As far as we can tell, music has always had a place in the lives of Christians, particularly in our corporate experience as the people of God. There is a wealth of evidence for this in the Old Testament; it is not so obvious in the New Testament, but passages such as Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 suggest that singing was part of normal Christian activity. Today, music still has a place in most Christian gatherings.
It can be a last-minute job. While the chairs are being set up, the songleader frantically rummages through the songbooks in search of that one with the chorus that goes “Da da dumty dum”. But last minute arrangements are thoughtless arrangements. We need to sit back and think about what we sing and why we sing it.
This is the second in our two-part series of articles devoted to the practicalities of welcoming people into our churches. (Read part 1.) It has been adapted from The Usher’s and Greeter’s Information Manual, written by Rick Lewers for use in his church. You might like to use this series as the basis for a workshop for those who are involved in welcoming people to your church.
Churches that are growing are doing so because of God’s generosity. But that should not stop us from thinking hard and long about what we do in church, how it affects our fellowship and how it appears to outsiders. What sort of attitudes will God want us to have towards the people with whom we gather once a week?
St Clement’s Busby was a very small branch church congregation on the edge of a huge new housing development in a predominantly working class area in south-western Sydney. As the freshly appointed curate, I was given the task of pastoring the congregation and equipping it to reach out into the new area.
We seek him here,
We seek him there,
Those Frenchies seek him everywhere,
Is he in Heaven?
Is he in Hell?
That demmed elusive PIMPERNEL