A few months ago, I posted, Nine Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship. I believe it is one of the most important pieces I have penned to attack head on some real problems with today’s corporate worship services. Graham Kendrick just recently released an excellent video echoing these same issues and a couple more.
Why aren’t church congregations singing during worship? Graham says ‘Very often I find myself in worship contexts. The band is pumping out great music, the worship leader is lost in wonder, love and praise but I look around and a lot of people are barely mouthing the words.’
For more on this, visit Nine Reasons People Aren’t Singing in Worship
In my experience worship leading for the last 15 years there have been many times when the congregation simply stares, like a congregation of mannequins. I think it would be beneficial to have an occasional sermon series on the importance or worship, the importance of praise. Pastors need to step up to the plate and teach the congregation. The Pastor is the primary worship leader whether he/she thinks so. The congregation takes their worship cues (engagement) from the pastor while the music is going on.
Thanks for this, very challenging. I think another big reason people are not participating in worship is that many have lost sight of the character of God and how it relates to them. For example, we sing that God is Holy, but what does that mean, and how does it/should it impact us? I think churches need to, as well as teaching on how to live better Christian lives and reach out to the poor, need to also teach on who God is so that people can really embrace that so that it makes a real difference in their lives. Then from this place of personal knowledge of God’s character, they would be more inclined to worship.