From Kyle Todd in North Reading, MA
QUESTION:Retiring Songs?
"I saw the column about rotating new songs in, but I was curious about what happens to the song when it's no longer in the introduction phase. Once a song is out of its introduction period, and you have larger catalogue of songs, do you play the song every 3-4 months? Retire it completely?"
RICK MUCHOW:
When you've developed a catalog of songs and can't play all of them in a two month period, you now have a library that allows you to choose your songs to fit more closely to each service's theme or message. Songs are communication tools, so the more songs you have, the more you are able to use your song selection as a scalpel instead of a steak knife.
There are many themes in worship. Some denominations have a liturgy that is followed week to week. One great benefit of this approach is that you will cover a wide range of themes over the course of a year. We need these variations in our music as well. Let me give you an example. At the moment, Romans is my favorite book of the Bible. I read Romans almost every day along with a bit of Proverbs. Though I love these two books, I will have a limited and narrow sense of God's character and will, and what He's done for me if I stay in these two books. The same is true for our worship services and the songs we sing.
All churches should develop a song catalog, like a radio station playlist. Not your local station's list of popular songs, but a playlist that includes a wide range of themes from the Christian life. The more we can match songs to our service themes, the more we are connecting our congregation to God, helping them to know Him better and to understand how worthy He is of our praise.
Catalog your songs by theme, style, tempo, and date. Each one of these criteria is valuable in helping you to select songs that match service themes. Stock your catalog with songs that are familiar, easy to learn, easy to remember and instantly singable. A great reference on writing and choosing good songs is a recent book by Paul Baloche with Jimmy and Carol Owens, titled "God Songs." Paul is one of today's most prolific songwriters for the church and Jimmy and Carol are among the pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music and the modern worship movement.
See jimmyandcarolowens.com. They list 30 qualities that are common to good songs and 20 qualities common to bad songs.
Do we retire songs? Not all the songs we introduce will work. We don't always pick good songs. Style, tempo, time and theme may no longer be a good fit. It's easy to know when to retire some songs. Some songs will work so well that you may never retire them. Before I will retire a good song from my catalog, I might refresh it or rework the arrangement. If the lyrics are good, the melody is singable and it's a great song, it will be usable for a very long time with some reworking. When leading a good song, if the congregation is no longer connecting and responding, refresh it. If the song still doesn't connect, retire it.
I've been surprised at how some songs will come in and out of fashion, like the clothes in our closets. It's important to keep good records for your playlist/catalog, so you can locate the right song or songs when a theme or need arises.
When choosing songs, every song needs to have a purpose in my order of worship for that service. I ask myself several questions. Does it match or emphasize the message theme? Does it help the congregation to participate? Is the song expressing a universal Biblical truth that all Christians need to express to God? To maximize the impact of our worship services, we should use our catalog to help us to do our best to utilize songs based on the purpose of the service (not the popularity of the song,) while balancing the need for familiarity.
