Sing Something Classic this Sunday!
Halloween is fast approaching, so the topic of conversation with my kids this week is what they plan to be for Halloween. And strangely enough… this has a lot to do with the worship set at your church this week!
You see, to my surprise, Abigail and Charlie have decided to be Mary and Bert from the 1964 Disney film, Mary Poppins.
The movie is definitely a classic… so much so that you may have never seen it. 🙂
But in a world of “here today/gone tomorrow movies”, films like Mary Poppins somehow have real staying power. That’s why they call them classics!
So, what does this have to do with your worship set this Sunday? I’m glad you asked.
Just as films can be divided into “classics” and “here today/gone tomorrow”, so it is with worship songs.
My question for you is this: when you look at the past month of worship set lists, are there any songs on those lists that will still be around 5,10, or 20 years from now?
I am all for NEW worship songs. But so much of what I hear on new worship albums and in churches (sometimes even at The Journey), are songs that feel good in the moment, but lack the quality, depth and appeal of songs that we’ve been singing in the church for 10, 20 or even 100 years.
And while there is nothing wrong with doing some songs that have a short life (they can serve a purpose), generally speaking, you want to choose songs each week that have substance and depth as well. Songs with staying power!
There is a reason that Amazing Grace is still the most well-known Christian song of all time… and it was written nearly 250 years ago.
In the same way, there’s a reason a song like Chris Tomlin’s How Great is Our God is still in the CCLI Top 10 after 11 years.
Remember — just because a song is 10-20 years old (or older), doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it. In fact, if people are still singing it after all of these years, that’s precisely the reason you should do it!
It’s OK to be hip and current. But just like Abigail and Charlie’s Halloween costumes, you can take something classic and bring it into modern times.
Now, sing something classic this Sunday!