This sounds like an interesting and fun Discussion I will bump it for new Searches.

Tao

(I will have to give this some thought as I'm not up on the latest music.)

There's a lot more on the country and western side that could be used in worship. Taylor Swift's "Mean" is a good example. There's a whole sermon in that one.

The first song that came to my mind when I saw the topic was Born This Way by Lady Gaga, but I see you've already got that one. 

Now I remember the song I wanted to say....

Watching You - by Rodney Atkins.

I have always liked that song.

Tao

Sorry about the post above  going off the box for some reason the embed didn't give me the same options It did originally when I posted video.

Tao

I used Matthew West's "My own little world" to introduce the sermon for the church service that preceded our annual meeting, followed by the Randy Travis tune "Keep your lure in the water".

I have also used Paul Baloche's "Offering of Worship" to lead into the offering.

A trio from our congregation sang Laura Story's "Blessings" at last Sunday's service.

If you like Adele, you should listen to her cover of the Bob Dylan song "Make You Feel My Love".  A beautiful, beautiful song that could very easily be compared to a Psalm.

Plus, song-writing ability of Dylan + Adele's heart-wrenching vocals?  Match made in heaven.

.

The Song Watching you - video above...

I am not a country fan but this might work very well on a family day service and/or fathers day. Great message!

Yes I agree, I've always liked that Video and Song.

Reminds us that we must take care what we say and do, for we know not who is watching us!

Tao

I loved 'Watching You'.   A good thing for Dads (and Moms) to remember.

I'm not up on today's music, but some once popular songs I've used in worship include:

What if God were one of us

Turn, turn, turn

I agree...

Music is a very powerful Tool that can inspire and uplift, as well as tear down and depress.

May we always feel the life of music in our own lives, and may it be a light in dark places of our hearts as we journey.

*Peace - Love - Respect*

Tao

We have used contemporary songs in our worship services for some time now…but I have to say the most memorable was when we had Presbytery at our church – we usually have a communion service at the closing of our meetings.  We used – Celebrate Good Times (disco tune) to get folks in the mood for a celebration of life – and while the elements were being taken, we had “We Are Family” up on the screen.  It was one of the most memorable communion experiences I have ever experienced. 

I have used Lady Antebellum's Hello World in worship and it was like DKS said worthy of a whole sermon.

Lady Ga Ga's Judas

When he comes to me, I am ready
I wash his feet with my hair if he needs
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain
Even after three times he betrays me

Ahh ah ah ah ah Ahh ah ah ah
I'll bring him down, bring him down, down
Ahh ah ah ah ah Ahh ah ah ah
A king with no crown, king with no crown

[Chorus]
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby, it's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby!
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby, it's so cruel
But I'm still in love with Judas, baby!

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as

Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! Juda-a-a!
Judas! Juda-a-a! Judas! GA-GA!

[Verse 2]
I couldn't love a man so purely
Even prophets forgave his crooked way
I've learned love is like a brick, you can
Build a house or sink a dead body

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
I'm in love with Juda-as, Juda-as

(Ew)

[Bridge]
In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute, wench; vomits her mind.
But in the cultural sense,
I just speak in future tense.
Judas, kiss me, if offensed,
Or wear A condom next time.

I wanna love you,
But something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my Virtue
And Judas is the demon I cling to
I cling to

Do you think the theology is beyond most?

Do you think the theology is beyond most?

If that were tried at my presbytery meeting, I would probably walk out. I've had enough "cutesy communion" services to last a lifetime. Communion isn't a celebration of life, but a living reminder of eternal life; something a lot of presbyters seem to forget these days.

Ooooo.... 2 double posts 1 right after the other...

Will mine double post? probably not... with my luck it will go AWOL.

LOL

Tao

I'm on dialup. Barbed wire phone lines do straneg things.

DKS - I'm sure, given a second thought, you could recognize and celebrate that it was a meaningful experience for others is a deep way.  Maybe not yours, but hey - that's what it means when we say "We are Family"....   People dont' walk out on family, so breathe, pause and suck it up.  Then, offer to plan the next one.

I kinda like most of what Pink does - maybe not worship songs, and certainly not with the Fbombs here & there, but for serious, important themes, she really has some doozies.  Perfect, Stupid Girls, Dear Mr. President, lots more.  really good for Youth discussions.

Try "Playing for Change" - google it or youtube - excellent music, fantastic DVD for a Movie that Matters, or clips for worship...

I used the Irish Youth Choir piece very successfully in worship one time, and Keb Mo's Better Man, plus some others too.  And I dont' get a chance very often.  Very well received.  (Hey - Keb Mo just came on my Ipod shuffle :)  )

How about "Sail" by  Alwolnation. I have no idea what they're singing about. Interpretation is subjective as is the Bible sometime.

Nope. I leave. And I raise hell with the relevant presbytery committee, especially for leaving Jesus out of the Great Thanksgiving prayer. And I suggest that the committee call on some experienced, competent liturgists (of which there are many in the presbytery, not counting myself as one, particularly) to develop worship, not folks for whom the latest YouTube video is a significant spiritual experience. Cut slack? Suck it up? Sorry, that's what we have done for too long in the United Church. And it's disrespectful.

Found this incredible song yesterday while watching muchvibe... A mainstream good Christian hip hop artist and a great song about walking away from suicide...

DKS

We have a real problem with music and hymns in the UCC. Most of the good hymns are theological too conservative for many, too liberal for others, too difficult to sing, or learn.  thus people keep returning to their favourite songs since they are so few are easy to sing, learn and are a good theological match. After all hymns are also what we say and are thus very powerful, and very personnel.

That is why I see more and more people turning too pop music for inspiration and a significant spiritual  experience. Which has problems too when we try to use them in Church. Although I will admit myself to having been moved by a congregation in North Bay, that ended every service with the pop song Edelweiss, (revised benediction  for church) from the Song of Music. 

We have two hymnals that are full of songs that are not used for one reason or another. We also have a great modern hymn composer in our churches, but it seems like we need more.  Has anyone asked or suggested to a pop artist to consider writing appropriate church  lyrics for there popular songs. Would that be more acceptable to you. Or what if some pop writers became better theologically trained in order to write singable original hymns. I mean it seem to me we know more about John Wesley hymns and especially those of his brother than we do of other music of his age.

One of my favourite songs as a youth was a pop hymn. Put your hand in the hand. Written by the same guy Gene MacLellan who also wrote the pop song Snow Bird. It's theology is too problematic for most to sing. 

Surely if we pointed out to Christian pop musicians that they could write hymns that would be sung long after their other music is forgotten. Or are there some other things you find unacceptable about new popular music?

Alex - I remember listening to and loving that one.  

To which I reply "Nonsense". There are very few hymns in the current Voices United which are difficult to learn or sing. More Voices has many more which are more difficult. Most pop songs are so overcooked, overproduced and overmodulated that an individual siningg them makes them unrecognizable (with the exception of most C & W tunes)

Again, "Nonsense". The reason is that they are better-marketed and more readily available by download rip off, popular exposure and the media, and so on.

The tune is not from the Sound of Music (the words are). The tune is an Austrian folk melody. The words are also tightly protected and unavailable for use in a church setting.

That is the responsibility of the worship leadership and their bias. Frankly, it's irresponsible of them.

Are we willing to pay them for their work? Or are we prepared to rip them off by internet downloading and irresponsible photocopying? Composers will compose. But will we pay for that?

Many song writers have solid theological grounding. But do we support them? Buy their tracks? Perhaps if we responded with market economics we might find more.

Well, for what it's worth, I always thought that on Easter Sunday for the offertory, we should sing, "Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail"

Dang it CH....

You beat me to it... LOL

Sigh

Great Minds think alike.

*Peace - Love - Respect* Unconditionally

Tao

Nothing wrong with roast hare for Easter dinner.

I've tapped popular songs the odd time for services, but they have to be appropriate to the mood and theme. Stan Rogers' "Northwest Passage" figured prominently in one of my sermons, for instance. My sermons on the four elements will likely all have titles taken from relevant pop songs (the first, on Air, was "All I need is the air that I breath..."). However, I do find that the use of pop songs in churches sometimes drifts to the corny or inappropriate. It can have its place, but you need to be mindful of how you're using it, why you're using it, and what it is saying.

Mendalla

PS. Usual disclaimer about my UU'ism: what is appropriate for my church may not be appropriate for a Christian church.

I once went to a Unitarian Church to support a friend who in finding a spiritual home and community. I was most amzed and moved when they played "Sam Stone". A song I had never heard before.

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee. 
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.

Chorus:
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime. 
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

Repeat Chorus:

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.

You do not think it has to due with new competition from the invention of recorded music,  and the ability of song writers to reach  communities of multiple faith,  using message based recordings that all could enjoy, becoming dominant and pushing out hymns? 

Perhaps we should reach out to composers like we do to other people and invite them to church. Or at least tell some writers that they would be welcomed to do so. Composers and other artist are not always motivate by money. Some have lots of it. Look at Lady ga Ga for example, . She passed Oprah in become the best paid entertainer in the US and is very interested in changing the world now. Perhaps being a Catholic she thinks her reputation would make her any new songs she wrote unwelcome. Just as many people think they are unwelcomed. Perhaps if we had some Ga Ga in church music, more people would come and find God God.

Again, "Nonsense". The reason is that they are better-marketed and more readily available by download rip off, popular exposure and the media, and so on.

Wow - DKS - I am glad you and your church family get along...I can just hear some of your arguments back when the "red hymn book" replaced the "blue book".

Anyway, I disagree with you - the top 40 Christian music scene is alive and well.  While most of their theology is not mine - it obviously works for a vast majority of folks. Its singable and resinates to those who it was written for.

I have yet to find a United Church hymn that stands out to make a top 40 tune- due to lack of "tune" or words - what you call theology.  The theology you speak of  isn't speaking to people of today....I don't relate to most of whats in V.U. or M.V.U. - Christ spoke in laymen's terms - why does the United Church feel that we have to make some of our hymns so cryptic and or flowery

Some of the top 40 speak directly to things people can relate to - and some of these songs change on a weekly basis.  So, saying that - it makes it easier to find songs that folks can relate to - find one hymn that resinates that being born queer is ok in VU - or the suffering that people can go through by divorce - or losing their jobs and I will send you a beer. 

I feel like I am going on a rant here....however, give me some United Church theology in a hymn that can say what this video clip is saying DKS - what hymn(s) is going to speak to the crowd that this video was designed for?

Watch it to the end - several different songs here - surely folks can find one United Church hymn that will fit....

That's an impossible quest. Simply because music is subjective. I'm not queer, so I can't offer a suggestion. But as a divorced and remarried person, I found a lot of comfort in my marriage breakdown in the psalms, particulalry some of whish subsequently appeared un VU. 

Thanks DKS - I too like In A Bulb There is a Flower - not many Pop tunes are written in 3/4 (waltz) anymore - however, I can't imagine these lyrics working with any other tune.  I am not saying that some of the hymns don't speak to people - they do - or folks wouldn't sing them or they have no alternative.  You state that music is subjective - then you talk about psalms being incorporated into VU - I would like to think that not all music is subjective...just like the psalms.

Taste in music is subjective, however. And many of the psalms which appear un VU are not Top 40 but are eaily singable; largely Oregon Catholic Press.

Katy Perry's Firework ...this clip is great...

I would like to hear a lot of the early 70's rock and roll. Something like (Spirit in the Sky) (Seasons in the Sun) a little bit of Elvis, some Johnny Cash etc. If the UCC started playing this kind of music I might even go back and yet I guess you would see a lot of people leave. I guess Elvis has left the building, no wait he wasn't invited my bad.

Dreamerman - I'm thinking of Johnny Cash singing  "Sunday Morning Coming Down".

Dreamerman - I hear it and use it periodically (Signs by Tesla/ELO), and usually remind folks that even the Stones are "Grey Hairs" now :)  That stuff would be great for our present congregations, even if it takes some explanation and reassurance.

The teenagers roll their eyes and say, this is my mom's (dad's/granddad's) music.  They need to hear the new stuff valued and explained.

I hear ya Birthstone.  We have a “hymn of the month” and it is currently VU 244 – how often do you use the word..antiphone….then there was VU 331 –which was requested – the person who requested it was sitting behind me and I said to “her”  “when is the last time you used the word schisms in a sentence, or hereses or tumult”.  We had a chuckle.  I play for church more often than I sing – so I don’t really appreciate what the lyrics are.  I love the tune for The Church’s One Foundation but never really realized how out of touch the lyrics are.

Awesome point Jobam!   At what point are hymns just OLD rather than helpful?  What stands the test of time?  And what constitutes an inspiring new interpretation? 

My deep belief:  Church music = Congregation's Theology, regardless to a point of the minister's teachings.  We must keep that in mind when choosing our music, and let some songs go when its best.  Dont' get me started on Christmas and Easter music!!

Just watching Ellen - she had a yong girl (and choir) sing Christina Aguilera's "Beautful"  - it was awesome.....this would be a great youth choir song....many ways to incorporate into a service for sure.

Apparently Mumford & Sons have some Christian/spiritual content to the point where some are trying to claim them as a contemporary Christian band. Mumford himself says that they are not specifically a "Christian band" but that several of them are active Christians and that influences their music. I haven't listened to much of their stuff yet so can't comment on how "Christian" they are but I like what I have heard both musically and lyrically and their folky style would probably work for some kinds of services.

BTW, the "Sons" are not really his sons. They just chose that name for the band.

Mendalla

Hymns were important to the early leaders who brought them into worship for a reason. They are specifically written as prayer, adoration, praise... Luther and his followers often used their hymns to teach the tenets of the faith to worshipers. We believe what we sing and sing what we believe.

Some stuff then does get outdated, as theology can be outdated. What purpose does it serve for those who do not believe it, if the church does not believe it,  or if it distances instead of brings people to God? Is it good tunes or tradition and more about to and for us than about hymns being a prayer, praise, adoration TO God?  Does 485 in VU God Who Blesses New Beginnings reflect the theology of marriage being between a man and a woman? If it is not the embraced theology of a congregation, why would it be sung?

If someone wants a congregation to hold fast to male imagery of God, they can keep using it exclusively in hymns. If someone wants a "washed in the blood" theology, just sing it. Can we expect people to lay things aside or down or move beyond if we keep teaching it? Subliminal messaging is real.

As to what current top 40 song I might use .... it is not an older one... but current radio play and Canadian as well is Nickelback's When We Stand Together
 

HI all!

I have been listening to the current top 20 last week (hour and a half drive to work and back) on XM radio. While I haven’t found anything that is off the shelve ready for worship – there is definitely a group speaking to the young folks - FUN. Their second album “Some Nights” has some great tunes…and words that are “searching”……interesting….one of their songs is in the current top 20 – which is called “Some Nights” is cool – too bad we don’t have hymns structured like this….it also speaks to youth culture. I realize that most UCC’s don’t relate to youth – and we have totally missed the mark – but for those of us that want hymns not only to sound current but be relative, songs written like this would go a long ways to making some of us being able to relate to what we sing. The song “Carry On” sounds like a modern Irish Jig….very cool. The songs are filled with hope – but no direction – we as a UCC can’t offer the “direction” – sadly……

Love the Mumfords (they do a particularly gorgeous job of "Come thou fount of every blessing", but you have to be careful what you play. They're Brits and they drop the "f" bomb a lot, to the point where they're almost not OK at work sometimes. (I listen to a lot of live concerts, of course, where it's much worse, but the word does appear in a couple of their songs, as well.)

I used Band of Heathens "Jude Iscariot Blues" as an intro to one of our Tuesday night discussion groups when the topic was Judas, but it's a bit wild for a service, I think. 

But I have great difficulty singing many of the older hymns. I'll be singing merrily away and then actually LOOK at the words and think, "Oh yuck, I don't believe anything like that..."