For years, the hymnal was the staple of Christian worship. The hymnal was a compact, complete system that provided musical notation for a pianist and/or organist. It also provided words to the congregation and it served as a guide to the worship leader. The old paradigm, with hymnals, made it possible for publishing companies to organize the body of work. Hymns were almost canonized, it was near sacrilege to think about writing new hymns. The cost associated with hymnals was relatively low because a good deal of the material within was in the public domain.
There have always been churches and groups that wrote new songs and didn't follow the traditional use of the hymnal, but it never seemed to catch on in the main stream. In the 1970's churches that grew out of the Jesus movement like Calvary Chapel and Vineyard, used new music extensively. Not only were they writing new songs, but they used new methods like contemporary instrumentation and words projected on the wall or a screen.
The new music and new methods caught on. In a 1999 article in Christianity Today entitled "The Triumph of the Praise Songs", Michael S. Hamilton states that
"Over 100,000 churches in the United States (nearly one-third of all churches) participate in the reporting program of Christian Copyright Licensing Inc, which distributes royalties to publishers based on how many overhead projector transparencies churches make of each song. Most of their songs are in the praise and worship genre, the most popular of all being Rick Founds "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High."
The world wide web is just beginning to have an impact on the way that music is distrubed and the web has great potential for connecting the body of Christ as never before.
As a songwriter myself, I know that when God gives me a song, I'm happy to share with the body of Christ. Jesus said, "freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). Although it is each individual songwriters choice, I don't use CCLI.. On the other hand, if a song is put into written or recorded form and then sold for a profit, I (as the author) expect to share in that profit.
1. Instrumentation
and arrangements for worship songs are similar to popular music.
2. New music is being written all the time, because God doesn't stop inspiring
people.
3. Songs of praise and worship are meant to be shared in the body.
4. Technology has brought about an opportunity to share these gifts like never
before.
This web site is about bringing the church closer together. My conviction is that there are a lot of authors that feel this way and that this "free forum for worship" will bring about a greater sharing of songs in the body of Christ and ultimately bring glory to God. If you are a songwriter, I encourage you to prayerfully consider submitting your song's to our database. If you are a worship leader, check out the songs, I know you'll be blessed.