Grace For All Publications

The minister of music should realize that achieving an effective and total music ministry is a slow, tedious task, requiring much effort and patience. Therefore, it is important to let let every participant know how much they are appreciated for their labors in preparing specials for the services.  Too often, our congregations forget to let those providing the special music know what a blessing their music has been and how it has prepared their hearts in the services.  In contrast, every musician must be continually be reminded that as a member of the special music ministry, they should be interested primarily in faithfulness to God rather than self glory and mere apparent success. The ultimate objective of the special music ministry must always be to attract individuals to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and then to lead them to a fuller, more Spirit filled Christian life. Those involved in the special music ministry must realize the importance of selecting songs that are appropriate and that truly minister to the hearts of the people.

Below is a sample of what a church music director might use as guidelines for his church choir.

It is a privilege to serve God! In Hebrew worship and throughout church history, choirs have been one of the important factors in group-worship, and in the proclamation of the gospel. The choir today is vitally important to the work of the church.

Purpose: To glorify Jesus Christ by allowing Him to use the choir as a tool by working through each choir member to:

• -prepare the hearts of the congregation for the preaching of the Word of God;
• -bless the members of the congregation and members of the choir alike through the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual song;
• -to lead the congregation in singing;
• -to be an example to the other members of the church by the testimony of their lives;
• -to provide an avenue of service to the members of the church.

Membership requirements: Choir members must be saved, baptized and a member of the church. All adult choir members must be 16 years of age or older. Each choir member has volunteered to give of what talent he may have to the service of the Lord and also the church, as a testimony to the congregation of a life that has been totally “volunteered” to Christ for Him to use as He leads.

1. Realizing the importance of the ministry of the choir, attendance must be regular to all rehearsals as well as services.
2. Rehearsals are limited; members must be on time and remain for the entire time.
3. The choir member must be an example to the other members of the church through the testimony of his personal life.

A. The choir member must not use any form of tobacco.

B. The choir member must not drink any alcoholic beverages.

C. The choir member should be an example by not being associated with any other activities that are worldly in nature or appearance.

D. The choir member should be active in seeking to win others at all times.

E. The choir member should be a faithful tither in accordance with the standard set down in the Word of God.

F. The personal appearance of the choir member must be an example to the congregation as well:

1. Men’s hair should be short–not over the ear or over the collar. Ties and jackets must be worn when performing.
2. Women should be dressed modestly–dress length must be no shorter than to the bottom of the knee.
3. All members must be neat and clean.

The spiritual effectiveness of the choir organization is proportionate to its loyalty and morale. Each member is expected to work against factors that can undermine this. Some of these factors are:

1. Erratic attendance at rehearsals.
2. Tardiness at rehearsals.
3. Missing the service after attending the rehearsals.
4. Singing in the services without attending the rehearsals.
5. Lack of attention during rehearsals.
6. Ill feelings voiced publicly rather than privately to the director.
7. Voicing opinions regarding one’s disrespect for the director or the organization, especially to those outside the organization.
8. Any type of action or attitude which dampens the enthusiasm of present or future choir members.
9. Displaying individual talent or satisfying personal interests rather than working for the good of the entire group.

Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

All music in our church services should bring glory to the Lord and be a testimony to both the saved and the unsaved. While our church music is primarily directed to the Lord, it should prepare hearts for the preaching and help prepare the heart of the preacher to preach. We must avoid and forbid religious rock, CCM, or any other cheap music that appeals more to the flesh than to the spirit. The use of music in the church must never be for entertainment. Instead, let the music be doctrinally sound and evangelist in nature. The music must speak to the heart of the listener and not be preformed in any way that mimics the worldly musical styles. Keep the music moving so it does not drag, especially during the invitation. If there is an excitement about the music it will set the tone for the whole service.

Grace For All Publications was began officially in the year 2000 with the release of a 30 page songbook entitled “My Song Shall Be of Jesus”. The songbook contained 20 original songs and choruses written in a traditional hymnbook fashion. The songs were a mixed offering of missions, revival, Christmas, and general use themes suitable for choir or special music groups.

Its release was announced during one of reading sessions of the 2000 Wilds Music Conference. The books were made available at Paul Hiscocks table of Shephards Staff Music throughout the conference. The collection of songs led to the beginning of the popular octavo series for choir. Only a limited number of books are now available. A second printing has been considered.

In an effort to inform and promote godly, conservative music, Grace For All Publications has released a new color postcard inviting church music leaders to visit the GFA website. This high quality postcard describes the website’s features and benefits of using its site. Postcard invitations are now being mailed to thousands of churches across the United States. Ministries who have not received these cards and wish to be added to the GFA database for future mailings should contact info@grace4all.com. Please include your name and ministry address.

Recently, I was searching the web for articles concerning the contemporary music issue and how it is affecting churches today, when I came across a rebuttal for Dan Lucarini’s book, Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement, by Tom Kraeuter.

Kraeuter begins his review by using vain compliments about the Lucarini’s heart attitude and finally characterizes him as “misguided”. This seems to be attributed to a Kraeuter’s misunderstanding of Christian separation issues. The Bible clearly teaches that the Christian is not to love the world neither the things that are in the world. From a musical standpoint every genre of music carries with it a certain style and that style from a Christian standpoint could be classified as “worldly”. Sacred music as a distinct style of its own which is void of worldly attributes. The by-product of the music is the way a person dresses, acts and even thinks. In the case of contemporary music it brings a worldly philosophy of Christianity and a gradual lowing of all standards of morality and doctrine. If the so-called Christian music of the church is no different than the sound of this world’s music then the musical style is wrong and should be rejected by the church.

Read the rest of this post »

Many of us have been guilty of pulling out music for a choir rehearsal with out spending an adequate amount of time really learning the piece. How long would the pastor or Sunday school teacher last if such “lack of preparation” were to be the norm. My dad would say “anything that is worth doing is worth doing right.” The ministry of music is a vital part of our worship services and the preparation should be first and foremost important. Realizing that some music men may not have the training to know how to prepare a song for rehearsal, here is a step-by-step approach.

Read the rest of this post »

Planning a song service to complement the message from God’s Word is important. Planning songs around a central theme can be a great way to prepare hearts. Our hymnbooks have topical indexes to help prepare for such services. Sometimes it is necessary to divide our music into other types of divisions such as tempo, key, meter, types. The purpose may be for variety or to use during special services with teens or at camp. Here is a sample of one such division. There are many more ways to plan for a song service.

Read the rest of this post »

Several pastors have asked what they should look for when choosing a church music director. Here is a starting place to consider regarding his qualifications, responsibilities and his relationships with others.

Read the rest of this post »

Every church choir director would like their choir singing to the best of their ability for the Lord. Most church choirs however, are made up of inexperienced singers who have never been taught the basics of how to sing properly, yet alone, how to read music. If we are ever to get our church choirs making a joyful noise to the Lord, it is essential to set aside some time to teach our choirs the fundamentals of singing.

Read the rest of this post »