Tag Archives: PraiseGathering Music

The Decline of Church Choirs and Lack of Unity

February 7, 2020Tagsbaptist, Bible, Biblical, black gospel, Boomers, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Builders, choir, choirs in worship, choral, church choir, church leadership, church music, community, diversity, family worship, friendship, Gen-X, generational, generations, hymn arrangements, intergenerational, intergenerational choir, intergenerational relationships, intergenerational worship, invest, investing in next generations, latin american music, leadership, Lifeway Music, Millennials, modern worship, multi-generational, multigen, multigenerational, music, music ministry, next gen, Oregon Trail Generation, praise, praise team, praise teams, PraiseGathering Music, Prism Music, purpose, racial, relationships, southern gospel, spiritual formation, The Bible, The Word of God, traditional worship, training, uncategorized, value, vocal worship, vocal worship teams, vocals in worship, Word Music Publishing, worship, Xennials, youth choirDr. Will Whittaker

A few months ago I wrote an article about the rise of choral singing in America from a study from Chorus America. If you missed that blog post, check it out here: Church Choirs Shouldn’t be Declining Because of Lack of Interest. Last week, I ran across another article called 1 in 6 Americans sings in a choir — and they’re healthier for it.
This article cites the same study, but this paragraph stood out to me:

It’s no secret that America’s social fabric is unraveling. Participation in churches and religious institutions is down. Fraternal organizations are shrinking. Marriage rates continue to decline. Voting is up, but volunteering is down. The differences dividing us seem greater than the similarities.

That last line stuck out to me. Our differences are dividing us and churches are not immune. In fact the enemy has targeted the bride of Christ, who loves nothing more than to create division. This division is contrary to the admonition of Scripture. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesian church urges [us] to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV).

I’m suggesting that our churches have a unity problem. The decline in church attendance is doubtless linked to the decline of church choir mentioned in this study. The decline of the church choir has removed one of the most visible models of unity on display in our local churches. Week in and out, vibrant church choirs demonstrate unity in worship leadership. Further, when we get rid of graded choirs, we don’t have the opportunity to start this “discipleship of unity” early in the spiritual formation of the students. Sadly, I believe many of displaced church choir members are the reason community choirs are on the rise.

Any choral group, by design, must strive for unity in various ways. While striving for unity, our individuality must take a backseat for the good of the whole. Here’s a quick list of some areas where choirs must be unified:

Vowels, articulation, rhythm, consonants, breathing, phrasing, dynamics, etc.
Often, but not always, dress. Concert dress or robes often hide the individuality of each person for a unified look.
Blend vocally. I included this as a separate number because listening and blending is crucial to choral tone. In choral singing we must give up our solo tendencies to achieve unity and balance.
Preferences in music or in other facets of choir ministry. Often we don’t always sing everything that we personally like. That’s okay, the person sitting next to you might love what you hate. That’s the beauty of mutual submission—loving one another more than yourself.

The list could go on, but consider this, I learned more about serving others and working together toward a goal in a choral setting than any other facet of the local church. I believe the task of moving many people toward a unified goal will result in greater effectiveness for the Kingdom.

The Noise is Deafening and It’s Not My Fault!

April 18, 2018Tagsbaptist, black gospel, Boomers, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Builders, choir, choirs in worship, choral, church music, community, diversity, family worship, Gen-X, generational, generations, hymn arrangements, intergenerational, intergenerational choir, intergenerational worship, latin american music, Lifeway Music, Lillenas, Millennials, multigenerational, music, Oregon Trail Generation, praise, praise team, praise teams, PraiseGathering Music, Prism Music, racial, relationships, southern gospel, spiritual formation, The Word of God, traditional worship, vocal worship, vocal worship teams, vocals in worship, Word Music Publishing, worship, Xennials, youth choirDr. Will Whittaker

Decibel levels matter, my friends. Prolonged, heavy vibrations in the ear drums can cause hearing damage. I submit that not only are our musical choices important to connect generations together in worship, but the volume of that music is important too.

Any concert or church that hands out ear plugs (and there are MANY) before the music starts says to me, “I’m not concerned with your aural health enough to lower the volume to a healthy decibel level. Accept this small token to alleviate the painful noise because I seemingly care about you. But, those younger folks here, perhaps your sons and daughters that came in with you, they can tolerate the higher decibel levels (even if it damages their hearing long term).” Really??? But I digress. I do believe understanding some possible reasons WHY decibel levels have gotten out of control may help us understand why it’s important to be cognizant when considering volume levels in the intergenerational church.

SOME REASONS VOLUME HAS GOTTEN LOUDER

The advent of rock music (and specifically its live performance) is predicated on the feeling (vibration) the music brings to the listener/enjoyer (music coursing through your veins—literally)
With the advent of car radios (especially as stereo and bass technology has risen) one can be literally “enveloped” with sound
Churches have tried to mimic the feeling of a rock concert to increase the emotional and physical experience

A FEW ARGUMENTS FROM THOSE FOR LOUD VOLUME

The enveloping of sound is a perfect way for non-singers to feel “safe” to sing uninhibited
We can feel and hear the energy of the music
Non-Christians are more comfortable hearing/and seeing music like what they experience at concerts/radio, etc.
Not having music that engulfs us makes the music sound anemic

In these arguments, and there are plenty of others, there’s not one that I can tell that could not be achieved with a reasonable decibel level. Perhaps not at the same degree though. Certainly it is more challenging to “feel” the bass when it’s not thumping.

SOME REASONS TO FIND A REASONABLE DECIBEL LEVEL IN WORSHIP SERVICES

Music that is so loud and piercing limits creativity to some degree. Dynamics, vocal harmonies and the like, are harder to distinguish and achieve. I’ve heard “softs” that still had high decibel levels
If you are going to have multiple generations in your services, multiple studies have shown that something physiological happens the older we get…the ear inside our ears gets stiffer as one ages causing our tolerance to certain decibel levels to decrease
We need to hear each other as we sing together because of the biblical command to admonish and teach one another through singing songs of worship (Ephesians 5:19). Pretty hard to do that if you can barely hear the person next to you. Where’s the community in that?
Loud decibel levels can distort text or make articulation incomprehensible. Pretty sure text is what sets worship apart from any other musical experience
Over-singing may cause vocal damage
Loud decibel levels over extended time may cause hearing loss

To be clear, I’m not targeting modern worship music or bands that play a certain type of music. I love all types of music! I am specifically targeting the decibel level of ANY type of worship service. I’ve heard organs that have literally moved me physically with the vibrations and caused me to hold my ears.

I submit you: Extremes in volume (decibel level) may be polarizing relationally in the intergenerational church.

Finding balance is key in your own situation. Sometimes sitting in certain places in a worship center can yield a different sound. I know there are places in our worship center that are louder than others. I encourage folks who mention they can hear too much sound/cannot hear well to move around until they find what works for them.

Even as we consider this issue, there will be people in our sphere of influence that will never be pleased with volume levels because their preferences are so extreme. That’s okay; we in intergenerational churches are used to having to remind our folks that we are guided by the philosophy that we are better together, guided by the Word and the Holy Spirit, and always looking to find practical ways (volume included) to achieve the best balance for our church culture and context.

Side note: you’ll find recommendations for sustained decibel levels for worship from 75-95 db. However, OSHA recommends hearing protection for anything over 85 db for sustained periods of time (8 hours) and 95 for up to 4 hours. In my opinion, 95 should be the limit with great care to keep between 75-85 generally in worship.

Changing Things Up Can=Baloney!

April 12, 2018Tagsbaptist, black gospel, Boomers, Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Builders, choir, choirs in worship, choral, church music, community, diversity, family worship, Gen-X, generational, generations, hymn arrangements, intergenerational, intergenerational choir, intergenerational worship, latin american music, Lifeway Music, Lillenas, Millennials, multigenerational, music, Oregon Trail Generation, praise, praise team, praise teams, PraiseGathering Music, Prism Music, racial, relationships, southern gospel, spiritual formation, The Word of God, traditional worship, vocal worship, vocal worship teams, vocals in worship, Word Music Publishing, worship, Xennials, youth choirDr. Will Whittaker

One of the things that surprises me time and time again is the “one size fits all” approach held by churches, educational systems, and other such types of organizations. What works for some doesn’t always work for others. However, often trying to emulate the successes of others seems to be the norm. Recently, I had a conversation with someone whose church is trying to reach younger families in their community. This is a noble goal. However, this church leadership(from the description given to me by the person with whom I was talking) decided that adding a “modern” service would do the trick. Familiar story, right? OR, another familiar theme is “let’s change things up because I think things are getting stale.” Again, not a bad idea if there is purpose behind it, rather than simply changing things up so people don’t get bored. This mentality is rampant in the entertainment industry…push the envelope, tweak this and that so people aren’t bored and you (as ministry leadership) look like you are “doing” something productive for the Kingdom. Baloney!

Pragmatism is the nuts and bolts, but Philosophy should be the wrench. Rather than trying to make a bunch of changes in one’s church based on the successes of others, it is infinitely more important to capitalize on the strengths and weaknesses of YOUR church. Use all generations in your church. Don’t be afraid to use varied types of music. Be authentic; be real. But let the philosophy of “we’re better together…we value ALL in our faith family” resound! Remember intergenerational ministry/worship is not something you DO, it’s something you ARE. It’s a guiding principle…

I’m in the process of getting ready to teach two similar seminars in the next couple of weeks on intergenerational worship. The first is this weekend for the annual Georgia Baptist Women’s Event at Stone Mountain. Some of our music team and I will be leading in musical worship and I will teaching a class on music in the intergenerational church. The following weekend, I’m heading to the Baptist Church Music Conference in San Antonio where I’m also teaching on intergenerational worship. Last night I was talking with one of my 14 year old sons about what I was doing the next few weeks. He pointed out that my audiences will be vastly different. He laughed that I’ll be teaching a bunch of women this weekend and mostly men the following weekend. It is a fair assessment. We also talked about how important the women’s conference is (mostly laypeople-perhaps choir members in churches throughout the state) because these women are leaders in their church—they are the participants. The next weekend, I will be speaking to colleagues—to leaders in music ministry. I HOPE that the conversations from this coming weekend will help continue shape what I bring to our leaders. Granted, most of the leaders I will speak with next weekend believe in the intergenerational philosophy, so I hope to bring some ideas of how those leaders can strengthen their approach (philosophy) to reaching our next generations, as well as keeping all generations active and present in ministry. Both great opportunities, but I must alter my approach based on the culture of the situation. We church leaders should do the same with our churches…consider the context.

How different would our churches be that would truly embrace the multi-generational atmosphere of their churches by finding ways to capitalize on the strengths of all? How different would our churches be that didn’t constantly look to music as the MAIN tool for reaching the de-churched and un-churched? Because seriously, how much as contemporary worship music evolved in the last 30 years? Musically? not much. Textually? There have been some great strides in this area. But, in all? Not so much. Those churches who’ve found their niche (think cowboy church or mariachi church in certain locales) are the ones embracing who they are. We’d be much better off to focus on building intergenerational relationships, discipleship ministries, and having all generations involved in worship and other service ministries (not just music).

Pray for our team this weekend as we sing, share, and inspire.