worship ministry thoughts - www.songmeanings.net

at crosspointe, we’re realizing more and more the value of performing current mainstream music in our services. we’ve found that it lends us credibility with our guests who are drawn to god but not yet to the church, or are returning to church for one more shot years after they left because it was irrelevant to their lives.

we’re extremely careful to pick the right song for the right moment, and to support it with media that helps to clarify the meaning of the song. the rest of the service, including the message sometimes gives a new context for the song.

sometimes it causes people to listen to a song again for the first time. “i’ve never listened to that song that way” is a common reaction that we get.

anyway, recently i’ve found a site called www.songmeanings.net. people post song lyrics (just about any artist and song you can think of). the really interesting part is that it’s kind of a blog format, so people then comment on the lyrics, giving their particular take on what the song means to them. people tend to guess what the songwriter is trying to say. it makes for some very interesting debates sometimes. good reading.

here’s where it ties into worship ministry. i’ve found it extremely helpful to get a sense for what the public thinks about a particular song that we’re considering for use in our services. what does the song already convey to the average person?

this then helps us think through what visuals to attach with the song to frame it, or sometimes reframe it.