Pentecostal Worship, Preaching, and Ministry — Unit 3: Music and Song

Key Verse

"And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:18-19, NKJV)

Learning Objectives

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Explain the biblical basis for congregational singing, including Ephesians 5:18-19, Colossians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 14:15.

2. Describe the main sources of Pentecostal music: older hymns, gospel songs, choruses and the songs of local cultures.

3. Explain why songs teach doctrine and how a pastor should test the words of a song.

4. State three objections to Pentecostal music and give the Pentecostal answer to each.

5. Describe the calling, character and tasks of a worship leader and the way a church can settle disagreements about style.

The Voice of This Course

This course is written from inside the classical Pentecostal tradition, for students who belong to it. It is conservative and Trinitarian. Music is one of the first things a visitor notices in a Pentecostal church, and one of the things other Christians question most often. We state their concerns fairly. We also ask a deeper question than style: what does Scripture say that singing is for, and how do we make sure our songs serve that purpose?

Why the Church Sings

Singing runs through the whole Bible. Israel sang after the crossing of the sea. The Psalms, the hymnbook of Israel, call again and again for song: "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD" (Psalm 150:6). The Lord Jesus sang with His disciples on the night before the cross (Matthew 26:30). Paul and Silas sang hymns in the prison at Philippi (Acts 16:25). The book of Revelation shows the redeemed singing before the throne.

Two passages tell us what singing is for in the church.

Ephesians 5:18-19. Paul links singing to being filled with the Spirit. He says, "be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Three things stand out. Singing is a result of the Spirit's fullness. It is directed in two ways, to one another and to the Lord. And it comes from the heart.

Colossians 3:16. A similar verse reads: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Here the emphasis is on the Word of Christ. Singing is a way to teach and to correct one another. A song is not merely decoration for a service; it is a way the Word enters the heart and stays there.

Put together, these verses tell us that songs have a double purpose. They give praise to God, and they teach and encourage the people. A good song does both.

The "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" of these verses have been understood in different ways. Some readers think Paul names three types of song: the psalms of the Old Testament, Christian hymns, and songs given spontaneously by the Spirit. Others think the terms overlap and mean songs of praise in general. Either way, the verses allow variety. Pentecostals have understood "spiritual songs" to include songs that the Spirit places in a believer's heart in the moment, and this fits Paul's words about singing "with the spirit" in 1 Corinthians 14:15, where he says, "I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding." We treat this practice below.

The Sources of Pentecostal Music

Pentecostal music is not made from one source. It has gathered songs from many places.

Older hymns

Early Pentecostals did not start by writing all new songs. Many came from Holiness and Methodist backgrounds, and they carried the hymns they already knew. The hymns of Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts, which are in the public domain, remain a treasure for churches that wish to sing deep theology. Charles Wesley's brother John is the founder whose teaching on holiness Course 1 traced as one root of our movement, and hymns by Charles shaped much Wesleyan worship. Many Pentecostal churches still sing such hymns, often with a freer style than the printed music suggests.

Gospel songs and the songs of revival

In the nineteenth century, revival meetings in North America produced simpler gospel songs with easy tunes and short refrains, made for large crowds and personal testimony. Holiness and early Pentecostal gatherings used these songs widely. They focused on salvation, the blood of Christ, healing, the Spirit and the coming of the Lord.

Choruses

Pentecostal churches have long used short choruses, which repeat a line or two of Scripture or praise. In many Spanish-speaking churches they are called coros or coritos. Choruses are easy to sing without a book. Their danger is shallowness: a chorus that says only one thing, repeated for ten minutes, may feed the feelings but not the mind. A church that sings only choruses may know little about the Trinity, the cross or the return of Christ. Choruses are best used alongside songs with fuller words.

Contemporary worship songs

In recent decades large networks and publishers have produced many new songs in popular styles, and these have crossed language barriers and church traditions. Some are rich and Christ-centered; others have little content. All need the same test, described below.

Songs of local culture

Pentecostalism has often flourished where it has taken up local musical forms. In Latin America, Africa and Asia, believers sing in their own languages and rhythms, with their own instruments, and write their own songs. This is not a matter of mere convenience. Paul's concern in 1 Corinthians 14 was that worship be understood by those who hear it. People come to the Lord most easily in the language of the heart. Pastors should therefore encourage songwriters in their own congregation, test their words by Scripture, and welcome the sound of their own people.

Instruments, Voices and the Body

Psalm 150 names many instruments: trumpet, harp, lute, timbrel, strings, flutes and cymbals. It also calls for dance (Psalm 150:4). Pentecostals have welcomed instruments of all kinds, including guitars, drums, tambourines, keyboards and brass, as well as the human voice, and many have welcomed the clapping and movement that the Psalms describe.

Other Christians differ. Some Reformed churches have historically sung only the Psalms, sometimes without instruments. Some churches sing without instruments for reasons of conscience, because they believe that the New Testament does not command them. Others prefer organ and choir. These believers hold their view out of a desire to honor God, and we should not mock them. Our answer is that the Psalms themselves call on God's people to use instruments, and the New Testament does not forbid them. Where Scripture gives freedom, churches should keep unity in love and not turn style into a test of faith.

Singing in the Spirit

A distinctive feature of many Pentecostal gatherings is "singing in the Spirit," when the congregation sings without a printed text, often in tongues, improvising together. Pentecostals base this on 1 Corinthians 14:15 and on the idea of spiritual songs in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3. Some in the congregation may sing in their own language, some in tongues, and sometimes the whole church seems to join in a flowing harmony.

Paul's concern for understanding means this practice must be handled with care. Where a song in tongues is given aloud to the whole church as a message, it should follow the guidance on tongues and interpretation that Course 3 explained and Unit 2 applied. Where the church sings together in tongues as a time of worship, it is much like corporate prayer in the Spirit, and many leaders keep it brief and then lead gently back to singing with the understanding.

Songs Teach: Testing the Words

People remember songs longer than sermons. A believer may forget the words of a preacher but sing a chorus on a bus for years. Songs are therefore one of the main ways that Pentecostals learn doctrine. This is a strength and a risk. If the songs are sound, they teach sound theology to people who may never open a theology book. If the songs are shallow or wrong, they will plant shallow or wrong beliefs just as firmly.

A pastor should therefore test every song with questions such as these.

1. Is it true to Scripture? Does it say what the Bible says? Does it twist a verse or make a promise that God has not made?

2. Is it Trinitarian and Christ-centered? Does it lift up the Father, the Son and the Spirit? Songs that dwell on the singer's feelings and say little of God need caution.

3. Is it balanced? Over a year, does the church sing about the cross, the resurrection, repentance, holiness, suffering, mission and the return of Christ, or only about blessing and victory? Course 5 will examine prosperity teaching, and many songs can carry its ideas quietly.

4. Can the people sing it? A song pitched too high or too complicated will be performed by a few instead of sung by all.

5. Does it build up? Remember Paul's rule: "Let all things be done for edification."

A pastor need not be a musician to ask these questions, only to read the words.

The Worship Leader

The person who leads the singing has a pastoral task. Whether paid or volunteer, a worship leader is a servant of the church and not a performer.

Calling and character. A worship leader should be a committed believer, a member of the church, teachable, and above reproach in life. Skill matters, but character matters more.

Tasks. The leader chooses songs with the pastor, prepares the team, and leads the congregation to God, not to the leader. He or she keeps the team humble, plans the service flow with the pastor, and listens to the Spirit while singing.

Team. Musicians and singers should be in fellowship with the church and should practice prayer and Scripture as well as music.

Placing the focus. Lighting, volume and showmanship can quietly shift the focus from God to the platform. The church should ask whether people are looking at the Lord or at the stage. This is a test of the heart, not only of the equipment.

Objections and Answers

Objection 1: Pentecostal music manipulates emotions.

Critics say that repetition, volume and rising music can be used to create excitement that is mistaken for the Spirit.

Our answer. The concern is real. Music does affect feelings, and a leader who knows this can misuse it. The test is purpose. If a leader builds an atmosphere in order to extract money, to push people to the altar or to show off, the music is manipulation. If music helps hearts turn toward God, it is a gift. Scripture itself shows music used in the presence of God, as when Elisha asked for a musician and the hand of the LORD came upon him (2 Kings 3:15). We do not give up music because it moves people. We use it honestly and keep Scripture at the center.

Objection 2: Modern songs are shallow, and hymns are better.

Some say that choruses repeat too much and teach too little, and that older hymns are a safer guide.

Our answer. Many hymns have lasting depth, and we should keep them. But the Bible itself includes short repeated refrains, such as the repeated line of Psalm 136, "For His mercy endures forever." Age is not the test of a song. Truth is. Some old hymns contain weak theology and some new songs are rich. A church should sing both and test both.

Objection 3: Loud music and instruments are not suited to worship.

Some believers, including some who love the Lord deeply, find drums and amplified sound distracting or irreverent.

Our answer. Psalm 150 calls for instruments and loud praise. The Bible does not teach that quiet is more holy than joyful noise. Yet love for the weaker brother and sister is also a biblical rule (Romans 14), and volume should not damage hearing or silence the voices of the congregation. If the band is so loud that the people cannot hear one another sing, the music has failed its purpose of "speaking to one another."

Settling Disagreements About Style

Every church has differing tastes. Older members may love hymns, young people may prefer newer songs, and a bilingual community may need songs in two or more languages. Such disagreements can divide a church. Paul's counsel in Ephesians 4 to keep "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" applies here.

A pastor can lead by teaching that the church sings for God and for one another, not for personal taste. Songs should be chosen by their truth and their usefulness to the whole body. A mix of old and new, quiet and joyful, and in more than one language when needed, shows that the church is one family. The elderly may learn a new song for the young, and the young a hymn for the elderly.

Pastoral Application

A church has a young worship team that has begun to use loud, new songs in a modern style. Older members tell the pastor that they cannot sing along and that the service feels like a concert. The young people reply that the older members do not want the church to grow. Some visitors speak only an indigenous language and cannot follow either style.

The pastor does not choose a side. He calls the worship team and two older members to meet and pray together. He asks the group to study Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 and to see that songs are for speaking to one another and teaching one another. They agree on a simple plan. Each service will include one older hymn, one chorus in the people's own language, and one newer song, and the words will be printed or shown so that everyone can follow. The team will lower the volume so that the congregation can be heard. The pastor asks the team to read the words of each new song to him a week before using it. Over time the older members begin to sing with the young, and a young musician writes a song in the indigenous language, which the whole church learns.

Summary

Singing is a biblical response to the fullness of the Spirit and a way that the Word of Christ dwells in the church. Ephesians 5:18-19 and Colossians 3:16 show that songs both praise God and teach and encourage one another. Pentecostal music draws on older hymns by writers such as Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts, gospel songs, choruses, contemporary worship songs and the songs of local cultures. Psalm 150 supports instruments, voices and movement, though some churches differ. Singing in the Spirit rests on 1 Corinthians 14:15 and should be handled with care. Because songs teach doctrine, pastors test each song for truth, Christ-centeredness, balance, singability and edification. A worship leader is a servant with strong character. We answer the objections of manipulation, shallowness and volume, and we settle differences of style by love and unity.

Further Reading

• Steven J. Land, Pentecostal Spirituality (1993).

• Wolfgang Vondey, Pentecostal Theology (2017).

• Allan Anderson, An Introduction to Pentecostalism (2nd ed., 2014).

• Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts, collected hymns, primary sources in the public domain.

• Melvin L. Hodges, The Indigenous Church (1953), on local forms of church life.

• The Apostolic Faith (Los Angeles, 1906-1908), a primary source.

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