The Importance of Retreats

Retreats, camps, lock-ins, and conferences are a staple of student ministry.  While many of my articles up until this point have been toppling sacred cows (games, music, etc.), this is one with which I agree.  The benefits are myriad.

Depending on your geography, it's possible that the students in your tribe only meet once or twice a week for a couple of hours.  Your kids may be congregating and converging from many different schools, and the only shared experiences they have involve circling their chairs, playing an ice breaker, singing songs, sitting quietly and listening to a sermon, and praying.  Those are good, but they are incomplete.  It's a 90 minute or 2-hour stint, and then nothing for another 7 days.

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Music at Youth Gathering - part 5

Purpose of Songs

Every song that was ever written served a purpose.  It is just as important when selecting a song for a gathering that we do it with purpose.  We should take into account the purpose the writer had when writing the song.  There is the occasional and controversial trend of worship bands leading a secular song.  While this can be effective as part of an overall theme, care should be taken considering such a course of action.  For example, a sermon or series on lust should probably not be branded with "I Want Your Sex" as sung by the same people who are anointed to lead us in engaging our maker.  Does that mean the song itself should be outlawed?  Not necessarily.  Why are you using the song?  Why that song?  Is there an alternative that is as effective in communicating the theme without relying on shock value?  If not, find someone else who knows more about music.

 

We should also take into account what purpose the song will serve during our own gathering.

 

Call to worship.  A call to worship is a song which invites the congregation to begin worship.  They declare what our intention is and what we're about to do, while simultaneously doing it.  "We're going to sing a song to you, God."  In some fellowships, it's the first song played which lets everyone know it's time to grab your coffee and sit down (don't even get me started).  Examples: We've Come to Declare; Come, Now is the Time to Worship; How Great is Our God; Mighty to Stand.

 

Vertical worship.  Vertical worship are songs sung to God, not just about God.  These songs are most appropriate for a worship gathering.  These songs use phrases such as "You are" (upward).  Examples include: Here I Am to Worship; Blessed Be Your Name; Draw Me Close; Better is One Day; Lift It.

 

Declaration/Anthem.  Declaration or Anthemic songs are songs sung about God.  These can be very emotionally inspirational and uniting of the community.  They can be a great way to conclude a gathering.  These songs will often say what we believe or what we will do.  These songs use phrases such as "God is", "He is", "we will", or some call to action like, "Tell the world that...".  Examples include: Our God is a Great God; How Great is Our God; Ancient of Days; Awesome God; Tell the World; Mighty to Stand.

 

Didactic/Teaching.  These songs teach something about doctrine or theology.  They are different from declaration or anthems in that they are designed to be informative.  A lot of children's songs are of this type, but also so many hymns.  Examples: Jesus Loves Me.

 

Prayer/Offering.  These are prayers that are sung.  These are great as special music, times of contemplation, or as a way to conclude a gathering.  Examples: You Said; Lift It.

Music at Youth Gathering - part 4

IOUD

Inward. Inward songs are focused on us and our relationship to God. These songs have a lot of "I" in them. "I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice," etc. The lyrics lend themselves to intimate time with God and what.

Outward. Outward songs are focused on telling each other and the world about what we believe and what we will do. These songs have a lot of "we" in them. "We want to see Jesus lifted high," for example.

Upward. Upward songs are directed to God. There are a lot of "You" (big Y) in these songs.

Downward. Downward songs have lyrics that seem to be from the perspective of God to us. There are a lot of "you" (little y) in these songs. These are probably best done as special or supporting music, rather than a congregational song.

Now, get ready to have your brain wrinkled: some songs can be multiple combinations of the above mentioned types. For example, the song "You Said" both quotes God, "Ask and I'll give the nations to you," and has us, his people, responding to God, "That's the cry of my heart!"

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Music at Youth Gathering - part 3

Purposeful Types of Worship Songs

There are many types of worship songs, and this list is not all inclusive.  This is designed to get your mind thinking about the purpose behind song selections.  This is not meant to limit God or the Holy Spirit.

Personal and Corporate

Michael Clary's blog talks about two types: personal and corporate.  Essentially, personal tend to be the "Jesus is my boyfriend" type of songs-- very intimate and ... personal.  As the author of that blog points out, "These may be great to listen to in the car or in one's own time with God, but are not appropriate for the gathered body."  Corporate are the songs that are designed to sing corporately (duh).  I shouldn't have to explain these further, and you can check out the resource article if you want more context.

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Music at Youth Gathering - part 2

Sacred versus Christian

I have been trying to deliberately stop using the phrase "Christian Music."  That's really a marketing term, anyway.  Let's talk about sacred versus secular.  Sacred is the term that I have used to replace "Christian" when it comes to music.  I ask myself, "Is this music set apart to worship and lead into worship as engaging God and glorifying Him?"  Secular has a negative connotation about it, but it shouldn't.  To me, secular is just a broad term to describe music that was not written for the purpose of leading worship.  A lot of Christians have sung the song "Jesus Take the Wheel."  We could say that this is a "Christian" song, because it talks about Jesus.  But would we say that his is a sacred song that we should sing as part of our glorification and honoring God during our gatherings?  In most cases, the answer is no.

I listen to so-called "Christian radio" that plays CCM (Contemporary Christian Music).  These are positive songs that sing about God, but are not sung to God.  They're declarative in purpose, but fall short when it comes to directing focus on who God is.

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