Worship Leaders: Custodians of the Ancient and the Modern



On Friday I had a fantastic evening courtesy of the KingsStock Music Festival who hosted a wonderful Christmas Party complete with mulled wine, mince pies, a choir and the fabulous Daughters of Davis.

Part of the Daughters of Davis set was to sing the ancient hymn 'Amazing Grace' that they had re-imagined and interpreted in their own special way. The song sits nicely amongst their other songs and emboides their unique folky sound. Have a watch of the video I made of their performance above.

As worship leaders we need to realise that we are custodians of the ancient wealth of worship music that has been created and sung within the Christian church for thousands of years, as well as balancing it with the modern. We need to keep ourselves standing firmly in the present, seeking to connect and engage with people who live in today's world and culture. But we need to do this with a sure understanding of where the church has come from. Identifying and celebrating the history of our faith helps to keep us mindful of the fact that our faith today part of the continuing story of God's love and gospel being worked out in the world.  It helps to give a deeper sense of solidity and permanence. We are not on our own. There is a great cloud or witnesses cheering us on, saints who have gone before us, who have walked similar paths to our own.

So what does this look like, or indeed sound like in churches today?

Some church's sound and worship style have not moved on since the 1800's. Some worshippers like it that way - some do not. Some churches go to the other extreme where they will only play songs that are modern and popular. If it is more than 3 years old, then it is OLD and get's dropped from the repetoire completely.

As worship leaders, we first of all need to understand our own particular church. What is the sound or worship style that your church particularly reponds well to? Then run with that!

I know that at my church, it is about maintaining a balance. Introducing new and contempory songs whilst still keeping older songs and indeed hymns very much within the sung worship expression. This not only helps to keep the church moving forward without loosing a sense of the past, but also connects with the different generations in very different ways, all of whom are present in our congregation.

One thing that works well, especially in churches that are aiming for a more contempory sound is to re-imagine or re-work older songs and hymns in such a way that they will sit comfortably within the sound of your church music style, yet still cast a glance over the shoulder and point back to the past as well as pointing forward towards the future. I think the Daughters of Davis' version of 'Amazing Grace' above helps to illustrate this point well. Although not very suitable for congregational use, their version of the song has re-imagined the content, lyric and meaning and expresses those same truths in a fresh, contempory way. A sensitive balance between the ancient and the modern.

If we can get this right within our churches, we will have sung worship that remains faithful to the history of the church as well as engaging with the world and culture where we live today. So don't be afraid of the past. I challenge you, why not stick in a 'golden-oldie' in your next Sunday setlist and see how it goes!

• Do you use a mixture of old and new songs at your church?
• How does this work for you?