Survey Says: LCMS Worship Practices & Attitudes
The LCMS Reporter website posted an article earlier today on the newly released LCMS Worship Practice & Attitudes Survey. The survey compares the responses of the Top 5% congregations (highest percentage and number of adult confirmations in 2006) and a random sampling of congregations on their worship practices and attitudes.
And the survey says . . . . nothing earth shattering.
The LCMS 100 “Song” Study: Part 1
Back in June 2008 I commented on the LCMS Reporter article that 100 “worship and praise songs” had successfully made their way through the Synod’s doctrinal review process (13 of them appear in LSB or earlier publications). I’ve wondered about the delay to release the list, but it has recently been posted on the Commission on Worship’s website — go here to read their article and get the list.
This study has been motivated by a trend in parts of the LCMS to embrace the “praise and worship” genre of music. The Commission was directed by convention resolution to provide “guidance and direction in the use of diverse/contemporary worship resources.” Given the plethora of “diverse/contemporary worship resources” [there are over 200,000 songs available for use via the CCLI church copyright license], some guidance seems appropriate to steer professional church workers and laity toward resources that are in harmony with the Lutheran faith and confessions.
Walther and Small Churches
In a culture fixated on bigger is better, it was refreshing to read a selection from C.F.W. Walther over at Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison on the relative unimportance of congregational size.
The highlight from Walther was this:
The smallest congregation is just as important as the largest one, and the largest is no more important than the smallest, because every congregation is great only because Christ is present in it.
LCMS Approves 100 "Worship / Praise" Songs
In 2006, the LCMS through the Commission on Worship published its new hymnal Lutheran Service Book. Now it looks they have moved on to a new project – reviewing “worship and praise songs” for use in LCMS churches. According to a Reporter (official LCMS newspaper) article, 100 “worship and praise songs” have successfully made their way through the Synod’s doctrinal review process (13 of them appear in LSB or earlier publications). And more are on the way. In the future these songs will be sorted based on the church year.
And what are these 100 songs? The list has yet to be released — it isn’t on the Commission of Worship’s website. Evidently, they used CCLI data from LCMS churches to determine frequently used songs. I am interested to see what songs made the cut of the Synodical reviewers — what do these songs proclaim?
Share your thoughts . . .