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New Song: The Panoramic View
What Is New Song?
And where do you see New Song emerging?
JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT
Founder and Spiritual Father
The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage
I am not real familiar with the new electric worship, but I will try to respond.
For me a "New Song" is any musical worship that is really inspired by the Spirit, who brings a continuous springtime to the Church. It is the Spirit who makes the Church ever new, yet ancient.
Personally, I enjoy everything from Gregorian chant to Hymns, to good Worship Choruses, to what the early Church called, "Jubilatio," by singing spontaneously as a community without a set melody or lyrics. I love acoustic music because it is very organic and real, but I also like good electric music. I only draw the line with music where the instrumental distortion and vocal style destroy all sense of melody or musicality beyond the beat (though this might have evangelistic applications to reach a particular culture).
So a song is new regardless of whether or not it is actually "new" or not. It can be new although it is quite ancient and traditional as long as it is made in the Spirit of God. It can be stylistically new, but still be "old" in that it has not really cast off the old ways of the fallen world. When music is made in the Spirit of God, it uplifts the body, soul, and spirit in worship and praise, and leads them deep into the Spirit through quiet meditation and contemplation.
I have written fully about this in my book, "The Joy of Music Ministry," but I hope these few remarks are helpful.
STEVE BERGER
Senior Pastor, Grace Chapel
Leipers Fork, Tennessee
Member of NWLC's facultyNew Song may involve new written lyric but it surely doesn't depend on it. New Song may involve new musical sound but have absolutely nothing to do with it.
You see, New Song, isn't about written lyric or musical sound, it's about New Sight, New Revelation of the Mysterious, Glorious God we love and serve. Surprisingly, this New Sight that births New Song comes during times of tremendous suffering at least it did for Job, Job 42:5, David, Ps 40:1-3, Paul and Silas, Acts 16:24-25 as well as Jesus, who on the night He was betrayed into the hands of sinners for beating, scourging and crucifixion, sang a hymn of praise to His adoring Father.
In all accounts, their New Song had everything to do with seeing God's goodness and sovereignty, even in the midst of the most trying times of their lives. Through suffering they saw that God was, is and forever will be worthy of our highest praise, unwavering trust and sacrificial service.
When we as worshipers see these truths and not merely hear them, New Song will be birthed in our spirits, a New Song of trust, humility, brokenness, patience, endurance and hope.
By the way, this New Song in your heart may sound a lot like, "Great is Thy Faithfulness."
RITA SPRINGER
Worship leader, recording artist, mentor, teacherThere are 81 references in scripture for the word "song" but only 9 with "New Song". The Hebrew word for this is chadash (khaw-dawsh' - fresh new thing), shiyr, (shee-raw - a song, abstractly singing).
The Lord has really brought me to the places where those phrases are together in Scripture. New Song to me is an invitation to push forward using a fresh determination to bring honor and fame to his name. The center of anything new in our lives is to always be giving glory to the Original sound, which is Christ. It's our determination and wholeness that make new songs possible.
Isaiah 42:8-10 proclaims:
"I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you."
Sing to the LORD a new song,"
For my own journey making a new sound (or song) is not relying on what has already been but searching out what is ahead and perceive it! While Gods name is continually praised and established on our lips our flesh backs down and our spirits are able to make sounds of expected things to come. I see this happening all over the lives of so many people: those that have lost children to heaven who will not bow to the sting of death but advance in the belief of God's purpose in the process. Those who have lost everything in an economic crisis and cry out to God are finding a peace even with no answers in the natural. A new crop of worshippers and song writers are rising up who will not depend on a former sound to stir them yet are inquiring and reaching for new melodies and lyrics that God alone is inspiring. This is an exciting day for a new song. However one finds it, Let it come!
G. Aaron Barbosa
Artist & songwriter
"New Song" to me as a writer has been inspired by the experiences that I've had in my walk with Christ.
For an example, unconditional love before Christ was perplexing for me. Even though I don't understand it, accepting it has inspired me to write about it. To me "New Song" is synonymous with "Inspired Song". It's not writing about someone else's experience, but story-telling your own. I also believe that new song can represent
many creative outlets for expression. I've been inspired to write songs and poetry, but I'm sure many have been inspired to write books, score music, preach sermons and feed the hungry - all motivated by fresh experiences in their walk with Christ.
Where do you see New Song emerging?I definitely see NS emerging in Israel Houghton's ministry, in Hillsong, in some of the life-changing skits I've seen at different youth events. I saw it growing up by a girl named Lorraine Robles who did monologues. I have seen new song in youth camps that I've attended where the inspiration runs deep throughout - seemingly that entire generation. I also want to add, that I'm an affectionate fan of old songs. I continue to pull strength from those wells. However, knowing that the Bible says, "The latter will be greater than the former..." I am expectant of New Songs emerging today. I've been blessed to many inspirational experiences with today's music and look forward to tomorrow's...
JEREMY BEGBIE
Thomas A. Langford Research Professor at Duke Divinity School, Duke University.New Song is the song that God brings about through his Spirit. In the New Testament, the Spirit comes from the future, from God's new world at the end of time. By the Spirit we get a foretaste of that final world when the Kingdom will finally come. So to sing the New Song now means enjoying the music of that new age - we get a kind of pre-echo of what one day we will be singing in eternity.
Where do you see New Song emerging?Where God's people are being persecuted (China, Indonesia, parts of Africa, and so on), where the Church struggles for justice, where fierce enemies are reconciled and find they can sing together, where the sick are healed; wherever God's future is breaking in and reminding us of the future we shall one day enjoy.
Laura Story
Worship artist and acclaimed songwriter
Member of NWLC's facultyA new song is a fresh musical expression of the people of God seeking to bless the heart of God. What makes it new is that it is being created in this very day. Though God is constant and doing the same redemptive work he began before the foundations of the earth, the manifestation of that work will look different in every generation. And I believe this new song will emerge from our local churches. Though worldwide church resources are extremely helpful, there is no replacement for the songs written by church members seeking to minister to those with whom they worship weekly. As each local church walks its own path, or better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, their worship songs serve as a sound track that gives them the unique encouragement and admonition they need for the journey.
RICHARD WEBB
Blogger, writer and Worship Pastor
for Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, IowaFor me the "New Song" that the Psalms and Prophets are talking about is not necessarily a song with a new melody, harmony, rhythm, or even new lyrics. The "new song" being talked about in the Bible is a song that proclaims the "new thing" that God is doing in our messed up lives, relationships, communities, cities, and even in the world. It's a song of hope where there was no hope; it's a song about resurrection where there was only death. It's about new creation, beginning with anyone who is in Christ and culminating in a new heaven and a new earth.
Ultimately a New Song is a song that re-imagines and proclaims the world according to God's love, truth and promises. They are songs about the God's Kingdom and his people. This is the song that Jesus sang when he proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is in your midst.
Where do you see New Song emerging? I see the New Song emerging whenever preachers, poets, musicians, and the local community of God's people imagine, proclaim, and live out God's reality instead of the reality of their surrounding circumstances or culture. The musicians I know who are singing a New Song are people like Aaron Niequist, Charlie Hall, and Matt Redman. I'd also look at the more indy musicians of the Emerging movement.
MANUEL LUZ
Pastor, Worship Leader, Musician,
Author of Imagine That: Discovering Your Unique Role as a Christian ArtistBefore I came to Christ, there were three kinds of songs I typically wrote: "I love you" songs, "You left me" songs, and "You can leave now" songs. (I think I wrote a song about the circus once too.) But then I came to Christ in the eighties, and I mistakenly thought I had to write a certain kind of song. I thought I had to write "Jesus" songs: "Jesus loves you," "Jesus won't leave you," and "Why did you leave Jesus?"
Thankfully, I think I've grown up a little since then. I no longer feel compelled to write message-oriented (and somewhat propagandized) lyrics that fit a certain formula. It is only necessary for me to be real in my art, as I authentically live out God's saving grace before Him and the world.
And I think that's what New Song is. Whenever the psalmist uses the term, New Song, he is referring to an act of worship that is a response to redemption, rescue, deliverance, salvation. If we are real with our lyrics, our compositions, our art, then invariably who we are and what we believe will emanate from it. And that includes the redemptive grace of God in our lives. New Song is a response to the amazing Truth that God rescued us and loves us. So when we express Christ's redemption in our lives and our response to it-we sing a New Song.
Where do you see New Song emerging?Psalm 33:3 encourages us to "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy." I see the New Song whenever I see someone honestly expressing their faith through the arts with skill and passion. These days, I am encouraged to see artists of all kinds-not just musicians, but also painters, filmmakers, dancers, graphic designers, writers, and others-finding their voice and making a New Song to the glory of God. And doing it with authenticity, skill, and passion.
Tommy Coomes
Seminal worship artist & producer
Original member of Love SongNew song is not created in a vacuum. It can be composed in quiet or created in the congregation but is part of a community that is responding to God. It is not a collection of cut and paste praise slogans or an attempt to gain CCLI position. It is full of skill and heart and captures the ear of God and man.
Great promises and new songs seem to follow God encounters and become the soundtrack for a changed person, a different drama and a better ending.
Moses and Miriam exploded into joyful song and dance after the Red Sea deliverance (Exodus 15). God responded to Jehoshaphat's desperate situation and defeated three invading armies as the people began to sing and praise (2 Chronicles 20).
David's journal entries freely express the full range of human emotion and provide us the poetry of praise.
New Song marks the moment, paints the Polaroid and gives voice to our story. It's the song of a prayer closet in Portland and a salsa in South America. They're singing it in Angola and dancing in the dirt of a township called Orange Farm.
It tells of our dilemma and captures the details of His deliverance.
Quentin Schultze
Communication professor at Calvin College
Renowned author, speaker, and consultantFaith morphs. Not in the unseen substance of it, but in the ways those human beings experience and express it together. The morphing takes us back in time and forward in time, from Genesis to Revelation--and every moment in between. Nothing makes this clearer than changes in the ways that the saints of old and today made (and still make) music together. A New Song is simultaneously an Old Sing. We saints adapt and adopt and revise. There really is no "traditional" or "contemporary" music. There is simply the music that connects us in time and place with God and each other. Singing any New Song is actually the act of singing a Renewed Song. What a gift.
Joe Day
UX Designer for The City (http://www.onthecity.org), a
Worship Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle (http://www.marshillchurch.org), and a songwriter. Follow him on Twitter @JoeDay.New song is a very old idea. It's interlaced through the Psalms (think '40' by U2), and sees its ultimate purpose in the throne room in Heaven where John reports, "...and they were singing a new song before the throne" (rev 14:3 ESV). New Song is when songwriters, worship pastors, and worship leaders participate with what is going on in the throne room by writing, teaching and singing new songs that proclaim the truth of Jesus and the glory of God by the empowering of the Spirit. It is responsive, heart-felt, theologically rich, carefully crafted, and totally awesome.
Where do you see New Song emerging?This is a scary question that necessarily raises the question of music business. Even though our friends at the labels are doing their best to figure out how to move forward into the digital world, New Song will emerge online as the demand for New Song and the expectation for it to be free continues to increase. In time, New Song will adopt new means of distribution (digital & free from networks and individuals) and licensing (CreativeCommons) because these methods serve the age-old desire to sing New Song better than any models that exist today.
MIKE BICKLE
Pastor author and founder of The International House of Prayer in Kansas City where worship/prayer has been offered 24/7 for the past 10 years.New Song originates at God's Throne. One aspect is released when God is "shifting the season" in the Spirit in terms of God's purposes for a region or nation. He anoints singers to reflect his heart for that nation or congregation or community.
New Song is especially related to Jesus' second coming (Ps. 33:3-14; 40:3-10; 96:1; 98:1; 149:1-9; Rev. 5:8-4; 14:2-3). He will first anoint singers to proclaim it in new songs. In other words, New Song is a fresh song that comes when the Holy Spirit blesses us as we express our love to Jesus in a devotional song that flows from our heart as seen in Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16, but it is also more than this.
One aspect of the new song occurs when Jesus sings praise about the Father to the Church. How does He do this? Jesus sings in the midst of the congregation by releasing His Spirit on singers in the Church. We refer to this as prophetic singing or the song of the Lord.
He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: "I will declare Your name (the Father) to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly (the Church) I will sing praise to You. (Heb. 2:11-12) How does He do this? Jesus is the head and we are the body. In other words, we are the physical expression on earth of what Jesus wants
He (Father)...gave Him (Jesus) to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body (Eph. 1:22-23).When King Jehoshaphat went to battle, he put the singers in front of the army. This was because he understood the impact of the song of the Lord in the time of crisis in Israel. It was used by God when He saved the nation from disaster. In other words, it was used to shift the season in the spirit in Jehoshaphat's generation.
Some told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you...3 Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah...21 He (Jehoshaphat) appointed those who should sing to the LORD...as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever." 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated... (2 Chron. 20:1-22) Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. (1 Cor. 14:1)
Be faithful on a worship team even if it is a small prayer meeting. Dial down or settle down emotionally by intentionally asking the Spirit what He is saying. Pay attention to small impressions or pictures that come to mind. Value them enough to sing them -
LENNY LEBLANC
Worshiper and celebrated songwriter, writing songs for over 30 years
Member of NWLC's facultyA New Song is that deep cry of worship that rises from the heart of a believer. It can be a word or phrase birthed in corporate worship that seems to spread throughout the congregation or it can even be a simple expression of praise from one person praising God in their living room.
A new song isn't necessarily a new style of music. I believe new songs transcend any genre or style and the reason they are called new is because they've never been sung before. They are a pure and heart felt offering to the Lord.
Where do you see New Song emerging?I see New Song emerging wherever there is surrender to and love for God. I believe that all Gods children have a new song in their hearts if they will only sing it.
John Schreiner
Composer, producer, arranger, songwriter
Member of NWLC's facultyI think I can relate to "new song" in the Psalms as a fresh expression of a timeless theme.
Where do you see New Song emerging?I believe New Song emerges in the songs of the Redeemed, as the Spirit makes us aware of the depth and riches of the great themes of Scripture.
Sally Morgenthaler
Author, teacher, poet & visionary
Member of NWLC's faculty"Let the sea resound and everything in it...Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy." Psalm 98:9
New Song. Salvation actualized in sound. Salvation with a voice, repeating and calling all of creation into a symphony of re-making. Everything.
New Song. The soundtrack to life. Creation energized, mobilized by the vibrations of God's essence. All of life catalyzed, released, and sustained by the melody of God's infinite love.
New Song. The outward impetus of God. The cosmos racing outward, reclaiming the void. Christ Incarnate, God racing toward us in his Son. God for us, with us, in us. Reclaiming the dark.
New Song. The Church in movement outward. Outside itself. Outside the walls. Outside territory, culture, comfort, code. Outward to heal, love. To be the kingdom, here, now, everywhere. To echo the song back to its Origin.
New Song.
Phil Wickham
Christian artist and Worship Leader"New song is just an interesting thought because on one end of things, the Solomon reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun. He was a little bit bitter in that book, but he still says it. There are certain things about God that are never going to change. And it will always be sweet to sing it when our hearts are believing it, like the truth that He is holy, that His blood has covered our sins because of the work of the cross. As Paul says, and I'm paraphrasing, ‘It's not annoying that I remind you of these things, but it is good that Christ has died and His grace is sufficient.' These are the things I feel I need to remind myself of everyday. Every morning I can wake up and say, ‘Thank you that Your mercies are new.' And even though I said it yesterday, I need to say it again today because I'm so forgetful.
So in one sense, its implicit that as far as new song goes, I think it's about the new experience. It's people experiencing God's grace in bigger and different ways. And there is a new generation with their own stories to be had and told. The old generation might have been able to write "Amazing Grace" and have an amazing story behind it, but that's not going to mean something-you can sing ‘Amazing Grace' and know all the verses as a 12 year old kid, but its not going to mean a lot until you grow up and realize, ‘Whoa, I do really need God's grace.' So the song ‘Amazing Grace' even though it's an old song, it can become new to me because God has shown me something new about Himself. That's where the newness comes. Because He's infinite, and it will take eternity to get to know Him and fully experience him, as we grow in Him experience him more and sing that God is holy, that takes on a whole different meaning. To me, that's where the new song comes from. Deepening your relationship and growing in Him creates the newness in a song.
Skip HeitzigPastor of Calvary Chapel Albuquerque Author, speaker and a regular contributor to Worship Leader magazine"I am convinced that God wants our experience with Him to be in the 'now' and thus the need for fresh, new expressions of that experience. God gave, through the psalmists, the mandate to 'sing a new song.' Why? Simply so that His people wouldn't use older expressions as meaningless crutches. Our God-experience can become meaningless when it's lived through the pen or voice or sermon of someone else and it never becomes our own. A balance of old and new is best because 'Old Song' keeps us rooted and helps us view God through His faithfulness to past generations. But if it stops with the old then we are saying in effect that God used to work, used to speak, used to move and used to empower. The old songs may help us stand on the shoulders of those greats who penned and composed them, but a new song used their shoulders to leap forward, grasping the future with faith, while proclaiming that God is still at work and still speaking and still moving and still empowering. The old and the new blend history with immediacy. If God's mercies are new every morning (Lam. 2:23), then our music and hymnology should reflect it...in fact, how about starting on your own new song this week?!"
Rev. Dr. Constance Cherry
Pastor composer, author, and hymn writer and Associate Professor of Worship and Christian Ministries at Indiana Wesleyan UniversityWhen I think of New Song, I think of the Story of God-the grand narrative that encompasses God's initiative for the world from beginning to end. The Story reaches from First Creation to Re-creation; it is a story that not only tells what has happened in the past, but tells what will happen in the future with the same assurance as if it has already occurred. God intones this New Song to us that we might hear the Story and thereby recognize God's mighty works and perceive God's purposes. I don't think of this sung narrative as either "old" or "new", but as eternal. The song is the Story-a hymn of many stanzas but with one common refrain: Jesus Christ is Lord.
Where do you see New Song emerging?I see New Song emerging today as the unifying movement around which the global Church gathers. Each Christian community will sing the song in their own language and musical accent; and each will highlight stanzas of God's universal work with which they most relate, given their history and experience. Yet the story is not our story but God's Story which we re-tell. As the world becomes smaller we find that what we share is this Story; and if we had a thousand tongues, to paraphrase Charles Wesley, we would not have enough to sing our Great Redeemer's praise.
Jennie Riddle
Award winning songwriter ("Revelation Song")
Conference speaker, artist mentor, and worship leader. "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth- Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord." Psalm 40:1-3
New songs on the lips of God's children are powerful because they originate from authentic encounters with God. These encounters can be as brief as a single moment of revelation that alters perspective, to entire seasons of trial that leave us forever changed.
These new songs are testimonies. These new songs overcome our enemy (Rev 12:11). They originate out of what we know, verses what we believe, which can be two very different things. I believe everything that the Bible says is absolutely true. However, I know it is true that God is Provider, not just because the bible says so, but as a result of experiencing Him as such in my own personal life. When I lift up the words, "He brought me up out of a horrible pit!" I am no longer singing the words of David. They have become mine. They are new all over again, by way of experience with God. I have lifted a new song by way of experiential knowledge of the character of God and His ways.
A new song is more than the eight bar moment occasionally carved out in a worship service where congregants echo the last lyric repeatedly, only slightly experimenting with melody and phrasing and an occasional ad lib, "hallelujah, we praise You" thrown in for uniqueness' sake. A new song is also more than the unfamiliar song introduced on a given Sunday morning.
This new song that we lift us is genuinely that; brand new. It is a song birthed out of a revelation of who He is in the uniqueness of our experiences. This song has little to do with music or skill, but everything to do with the reality of God in our every day moments and circumstances.
Some songs, even though brand new to us, don't come alive to us because we don't own them. We don't own them, because we don't know them. This does not refer to melody, rhyme, and meter, but again to experiential knowledge. The song that Moses sang after the collective body crossed the red sea (Ex 15) was owned and known by all as it was a shared experience and so the new song he lifted up was rejoiced in by all. These experiential new songs are alive and fresh with revelation and understanding, albeit incomplete, as a result of the glory of God interrupting our circumstance with Himself. New Song has everything to do with the reality of God, our Emmanuel, in the midst of our every day life.
When we lift our voice to sing with our own words, from our own hearts the faithfulness of God, the enemy is confounded and terrified. Our songs are our individual testimonies given to us from His providential sovereignty, love, and wisdom that have been worked into the fabric of our beings by the ways of God. These musical testimonies by blood -covered kingdom people overcome the enemy (Rev 12:11).
Where do you see New Song emerging?I hear a new song emerging on the lips of the Bride as She sings over the earth the goodness of Her God. Not by way of recycled words fed to Her by another, but by first hand knowledge of Her Beloved, sung as one who has walked hand in hand with Him in and though the trials of this life to the other side as an over-comer. All across the land, Her voice is rising and can be heard beyond the bands on the platforms. All across the land Her voice is lifting and rising higher and higher as She proclaims afresh and new the mercies and graces of Her God. All across the land, Her voice is getting stronger and she is out-singing the stage. She is lifting a new song that will be heard throughout the earth. The new song of the Bride lifted in Her own unique voice; Her own testimony written by the hand of God with the pen of Her life in the ink of His blood. This new song will go on, and on, and on, and on...
Lisa Harper
The former director of women's outreach for Focus on the Family and creator of Renewing the Heart conferencesMy favorite Greek word translated into worship in the New Testament is proskyneo [please put a line over the "o" for correct grammatical style], which essentially means to "move forward so as to kiss." In that context of loving obeisance, New Song denotes fresh affection. It means being currently over the moon about our bridegroom, Jesus. It means whether we've been in relationship with Him for fifty years or fifteen minutes, we still act like newlyweds! We simply cannot be dull or disengaged about the glorious, Gospel love story we've been written into. Nor can we keep this story to ourselves...we simply have to share it with other people, especially those who haven't yet been swept up by divine grace. Old Testament theologian Michael Wilcock explains that evangelical application also makes it a novel tune, "New is the song that proclaims it to the nations that do not yet walk in Israel's light."
Where do you see New Song emerging?In my experience on the road (I spend about 150 days a year at conferences, retreats and outreach events), believers who are finally beginning to live in the freedom God promises warble New Song the loudest. People like the beautiful 64 year old woman I met recently who has dutifully volunteered at church and filled in Bible study blanks her entire adult life, yet is just now experiencing real relief from the crushing burden of shame that has crippled her since her stepfather molested her at the age of seven. The Gospel itself isn't new - our Creator-Redeemer planned our rescue and restoration before the beginning of time - but there are new affects of His mercy to be celebrated every time the sun comes up!
Dr. Gordon Borror
Professor of Church Music and Chair of the Music Ministry
Southwestern Baptist Seminary Music SchoolFor centuries Believers have read the scripture in Psalms, Isaiah and Revelation about a New Song. Every generation has had ideas about how to make the Song of redemption new for their time; this has led to much real creativity and "progress" in the music of praise to our worthy Lord. In our time it seems some have decided that no old songs qualify, if it hasn't been written in the last week or two or has a copyright date of last year its not "new". We have all learned that new isn't necessarily better, but in our day of immediacy and instant satisfaction things get old VERY quickly and yesterday's satisfaction becomes today's ‘old'. Perhaps we need to rethink this whole situation, what really is "new?" Perhaps we could think of it in terms of love-is yesterday's love good enough for today? Since I loved my wife yesterday and told her so, does that mean I must have new expression of love for today? Must every communication of that love be in never-before-heard terms? Indeed my love must be "new" for each day, but how many times can one think of how to say it in yet a newer way? I submit that my love for today is indeed a new love in the same way my song of praise must be new, but it can be expressed in the same manner it was yesterday or even last week. It has been well said that the song must be sung "newly"; an old habitual rehashing without current and fresh passion and meaning is an old song even if it was written last month. A song sung for decades and more is a new song when the expression is heartfelt, enthusiastic and fresh.
Where do you see New Song emerging?Perhaps another worthy consideration of the New Song for our time is to appreciate the fact that our culture has become more international, multi-racial, multi lingual-most of our churches have representatives from many backgrounds and musical expressions. More and more often we're hearing a really "new" song to our ears; unique instrumentations, rhythms, melodies and juxtapositions of sounds which sound very strange (new songs!) in our ears and yet come from hearts and minds that really love Jesus and are engaged in His praise. Nothing says "I love you" to a brother or sister from another culture more than to love their music and their expressions of praise and thanksgiving to God-and even try to learn enough of their language to join them and welcome them into a new environment of worship by joining your voice with theirs! Perhaps the new song of the 21
st will represent the multi-cultural dynamics of the reality of our culture and the relevance of the gospel to all the peoples of the earth!
Bernie Herms
Producer & songwriterNew song embodies the collective creative artistic synergy in the worldwide church when God's people respond to and are enlivened by his spirit working among them. Varying wildly in style and often culturally or regionally stamped, yet the fabric and spiritual impact of authentic New Song is always transcendent of trend, culture, even creed because it's of a divine origin and a mouthpiece of God globally moving his church forward.
Where do you see New Song emerging?We live in an exciting time. While not a universally used or understood term, I see a very real New song emerging in a rapidly growing, burgeoning, unofficial community of forward thinking, outward reaching churches across North America, Europe, Australia, Asia etc. Particularly the last several years in my own personal sphere, I've observed countless life giving churches abandon traditional denominational and regional barriers, even ministerial definitions in how they are actively seeking global relationships, sharing resources, utilizing technology and the web. These churches are often characterized by a remarkable impact for the gospel first on their own community and, in turn, using their regional, sometimes even global influence to invest into massive church pioneering, humanitarian efforts, discipleship materials, and musical resources for a larger group of churches they influence. For many of these leading churches, this emergent new breed of thinking and activity has seen the most significant part of its explosion in the last decade. Far from an isolated phenomenon in a handful of Mega churches with seemingly endless resources, it is actually happening on an accelerated local and global scale now.
You will find a common thread among many of these churches: a vibrant musical life, often a deeper commitment to musical excellence, and sometimes even an artistic community producing a body of new works, some with local reach, some global. A New song, if you will.
I also believe new song exists in other areas of Christian music. The professional performance art of Christian musicians of all genres and commercial recording industry certainly can't be discounted from contribution to an understanding of what new song is. For many, this presents a philosophical hurdle considering the intrinsically commercial and entrepreneurial corporate structure involved in the industry. However, it's my personal belief that this only serves to makes it a far more individual, highly personal journey and responsibility for artists to create works that reflect the spirit of God working in them regardless of the corporate mechanism by which that art is distributed by.
Todd Fadel
Love is Concrete / Represents Independent Visual and Verbal ArtistsWhen we fight to make room for women and children, the poor and the elderly, we sing a new song.
When we can reflect accurately the desires and disappointments of the people before God, we sing a new song.
When we are inquisitive and creative and somewhat dangerous, we sing a new song.
When we don't get caught up in aesthetics of current cultures but seek to blend all voices, we sing a new song.
When we cry out like we actually believe God is listening, we sing a new song.
When laughter, play and messiness are given as much attention as calm, reverence and "collectedness", we sing a new song.
This is an excerpt from Worship Leader magazine. To read more articles like this - click here to subscribe.
