Well said Tony. I believe that joy is something we have to actively pursue, just like other spiritual fruits like patience and self-control.

Arch Hart has suggested that something like 25% of men are clinically depressed in the US, and the rate is growing. Joylessness is everywhere, even in the church.

I agree with you Tony, but just to ruffle a few feathers…

I can think of two other reasons people (especially men) don’t sing in church.  Firstly, a lot of songs sung by churches these days barely give you something to honestly proclaim.  I may not feel like pledging my unswerving faith at the end of a week filled with my faithlessness towards God, but I could enthusiastically sing a song about God’s greatness or His mercy.  A lot of the old hymns (well the ones that have survived to be sung today) give the congregation something irrefutable to proclaim.  A lot of modern songs aim to stir our emotions and leave us empty of substance.

Another reason many men don’t sing in church is that a lot of the songs chosen in many churches are not really congregational songs.  They are songs written and sung in keys better suited to the female voice. 

Bring back more hymns and get rid of all the Hillsong! (ahem… am I allowed to name names here?)

I remember hearing that the only Army in the world that does not sing while marching is the Australian Army.  So I wonder whether the non-singing culture is entirely Western or whether there is some additional factor for Australians?

There are probably many reasons for some members of the congregation to remain silent during the hymns. I would like to offer my observations and suggestions.
i)Often the accompaniment is inadequate….for a number of non-musicians to be given the best support, you need a highly competant pianist or organist who is totally confident in leading the music. Guitars and drums are quite inadequate as they do not provide the necessary harmonic depth on which good group singing depends. It would benefit a congregation enormously if the church were to invest in a quality instrument and a truly gifted accompanist.
ii) Many people feel quite awkward when singing in a group,in public. This could well be due to the fact that music and singing are not taught thoroughly as an important part of the curriculum in our schools, and so those not so musical are never really given the opportunity to understand music, and to sing with confidence. Group singing is not really the “Aussie”
thing. I would suggest that those people who do sing in church should be asked to sit together in small groups of 3 or 4 so that they can provide the others with some good support….you do feel quite exposed if you would like to sing, or at least have a go, when no-one else around you is singing with confidence.
iii) There is great depth of thought in many hymns and it is often expressed in poetic and/or archaic language. Probably many people feel that not only do they feel awkward singing, but they also feel that the meaning words in front of them is not really all that easy to grasp. Older people who have grown up in the system, so to speak, probably find this to be less of an issue. My suggestion here is to have someone explain the words…a mini poetry lesson, or at least provide some insights in the parish bulletins.
iv) It can take a while to learn a tune, so maybe “Hymn of the Month” would help….sing the same one each week for a while and then keep it going a little less frequently.
v)One musical style used each week is going to irritate all those people who prefer different musical styles. Music is a very personal choice. Maybe it would be possible to vary the musical style on offer each week…..familiar hymns with piano/organ, popular style with band,
modern songs with guest instrumentalists….flute, strings, trumpet etc. If you like the style of music in the service, it will help to lift your spirits and the musical component of the service will then be a much more worthwhile experience.

I would like to refer to a few comments made. Firstly pointing the finger at Hillsong (one of the most impacting churches we have seen in Australia for a long time) is not the way to address this issue. True their singing may be simple and emotional, but arent the Psalms? Hillsong has helped many churches to get men singing (if this is the issue that people are interested in). I have seen more men singing in churches that imitate (well) Hillsong’s style of music than I have seen in Anglican styled churches. There are many reasons for this I am not going to deny that in Anglican churches you can find services were lots of men sing. But on the whole Hillsong has done alot to get people to sing about/to God in and out of church than any other church in Australia. (*This is a general statement, I cannot speak for all churches over a long period of time. I am just offering observation over the past ten years.*)

Secondly this article along with Sandy’s “When they wont smile or even sing” are making general statements. Some great comments to read that I want to emphasize as important are: Carolyn McMurtrie’s (from this article), and Lee Carter, Brett Slavin, Dianne Howard (from Sandy’s article).

This issue of music will be controversial and needs to be well discussed but I dont think we can make set rules for church music. Each church will be different and they need to address their church service separately and prayerfully.

@Ian. Thankyou Ian for your comment. I do agree that theological content of songs needs to be strong in order for it to be a good song to sing in Church. I would not want your/anyone elses conscience to be affected by singing “Hillsong” songs if they dont meet theological standards (I am not implying they have to meet yours, this isnt an attack).

I cannot agree with your comment that when we sing theological songs such as you have named that we can agree totally with their words also. My soul doesnt always sing out the greatness of His name. But i understand the song is not asking me to do it non stop. It is imploring me to do it. Because it is right to do. The same with Hillsong songs, they are encouraging the singer to Love God. To appreciate His work. Although there are songs that are not great but there are songs that we should look at working with, maybe to improve! Instead of putting people down for their efforts to praise God, give them a helping hand.

My point is that although change needs to be addressed in Churches across the world, definitely in terms of theological content within songs. But we also need to look at how we are not making Church available to the outsider, especially the people who have never stepped into a Church.

As I write this I am aware that we need to do this slowly and it will take time to do it well. I am reminded of the swiss reformation. The problems involved some of the swiss taking quick action to reform, some acts were devastating to the Church. We need to take things slowly and think about the issues.

Denying Hillsong of their influence of bringing into their Church non-believers is mistake. I have always been under the mindset that we need to be working with Churches like Hillsong to develop a greater work of ministry that shows unity and peace. Ministry that is appealing and active, caring and seen by the community (for the right reasons).

We need to look at our songs in our Churches and ask is this the style of music that is going to bring in the outsider? Do our members enjoy singing these songs? Why or Why not?

TP: let the record show that I didn’t raise the topic of Hillsong either. Nor was the point to do with the theological quality or otherwise of their song lyrics. But Dan suggests now that…

My soul doesnt always sing out the greatness of His name. But i understand the song [“Tell out, my soul”] is not asking me to do it non stop. It is imploring me to do it. Because it is right to do. The same with Hillsong songs, they are encouraging the singer to Love God.

But I think Liz’a original comment is still right, and in my example the emphasis of the two lyrics is quite different and must surely have an impact on how we feel about singing them.

Dan, one song is an imperative encouraging/exhorting me to express my faith in God (“Tell out my soul”). It expresses no view as to how successful or otherwise I will be in following that exhortation.

The other (“forever I’ll love you”) is an expression of my confidence that I will love the Lord forever. If it is meant to be “encouraging the singer to Love God”, then it is poorly expressed, because it is not in any sense an imperative as you suggest.

For the last few years I’ve been attending an Anglican congregation in the western suburbs of Melbourne where the congregation - men and women - sing unusually heartily. This has been a delightful and encouraging experience, and one to which I’ve given some thought. The congregation is small - about 40 people most Sundays - and made up of a mix of older and younger people, most of the older people are salt-of-the-earth working class people who have lived in the area for years. We have more women than men, but as far as I can tell, everyone sings. My guesses as to why people (and perhaps specifically men) sing so willingly are that:
1. There is a ‘singing’ culture established by the older members - there used to be a choir in the congregation and there are still members of that choir - men and women - in the congregation. There are also a couple of men - of different ages - with strong voices, who sing loudly and clearly.
2. We sing a mix of songs, which almost always includes one hymn. We sing plenty of modern songs, including everything from Scripture in Song to Hillsong and Emu Music - but we deliberately limit ourselves to music that is fairly straightforward to sing. If there are complicated bridges etc. we usually leave them out. Even if the theology of the songs is good (and we do pay attention to that as well!) a too-tricky tune makes people feel miserable and stupid.
3. We don’t have the resources for a ‘band’ or even a regular pianist, so one very talented musician records the songs on a keyboard and we just play that as a backing track. This may sound like a dreadful thing (from an aesthetic point of view) but it is actually solid gold in terms of singing. The melody and rhythm are very clear in the recordings, which helps people sing. The recording means that the tune and rhythm are exactly the same each time, so people get to know the music really well. And we play the recording quite loudly - again, this sounds like a bad thing, but it means that people feel comfortable to sing loudly without worrying that their voice will stand out.

The end result of all this is hearty, heartfelt singing, which sounds great - it’s one of the joys of being part of this congregation.

I agree with Karen that the rise of recorded P and W music may be having an effect. Personally, I’ve never quite cottoned onto the idea of having someone else sing praises to God on my behalf, but then some may say the same thing about choral singing.

I loved the Chesterton quotes.

Just listened to some excellent lectures on worship (delivered in Budapest by an American, James Jordan). The content of these lectures is so biblical, and so foreign to most of us, that there is something here to offend everyone. I have heard nothing like them anywhere else. Much food for thought at:

http://www.reformalt.hu/audio

The P&W movement has turned singing into watching a concert, with those on stage consisting of good-looking people getting hot and sweaty while singing homo-erotic love songs.  The congregation consists of the ordinary looking folk with the ordinary voices drowned out by poor accoustics and big amps.

I was in a Free Church of Scotland recently, with no instruments and only Psalms being sung.  Wow, the singing was good.

Surely instruments should be a mere complement to the congregation, not a replacement?  The allure of the Reformed RPW has never been stronger.

One reason people may not join in singing is that they are not used to live music, and think that music is something that comes out of an MP3 player or one of those old-fashioned cd players.

I recently spoke to a 25 year old young woman who had never ever attended a concert.

At some concerts in Bathurst [reputed to be a musical town] the youngest people attending are in their 50s. The performers are often younger, but this does not always attract younger people.

It is no wonder that the Sydney Symphony gives very special prices to people under 35, in an effort to secure an audience before we are all off in aged care or dead.