My mentor always tells me, “Don’t teach children songs you don’t believe in.”  We spend so much time selecting music for worship based on themes or their placement in services.   Yet how much time do we spend pouring over the texts to better understand the meaning behind common Christian phrases and metaphors

we might take for granted?  And how much time do we take teaching our congregants?

I guarantee that, if we, the pastors and worship leaders, have trouble understanding hymn texts and praise song lyrics, our congregants may also struggle with understanding.  And one time through in a worship service might not be enough to help.

And, if adults struggle, then how much more so do our children?

When preparing music for Holy Week, I have often heard my mentor ask her children’s choirs what happened on Palm Sunday.   In these choral groups are children of all church backgrounds.  And yet we seem to get a variety of answers that may expose a misconception that it’s enough to simply sing a song to understand it.  Here are some of my favorite answers I’ve heard over the years:

 “Jesus rode on a donkey to Bethlehem!” - this answer has come up in every single group of children I have worked with.  It’s common to mix up the Christmas story with Holy Week stories, especially since Christmas is so heavily emphasized in Christian and secular cultures.“Jesus searched for the Holy Grail!” - this kid was on the right track, at least bringing up the idea of the Last Supper!“Jesus was going on vacation!” - one of my favorite answers to the question “Why did Jesus go to Jerusalem?”  I love how kids think! 

I don’t share these to show how wrong they are, but to show how kids think and how we  need to better serve them as we teach the Bible and songs of our faith. 

I challenge musicians, pastors, and worship leaders to consider the words of all the hymns and songs they are singing on Sundays.  Why are we singing this song?  Is there a phrase or a verse that is peculiar, one that might rub people the wrong way (or one that SHOULD rub the wrong way!), are there words that might not be used in our vocabulary that might need to be explained? 

More importantly, do you believe what you are singing?  Do the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs you choose contain words that adults and children can live by?  Do they express important truths about God, about our faith, about how we are to live?  And do you take the time to explain these truths to your flock? 

“But I don’t have time to explain!”  I completely understand!  Time is of the essence on Sunday mornings.  So here are some ideas:

Take 15 minutes before Sunday School to gather the kids to teach them about one song (even just a verse or a chorus) that they will sing in worship that morning.

Send out a weekly e-mail to the congregation either before or after a service to expound on the music.

Focus on a hymn a month.  If it’s new, introduce it as an offertory.  Include the lyrics so people can really focus while they listen.  Include definitions of words as needed.

Feature a song in your church newsletter that you think is one everyone should know about.  Include the story behind it or a devotional tying it to Scripture.

If you are a choir director, always, ALWAYS, read the text out loud with your choir at least once without singing it.  My voice teacher once said you don’t know a song until you know the words first. 

Finally, remember that some of the deepest truths are found in the simplest songs that our children love.  A student once asked the reformed theologian, Karl Barth, if Dr. Barth could summarize his life’s work.  Karl Barth answered, “Yes, I can. In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”