South African Christian News: Telling the God Stories of Africa
Is it possible to sing worship songs to God that actually are songs that worship money? “No” says Jesus. You cannot worship God and money. Yet the motivation behind publishers’ surveys asking us to name the most popular worship songs is this: “If we publish the popular worship songs, we […]
The home pages of church websites sometimes have a photograph intended to draw the attention of browsers looking for a church to visit or join. I noticed one that got me thinking: “What picture best describes your church?” It was a picture taken from the fifth row of seated people, […]
It is dangerous to allow our musical preferences to divide the Church. We disobey Jesus when we allow our preferences to erode the unity for which Jesus prayed. All believers, young and old, white and black, are one in Christ. Worship together. Sing together. Serve together. Witness together. Because this […]
In the normal world, when the COVID-19 lockdown is over, churches will once again gather for worship services just like in old times. Aren’t we looking forward to that? Especially to the joy and edification of singing together. This present lockdown gives pastors, song-leaders and church administrators an opportunity to […]
With the changing musical cultures, the Church of Jesus Christ is in danger of dividing along generational lines. The natural driving force is the people’s preference for the kind of song they like. If they don’t like another style of singing, they avoid it. People’s preference prevails. But what about […]
In the 1970s, when the new wave of “praise and worship songs” swept through the churches, there were people who liked them and people who disliked them. “Worship wars” divided congregations. Usually, the older generation wanted to retain hymns, while the younger generation was eager to embrace the new contemporary […]
Have you noticed the subtle change in MTN’s advertising? Its usual slogan is “MTN Everywhere You Go,” but now it is “MTN Everywhere You Stay”. That tiny coronavirus changes everything! For those who have reduced “worship” to mean merely “singing in church”, the current national lockdown forces us to recover […]
Hugh Wetmore is a songwriter and student of worship trends. He invites you to join the worship conversation by commenting on his monthly column. Many Christians, unable to congregate for worship after the government banned meetings of over 100 people, have joined thousands who are congregating in shopping malls. That’s […]
Hugh Wetmore is a songwriter and student of worship trends. He invites you to join the worship conversation by commenting on his monthly column. The other Sunday I listened to the world news before coming to our worship service. The news told of those destructive fires in Australia, of floods […]
Welcome this opportunity to set a new, clear, 20/20 vision for your sung worship ministry this New Year. Give it deep, prayerful consideration, together with your colleagues. Take your congregational singing one notch higher than it was last year. Set your bar one notch higher, and stretch your muscles to […]