what I gather, neither were teenagers when they wrote/adapted their respective pieces. I vaguely remember reading about some (now classic) hymn that *was* written by a teenager but can't remember which it was.

*googled*
William Featherstone wrote "My Jesus I Love Thee" when he was 16. and a 15-year-old Isaac Watts complained about the psalms they sung in church and his father challenged him to write better ones. but Joy to the World was written years later.

[bloop]

It may have a B-list, but those songs have still lasted.

That they've lasted long enough to be put in a 20th century compilation doesn't exactly make them gems.  The ones I'm thinking of are at least functional, but you aren't going to find too many people who'll list them as being among the best hymns ever. 

So, if you mean 5-10 serviceable new modern worship tunes a year (some of which are songs that may stick around but are somewhat less than inspired), then I can buy that.  I was thinking more in terms of songs that are staples in worship - songs that are done very often because they're good on many levels, including arrangement and thoughtfulness.

Isaac Watts complained about the psalms they sung in church

We sing a Psalm every Sunday in church.  I like it, even though the music to every single Psalm is the same.  I pay attention better when I'm singing rather than just listening to someone read it or even reading responsively.

[worldofcm]

I think it would actually drive me nuts to go to a church where the worship team played that much original material - simply because there'd be even less likelihood of worship songs I knew and liked from CD's I had cropping up in church services and pleasantly surprising me.

You need some degree of familiarity - helps with people visiting from other churches and all that.

Well it obviously hasn't hurt our church - as music is one of the main draws.  The church is just 3 years old and already running 300 people.  Obviously it's not hurting the church too much.  Perhaps it is having the opposite effect?  Perhaps people are tired of singing the same songs - maybe they are aching for something new and fresh.  I know I was when I started going to this church.

[murlough23]

[murlough23]

OK, I came up with a hymn that I would gladly never hear again.

'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus - boring melody, boring tempo, the whole thing just drags, no matter what the arrangement, I've never liked this song. It worked well when the David Crowder Band inserted the refrain into their version of Sarah Brightman's "Deliver Me", but other than that, I'm so done with this one.

NP: "How Great Thou Art", Starfield

[dgp11776]

I heard one version that I liked, but that's it.  Gold City did an acappella version back in the early '90's, and it was awesome.  That was during my Southern Gospel phase, but I still consider it to be the best version I've heard.