la, la-dee-da, la-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-da-da.

some thoughts on singing.

in the vineyard movement, singing has been a essential factor in achieving intimacy with God. reports from the founders of the movement note two elements that contributed to this. the first was a marked hunger amongst the people for nearness to God. the second was the change from singing songs 'about God' to songs 'to God'. when hungry people began singing songs containing lyrics written in the first person, there was a markedly different atmosphere than would otherwise be present when songs about God were sung.

the songs written nowadays tend to be written in the first person singular. there aren't that many that i regularly hear in worship sets that are exclusively 'about God', nor many written using 'we, us, our' language.

it has been recognised for a long time that words set to music and rhythm are more easily memorised than speech. with songs, you have repetition to factor in as well. many people (almost unconsciously) learn about life, form their beliefs and worldviews through the songs they hear and the songs they sing. in recognition of this, it is not uncommon in christian circles for lyricists to seek the advice of trained theologians on the contents of their songs.