\nRather than focusing on worship being a personal experience between me and Jesus, we want to see worship redeemed in the context of community. When we write songs, we do so with the whole church in mind \u2014 members who are suffering, members who are rejoicing, members who are struggling. All of us need to rehearse the gospel and hear it sung back to us. In essence, we\u2019re preaching the gospel to one another in song.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s our hope that the songs we write and sing will be easily acceptable into the corporate worship of churches, both in lyrics and also in melodic arrangement. When this is the case, the songs will be helpful in terms of learning and hearing the gospel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How do differences of style in worship music help or detract from this?<\/strong> We must keep in mind that the goal is to declare the gospel in song. For some contemporary churches, that may involve going back to the old hymns and reworking them in a contemporary style so that they are more accessible musically. The same can be done in traditional churches, too \u2014 using older hymns sung in a contemporary style.<\/p>\n At the same time, we should remember to leave some of the old ones alone. They\u2019ve been preserved for so long because they\u2019re good, both lyrically and methodically.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What advice would you give to those who are writing worship music?<\/strong> Beyond that, we want to write songs that are specifically for our local congregation. You get to know the people that you\u2019re doing life with \u2014 you hear from them, you pray from them, you know what they\u2019re wrestling with. When this happens, you have the opportunity to convey the gospel to them in very specific ways. You can help them understand the gospel in relation to where they are.<\/p>\n As songwriters, we sometimes want to write an amazing song that will be at the top of the charts. Realistically, that doesn\u2019t happen for the majority of songwriters. A better goal is to write for your local congregation. Talk to your pastor, and ask him if there are any things in Scripture or an upcoming sermon series that you could write a song for.<\/p>\n Something else that\u2019s helpful is to look at the songs of Scripture. The book of Psalms is 150 songs! That\u2019s a huge resource! Just study the songs that are written in the Scripture.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In your composition and songwriting, who are some of your greatest influences?<\/strong> I also listened to and learned from some contemporary female songwriters \u2014 Nicole Nordeman and Sara Groves. These were the two that I listened to in my late teens and early twenties when I started writing songs. Most recently, however, my greatest example and inspiration is my husband.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You\u2019re releasing a new album soon. What\u2019s it about?<\/strong> In addition to carrying on a musical ministry, Bobby and Kristen are also excellent writers. They blog at MySongInTheNight.com<\/a>. The blog is a valuable resource of rich material for songwriters, worship leaders, or any believer who wants to learn and grow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Bobby and Kristen Gilles, the gospel is at the center of everything they do. They are singers and songwriters, and their music has been sung in thousands of churches. They are bloggers and writers, and their material has informed and inspired many believers. They are teachers and coaches, helping musicians and worship leaders excel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2307,4145,4153],"tags":[1896,1848,1782],"class_list":{"0":"post-10833","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-christian-lifestyle","8":"category-church-resources","9":"category-worship-resources","10":"tag-songwirting","11":"tag-worship-artist-interview","12":"tag-worship-leaders"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogrouting.sharefaith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Untitled-1.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWe\u2019ve heard from contemporary churches who long to bring back the richness of the old hymns. But we\u2019ve also heard from more traditional or liturgical churches who want to incorporate fresh songs and styles into their services. In both cases, congregations are sometimes resistant to change.<\/p>\n
\nOur number one criterion for writing a worship song is to declare the gospel. Obviously, that doesn\u2019t mean that we always tell the whole story of redemption \u2014 from the fall and creation onward. But we ask ourselves, are we telling the truth in this song? Are we writing in a way that the truth is clear? Does this resonate with God\u2019s word?<\/p>\n
\nMy dad is my first inspiration. He and mom faithfully led worship for 35 years in the church I grew up in. He wrote songs, and I remember singing those as a child. They were easy for the congregation to sing, but were also rich in terms of truth and depth. My mom and dad both loved studying God\u2019s word, and this was apparent in their music. I grew up in a church where we sang songs written by the worship leader. That was normal for me.<\/p>\n
\nThis week, we\u2019re recording for an album that will be released next spring. These songs are born out of the challenges we\u2019ve faced during the past year with the birth of our stillborn son. Although these songs came from a time of intense challenge, they are also intensely missional. They encourage us to be proactive in loving and caring for the needy, and exhorting us to declare the gospel to the ends of the earth.<\/p>\n![\"480](\"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/480-inline-media.jpg\")
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\u00a0Daniel Threlfall<\/a>\u00a0has been writing church ministry articles for more 10 years. With his background and training (M.A., M.Div.), Daniel is passionate about inspiring pastors and volunteers in their service to the King. Daniel is devoted to his family, nerdy about SEO, and drinks coffee with no cream or sugar. Learn more about Daniel at\u00a0his\u00a0blog<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n