A worship leader can never go wrong having his congregation proclaim the gospel in song. In our weekly quest to find something that “works”, we quite simply don’t have to look any further than to Jesus, to what he accomplished for us, and to what he has secured for us. Regardless of your church’s setting, demographics, traditions, worship style, successes, failures, attendance numbers, and whatever buzzword is floating around at the moment, singing songs grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ always – always – “works”.
The gospel works on the slow summer Sundays. It works on Easter. And it works when a snowstorm cuts your attendance by 80%.
The gospel works when your church votes to leave a denomination. It works when your church wins a lawsuit. And it works when your church loses a lawsuit.
The gospel works when you welcome a new pastor. It works when you lose a pastor. And it works when you’re in between pastors.
The gospel works with organs. It works with electric guitars. And it works with a iPod plugged into a sound system when that’s the best you can do.
The gospel works when your church is growing. It works when your church is stagnant. And it works when your church is dying.
The gospel works when the sermon is bad. It works when the music is bad. It works when the sound system is bad.
The gospel works when you have a lot to celebrate. It works when you’re full of sorrow. And it works when you aren’t sure what in the world to sing.
The gospel works when people are singing with gusto. It works when they look bored to tears. And it works on the high school boys who are too cool to sing.
The gospel works in a packed mega church. It works in a half-full 7:30am service. And it works in a small group of 8 in a living room.
The gospel works when a nation celebrates a holiday. The gospel works when a nation is approaching election day. And the gospel works when a nation is grieving yet another tragedy.
We are not called to be more and more creative each Sunday – finding a new spin or incorporating the newest song or writing a new liturgy or saying a new thing. We are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to help people sing the good news of Jesus Christ.
We are called to be doggedly persistent and consistent, in the face of whatever ups and downs our church and/or our culture is riding, and point people to the unchanging and uncompromising gospel. It always – yes always – works.
