Great ideas, Christy. Have you seen Psalms for All Seasons? All of the Psalms are printed there along with songs, hymns or choruses that go with each Psalm. We love to use it in our home with family worship, in the home of someone who is too ill to go to church, or devotionally with my grandchildren. (They love to take turns being the 'leader' and reading the regularly printed text while the rest of us read the bold print.) There is also a simple prayer at the end of each Psalm that can be read by young or old. It's a great way to read the Psalms together.
I like sports, and I see where you're going with this illustration. I think that both coaching and managing are important, along with leadership, teaching, and mentoring. But maybe the most important skill, or gift that is needed for worship leading is a pastoral heart - both for the worship team members and congregation. Giving of oneself in ministry is demanding and draining, whether playing an instrument, singing, or planning worship. So having a pastoral heart to care for the team is essential in my opinion. And the worship leader also needs to be in tune with the congregation and their needs, since you can't lead if you aren't closely connected.
Maybe you can connect with the folks at Worship Leader - they may have a blog or an opportunity to post the question on their website - www.worshipleader.com. Otherwise I'm not sure how to connect with a large number of churches. I suppose you could find churches' in various cities that you are interested in, and contact them through their website with 1 or 2 easy questions.
As for my current church - it is more on the traditional side, and there is usually an instrumental prelude before the service starts, then the pastor gives a greeting and we sing the first song or hymn.
In my former church, we had a more blended or convergent style of worship service - and the Praise Team would open the service by leading the congregation in 1-3 songs that would help us center our minds and hearts in an attitude of worship (such as Come, Now Is the Time To Worship, O Worship the King, Here I Am to Worship, etc). Then the pastor would do a greeting from God, the people would greet each other, and more songs of praise and adoration would be sung.
Copyright and permissions with regard to worship are restrictive only when reproducing the material - either by photocopying, projecting, etc. The religious exemption for worship permits songs to be sung, played, or taught orally to a congregation without copyright infringement if there is no reproduction involved. In other words, if you want to sing a song (religious or secular) as part of a worship service, it can be sung without copyright infringement. You may play and improvise without worry if no copying or reproducing of the music is involved. If, however, you project the words (or music) while it is sung; or if you copy the music for your musicians, etc, you will need either permission or a copyright license to cover the reproducing of the lyrics.
As to the issue of changing the lyrics when singing a copyrighted song during worship - I would just ask whether that seems honest and ethical. If the text is copyrighted, it is 'intellectual property' that is legally owned by someone.There seems to be a responsibility on the part of the performer to either honor the original text written by the author, or go to that author and ask permission to change it.
ASCAP is a performance license, and if Christian music is performed outside of a worship service - in a live concert or community gathering - the copyrighted material needs to be covered by ASCAP. But for music that is sung in a worship service, ASCAP (performance) licensing does not apply.
This is my understanding of this issue with regards to worship. You are more than welcome to do your own study and research. Thanks for asking the copyright question.
Interesting discussion. I'm not a copyright lawyer, but I've worked with copyrights and church music quite extensively. The 106 Clause states that the copyright owner has exclusive rights to do and authorize any derivative works. In other words, no changes can be made without the copyright owner's permission. If a song is copyrighted, the words should not be changed without permission even for singing in the local church. Some of the copyright licenses (CCLI) allow for you to arrange, translate, or write instrument parts for a copyrighted song for use in your local church's worship service if a published version is not available. (check CCLI's website for more information).
The 110 exemption referring to performing a copyrighted song in church refers to singing or playing a song - whether by choir, soloist, or congregation. These things don't need licensing or permission. But that is different than reproducing music - either by projecting, photocopying, printing in bulletins, sending to musicians to rehearse, etc. Doing those things for church use without permission or license, will make you liable for infringing on the copyright holder's rights.
The reference to displaying a work would seem to refer to the displaying of a work of religious nature - probably some kind of artwork. Displaying it in its original form for people to enjoy and worship would not need permission or license. But copying it, or pasting a copyrighted image into a presentation or bulletin without permission would again be an infringement of the copyright holder's rights.
Thanks again for asking the question. Many people in the church today are busy and overwhelmed, and while they want to do the right thing, they just don't even dare ask the copyright questions. I give you a lot of credit for caring.
Just one more note about changing the words, calling it a derivative work, and claiming the copyright for yourself. They will not let you do that today- I realize that it was done in the past. But in today's world of copyrights and permissions - publishers and most individuals won't allow another person to hold the copyright for a change or addition to their original work. For example, if you wrote another verse to a hymn that fit really well - and you sent it to the copyright holder for their permission to use it, they might say that they like it and 'thank you very much, we will let it be a part of our hymn, but we will now own the copyright for the new verse, too". Sometimes for older (still copyrighted) hymn texts publishers or authors will allow you to do that. Probably more often they will not. But for any contemporary music, absolutely no changes are allowed - no word changes, no additional verses or choruses, no new words to contemporary tunes, etc.
I only know these things because I just obtained all of the copyrights and permissions for the most recent two hymnals that the CRC (Faith Alive) published - Psalms for All Seasons, and Lift Up Your Hearts. Trust me, we tried to do several things that were definitely turned down. And we added some great new verses to hymns but the original copyright holder now owns the copyright to them.
The only way to take freedom with lyrics or tunes is to work with public domain material - then you have real creative freedom and if you write something new you do retain the copyright.
I hope this makes sense. I'd hate for someone to work on something and think they would be able to claim the copyright ownership and then be disappointed.
I hear you on all of these points, Rebecca. It does take time, and correct licensing is a big deal - to the point of being a burden on many church staffs. We will be doing a webinar on Copyrights and Worship on Feb. 26 at noon - the goal is to give practical information and helps for those in the church and allow for questions. (sign ups currently taken through the Network or the hymnal website - www.liftupyourheartshymnal.org. )
Out of My Hands?I love music! I love to play and sing and worship! Everyone who knows me would smile and agree with those statements. I have memories of sitting in church as a child cheerfully flipping through the pages of the hymnal. One particular Sunday stands out in my memory. I must have been flipping hymnal pages very noisily during the pastors’ sermon. The irritated worshiper next to me snatched the book out of my hands and put it firmly back in the rack. I got the message! If you’re going to get lost in the words and music in the hymnal during the sermon, do it quietly!Seriously, that quick stab of embarrassment and surprise impacted me as an 8 year old. I still remember the hymnal that I loved being ripped out of my hands. I smile now as I remember, because I’m sure I was being rude and distracting. But lately I’ve wondered about this very thing – taking the books out of people’s hands.Don’t get me wrong, I love contemporary music and worship. The trend in modern worship is to project lyrics and Bible passages, making it easy for the worshiper to flow with the service. There is no need to announce page numbers or take time to find them. There is no heavy hymnal to balance between you and your neighbor who you may or may not know and feel comfortable singing with, let alone share the task of holding it in front of you. Have you ever started shaking while doing that? How embarrassing! Without the book, your hands are released to clap or to raise in praise and adoration. So I will agree, there are plenty of good reasons to free them up.Many churches also project the scripture passage. This also makes it clear and easy for all to see, and takes away the embarrassment for worshipers and seekers alike who struggle to find obscure passages in Philemon or Haggai.But what happens when we take the printed books out of our hands? The cutting edge technology of the 15th century produced the printing press, placing the printed page in the hands of the people. Has the cutting edge technology of the 20th century taken it out of their hands? Before you write me off, think through this with me.The implications of not holding the Bible in your hands during worship abound, but I won’t pursue those here. Let’s talk about hymnals. The Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church in America are joining together to produce a new hymnal. It’s a huge project! I know because I’m involved in it. “Why a hymnal?” people ask. “Our church doesn’t use a book.” We are well aware of this. It’s okay. No one will be forced to buy the book.
Think of the act of holding and having. The hymnal my church has in the pew says a lot about what the church believes. It has been chosen carefully. We take seriously the implications of the theology expressed in the words of the songs. God’s word is often hidden in our hearts along with a melody. The collection of words and music gathered together in a hymnal give expression to the heartsong of a community. I hold in my hands my favorite songs along with your favorites. I hold the songs of children and old people, the songs of those from other nations and cultures, the songs of those who have lived through war and atrocities and those who haven’t. I hold the songs of pastors and plumbers, of scholars and students. The beauty of the book is that I hold your song as well as mine. The beauty is that I hold many songs in my hands. To place the hymnal in the people’s hands gives them a snapshot of Christian community. It’s theologically rich and musically diverse. It’s a symbol of who we are and what we believe.Here is what has struck me as important lately: if we worship only with words on the screen, we are at the mercy of the one choosing those words. This puts a lot of power into the hands of one person, the worship leader. As worshiper, I watch and participate as I decide while the worship proceeds from slide to slide. And then it’s done. I have nothing left but the memory of the experience, and my impression will depend on whether I liked the speed, key, accompaniment, etc. My worship becomes something that passes quickly in front of me, by someone else’s design. I can’t take it home. I can’t play it for my enjoyment or my children without significant effort to find it in print, perhaps online.Let’s ask what we lose by not having a good hymnal in our pews, in our homes. If we never see the complete text on the page, we may not recognize the beauty of the whole. Will we realize the breadth if we see it one line at a time, one day a week? Will we recognize the importance of all the songs in one place if we don’t feel the weight of it in our hands? And if my church sings only the choices of one leader, will we know what we’re missing?I’m not saying that we should only use hymnals. Certainly there is too much good in both mediums, electronic and print, to use only one. We have so many great opportunities at our fingertips today. We need to carefully consider the implications of each, and choose with prayer and wisdom the best and widest resources for corporate worship and spiritual growth. And honestly, let’s ask ourselves, is there value to what we can hold in our hands?
Hi Allen, I appreciate your heart for mission. I would like to suggest that having 'a ton of music available' is one of the best reasons to put together a collection of hymns and songs that is theologically rich and meets the needs of the worshiping church. Too many choices can be as frustrating as too few. I'm beginning to see that a hymnal can provide a community with a core set of music to draw from. In this case, this also includes resources from a reformed perspective for the church as it celebrates the sacraments and Christian holidays together. Of course, an ongoing goal is to make the music accessible to the average musician and accompanist, the singer in the pew, and provide a well-rounded and thoughtful repertoire to the local worship leader. And who knows? Maybe having a larger collection of songs representing the old and new, heartsongs that cross denominational lines, and music that shows diversity and appreciation for music from other cultures will actually be missional.
I appreciate this discussion. I'd love to hear others' opinions of whether or not a hymnal can be missional.
Hi Julie, this is a wonderful offer. I'll let the Children and Worship trainers know so that they can refer a church to you if needed. You may also want to post this on The Network's Exchange - just start a new post here on the Network, put the details of your offer in the post, and when it asks you what category to place it in, choose Church Exchange.
Posted in: 4 Ways to Worship God With Songs Every Day
Great ideas, Christy. Have you seen Psalms for All Seasons? All of the Psalms are printed there along with songs, hymns or choruses that go with each Psalm. We love to use it in our home with family worship, in the home of someone who is too ill to go to church, or devotionally with my grandchildren. (They love to take turns being the 'leader' and reading the regularly printed text while the rest of us read the bold print.) There is also a simple prayer at the end of each Psalm that can be read by young or old. It's a great way to read the Psalms together.
Posted in: Casting a Vision for Intergenerational Ministry
I love this idea - thanks for sharing it, Jolanda! Was there a certain curriculum or focus for these gatherings?
Posted in: Manager or Coach?
I like sports, and I see where you're going with this illustration. I think that both coaching and managing are important, along with leadership, teaching, and mentoring. But maybe the most important skill, or gift that is needed for worship leading is a pastoral heart - both for the worship team members and congregation. Giving of oneself in ministry is demanding and draining, whether playing an instrument, singing, or planning worship. So having a pastoral heart to care for the team is essential in my opinion. And the worship leader also needs to be in tune with the congregation and their needs, since you can't lead if you aren't closely connected.
Posted in: How Should a Worship Service Begin?
Maybe you can connect with the folks at Worship Leader - they may have a blog or an opportunity to post the question on their website - www.worshipleader.com. Otherwise I'm not sure how to connect with a large number of churches. I suppose you could find churches' in various cities that you are interested in, and contact them through their website with 1 or 2 easy questions.
As for my current church - it is more on the traditional side, and there is usually an instrumental prelude before the service starts, then the pastor gives a greeting and we sing the first song or hymn.
In my former church, we had a more blended or convergent style of worship service - and the Praise Team would open the service by leading the congregation in 1-3 songs that would help us center our minds and hearts in an attitude of worship (such as Come, Now Is the Time To Worship, O Worship the King, Here I Am to Worship, etc). Then the pastor would do a greeting from God, the people would greet each other, and more songs of praise and adoration would be sung.
Posted in: Question About Changing Words of Copyrighted Songs
Hi Paige,
Copyright and permissions with regard to worship are restrictive only when reproducing the material - either by photocopying, projecting, etc. The religious exemption for worship permits songs to be sung, played, or taught orally to a congregation without copyright infringement if there is no reproduction involved. In other words, if you want to sing a song (religious or secular) as part of a worship service, it can be sung without copyright infringement. You may play and improvise without worry if no copying or reproducing of the music is involved. If, however, you project the words (or music) while it is sung; or if you copy the music for your musicians, etc, you will need either permission or a copyright license to cover the reproducing of the lyrics.
As to the issue of changing the lyrics when singing a copyrighted song during worship - I would just ask whether that seems honest and ethical. If the text is copyrighted, it is 'intellectual property' that is legally owned by someone.There seems to be a responsibility on the part of the performer to either honor the original text written by the author, or go to that author and ask permission to change it.
ASCAP is a performance license, and if Christian music is performed outside of a worship service - in a live concert or community gathering - the copyrighted material needs to be covered by ASCAP. But for music that is sung in a worship service, ASCAP (performance) licensing does not apply.
This is my understanding of this issue with regards to worship. You are more than welcome to do your own study and research. Thanks for asking the copyright question.
Posted in: Question About Changing Words of Copyrighted Songs
Interesting discussion. I'm not a copyright lawyer, but I've worked with copyrights and church music quite extensively. The 106 Clause states that the copyright owner has exclusive rights to do and authorize any derivative works. In other words, no changes can be made without the copyright owner's permission. If a song is copyrighted, the words should not be changed without permission even for singing in the local church. Some of the copyright licenses (CCLI) allow for you to arrange, translate, or write instrument parts for a copyrighted song for use in your local church's worship service if a published version is not available. (check CCLI's website for more information).
The 110 exemption referring to performing a copyrighted song in church refers to singing or playing a song - whether by choir, soloist, or congregation. These things don't need licensing or permission. But that is different than reproducing music - either by projecting, photocopying, printing in bulletins, sending to musicians to rehearse, etc. Doing those things for church use without permission or license, will make you liable for infringing on the copyright holder's rights.
The reference to displaying a work would seem to refer to the displaying of a work of religious nature - probably some kind of artwork. Displaying it in its original form for people to enjoy and worship would not need permission or license. But copying it, or pasting a copyrighted image into a presentation or bulletin without permission would again be an infringement of the copyright holder's rights.
Thanks again for asking the question. Many people in the church today are busy and overwhelmed, and while they want to do the right thing, they just don't even dare ask the copyright questions. I give you a lot of credit for caring.
Posted in: Question About Changing Words of Copyrighted Songs
Just one more note about changing the words, calling it a derivative work, and claiming the copyright for yourself. They will not let you do that today- I realize that it was done in the past. But in today's world of copyrights and permissions - publishers and most individuals won't allow another person to hold the copyright for a change or addition to their original work. For example, if you wrote another verse to a hymn that fit really well - and you sent it to the copyright holder for their permission to use it, they might say that they like it and 'thank you very much, we will let it be a part of our hymn, but we will now own the copyright for the new verse, too". Sometimes for older (still copyrighted) hymn texts publishers or authors will allow you to do that. Probably more often they will not. But for any contemporary music, absolutely no changes are allowed - no word changes, no additional verses or choruses, no new words to contemporary tunes, etc.
I only know these things because I just obtained all of the copyrights and permissions for the most recent two hymnals that the CRC (Faith Alive) published - Psalms for All Seasons, and Lift Up Your Hearts. Trust me, we tried to do several things that were definitely turned down. And we added some great new verses to hymns but the original copyright holder now owns the copyright to them.
The only way to take freedom with lyrics or tunes is to work with public domain material - then you have real creative freedom and if you write something new you do retain the copyright.
I hope this makes sense. I'd hate for someone to work on something and think they would be able to claim the copyright ownership and then be disappointed.
Posted in: Question About Changing Words of Copyrighted Songs
I hear you on all of these points, Rebecca. It does take time, and correct licensing is a big deal - to the point of being a burden on many church staffs. We will be doing a webinar on Copyrights and Worship on Feb. 26 at noon - the goal is to give practical information and helps for those in the church and allow for questions. (sign ups currently taken through the Network or the hymnal website - www.liftupyourheartshymnal.org. )
Posted in: A New Hymnal - Lift Up Your Hearts
Out of My Hands?I love music! I love to play and sing and worship! Everyone who knows me would smile and agree with those statements. I have memories of sitting in church as a child cheerfully flipping through the pages of the hymnal. One particular Sunday stands out in my memory. I must have been flipping hymnal pages very noisily during the pastors’ sermon. The irritated worshiper next to me snatched the book out of my hands and put it firmly back in the rack. I got the message! If you’re going to get lost in the words and music in the hymnal during the sermon, do it quietly!Seriously, that quick stab of embarrassment and surprise impacted me as an 8 year old. I still remember the hymnal that I loved being ripped out of my hands. I smile now as I remember, because I’m sure I was being rude and distracting. But lately I’ve wondered about this very thing – taking the books out of people’s hands.Don’t get me wrong, I love contemporary music and worship. The trend in modern worship is to project lyrics and Bible passages, making it easy for the worshiper to flow with the service. There is no need to announce page numbers or take time to find them. There is no heavy hymnal to balance between you and your neighbor who you may or may not know and feel comfortable singing with, let alone share the task of holding it in front of you. Have you ever started shaking while doing that? How embarrassing! Without the book, your hands are released to clap or to raise in praise and adoration. So I will agree, there are plenty of good reasons to free them up.Many churches also project the scripture passage. This also makes it clear and easy for all to see, and takes away the embarrassment for worshipers and seekers alike who struggle to find obscure passages in Philemon or Haggai.But what happens when we take the printed books out of our hands? The cutting edge technology of the 15th century produced the printing press, placing the printed page in the hands of the people. Has the cutting edge technology of the 20th century taken it out of their hands? Before you write me off, think through this with me.The implications of not holding the Bible in your hands during worship abound, but I won’t pursue those here. Let’s talk about hymnals. The Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church in America are joining together to produce a new hymnal. It’s a huge project! I know because I’m involved in it. “Why a hymnal?” people ask. “Our church doesn’t use a book.” We are well aware of this. It’s okay. No one will be forced to buy the book.
Think of the act of holding and having. The hymnal my church has in the pew says a lot about what the church believes. It has been chosen carefully. We take seriously the implications of the theology expressed in the words of the songs. God’s word is often hidden in our hearts along with a melody. The collection of words and music gathered together in a hymnal give expression to the heartsong of a community. I hold in my hands my favorite songs along with your favorites. I hold the songs of children and old people, the songs of those from other nations and cultures, the songs of those who have lived through war and atrocities and those who haven’t. I hold the songs of pastors and plumbers, of scholars and students. The beauty of the book is that I hold your song as well as mine. The beauty is that I hold many songs in my hands. To place the hymnal in the people’s hands gives them a snapshot of Christian community. It’s theologically rich and musically diverse. It’s a symbol of who we are and what we believe.Here is what has struck me as important lately: if we worship only with words on the screen, we are at the mercy of the one choosing those words. This puts a lot of power into the hands of one person, the worship leader. As worshiper, I watch and participate as I decide while the worship proceeds from slide to slide. And then it’s done. I have nothing left but the memory of the experience, and my impression will depend on whether I liked the speed, key, accompaniment, etc. My worship becomes something that passes quickly in front of me, by someone else’s design. I can’t take it home. I can’t play it for my enjoyment or my children without significant effort to find it in print, perhaps online.Let’s ask what we lose by not having a good hymnal in our pews, in our homes. If we never see the complete text on the page, we may not recognize the beauty of the whole. Will we realize the breadth if we see it one line at a time, one day a week? Will we recognize the importance of all the songs in one place if we don’t feel the weight of it in our hands? And if my church sings only the choices of one leader, will we know what we’re missing?I’m not saying that we should only use hymnals. Certainly there is too much good in both mediums, electronic and print, to use only one. We have so many great opportunities at our fingertips today. We need to carefully consider the implications of each, and choose with prayer and wisdom the best and widest resources for corporate worship and spiritual growth. And honestly, let’s ask ourselves, is there value to what we can hold in our hands?
Posted in: A New Hymnal - Lift Up Your Hearts
Hi Allen, I appreciate your heart for mission. I would like to suggest that having 'a ton of music available' is one of the best reasons to put together a collection of hymns and songs that is theologically rich and meets the needs of the worshiping church. Too many choices can be as frustrating as too few. I'm beginning to see that a hymnal can provide a community with a core set of music to draw from. In this case, this also includes resources from a reformed perspective for the church as it celebrates the sacraments and Christian holidays together. Of course, an ongoing goal is to make the music accessible to the average musician and accompanist, the singer in the pew, and provide a well-rounded and thoughtful repertoire to the local worship leader. And who knows? Maybe having a larger collection of songs representing the old and new, heartsongs that cross denominational lines, and music that shows diversity and appreciation for music from other cultures will actually be missional.
I appreciate this discussion. I'd love to hear others' opinions of whether or not a hymnal can be missional.
Posted in: Prayer Guide of Lament From Psalm 13
Thank you for this, Jon. Very timely and important.
Posted in: Children and Worship: Helping Them to Experience God
Hi Julie, this is a wonderful offer. I'll let the Children and Worship trainers know so that they can refer a church to you if needed. You may also want to post this on The Network's Exchange - just start a new post here on the Network, put the details of your offer in the post, and when it asks you what category to place it in, choose Church Exchange.