State of the Church 2026

Introduction

In this year’s state of the church, our focus is going to be on local concerns. This varies from year-to-year, depending on what’s going on in the nation and what is going on here. And based on what is going on here in Moscow—and I am referring to the enormous growth—we need to take a look at the state of our congregational music.

The Texts

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19).

“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” (Col. 3:16).

Summary of the Texts

These two epistles are siblings, written around the same time, and as we compare them, they can help us understand Paul’s full meaning more completely. The first thing to note is that we are talking about psalm-singing. The three words used in both passages (psalms, hymns, and odes) were the words used as headers in the Psalter (LXX). This does not require exclusive psalmody, as some want to argue, but it most certainly means psalms need to be central to the music of the church. Psalms are a big deal, and this is why we seek to practice dominant psalmody.  

The second thing to recognize is that the cause of this psalm-singing is described in two different ways. In Ephesians, we are told to be filled “with the Spirit,” and in Colossians it is “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” But a better rendering of “with the Spirit” would in this instance be “by means of the Spirit.” It is not as though the Spirit is the fluid that fills, but rather the agent who pours. And what does He fill us with? What does He pour out into our hearts? The answer is the Word of Christ, which should dwell in us richly, to the extent that it overflows. Overflows how? Into psalms, hymns, and odes.

And third, this is true heart religion—“making melody in your heart” and “singing with grace in your heart.” When Christians are filled by the Spirit with the Word of Christ, it naturally overflows into psalm-singing.

A Brief History

Somewhere back in the nineties, I purchased the Crown & Covenant Psalter and did this because I was strangely drawn to the idea of singing all the psalms. My taste had been whetted by the Scripture songs of the Jesus people movement, where snippets from the psalms were frequently sung—but that was clearly not nearly enough. The Crown & Covenant people also sold a cassette tape that broke out the four-parts, which led to our very first psalm-sing. I think there were four or five of us there, with Nancy and me being two of them. But we did not despise the day of small beginnings, we stuck with it, and it somehow took off. Our psalm sings today are much bigger now, but what we lacked in numbers back then we made up for in excitement. Singing God’s Word back to Him was clearly the coolest thing in the world. One thing led to another, and we published the first Cantus Christi in 2002, and then a second edition in 2020.

Hierarchy of Values

If you were to ask me where postmillennialism might rank in my theological worldview, it would be in my top three. But a newcomer could attend Christ Church for a year-and-a-half without hearing a sermon on it. He might wonder from time to time why everybody was so cheerful, but he need not encounter “postmillennialism proper” as such. But he runs into our song selection on the very first Sunday—even though that particular song selection would be number seventeen in my hierarchy of values. Make no mistake—a psalm-singing culture ranks pretty high, which is quite different from what you might think about a particular setting or arrangement of a particular psalm.  

Practical Considerations

Here are some bullet points to ponder:

• We are currently dealing with the challenges of rapid assimilation. Our church community has basically doubled in the last few years, which means that fully half of you are being asked to do in a year what it took the rest of us thirty years to do. Sorry, but there it is.
• This gives us a fine opportunity for obedience elsewhere, obedience on a more basic level. Scripture tells us that we are to be “bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). If you feel like you are in third grade, it can be exasperating to be thrown into high school calculus. But remember also . . . if you are in high school calculus, going back to third grade is a different sort of exasperating. So bear with one another—this really is our situation. 
• One of the reasons why even old-timers are pressed at times is that we have a stretch goal of singing, which mean learning to sing from, all 150 psalms. Looking back at the texts from Ephesians and Colossians, you must realize that the practice of psalm-singing is both devotional and didactic. This is not just a biblical assignment; it is a biblical curriculum. It is God’s appointed means of putting iron in our blood. This is why we want to do more than learn a psalm or two. We want to learn the Psalter. But also remember that this means a steady flow of songs that are new to everybody. We do work at how rapidly we introduce them—we are mindful of the congregation’s frame.  
• Quite a few of the “old favorites” that old-timers pine for are psalms that were a jagged pill at the time. As our musical culture has gotten more mature, as it really has, remember that we have had the very same discussions going on throughout the entire time.
• New members should learn to distinguish between 1. Psalm candy (immediately accessible); 2. Psalm sirloin (tasty, but your mother needs to cut it up for you); 3. Psalm oatmeal stout (acquired taste); and 4. Psalm “I-don’t-care-we-shouldn’t-be-singing-this-whose-idea-was-it?” (You think God was insulted when we sang that to Him.). But just remember that some of what you will be tempted to categorize as 4’s will be songs that will gradually grow into 3’s on you, and which your grandchildren will think of as 1’s.
• Speaking of the kids, we also have a goal of growing up into universal musical literacy, the same as we have for ordinary literacy. Make sure to take advantage of the programs (like Schola Cantorum) we have for this. The ideal is to see your kids up ahead of you, not lagging behind. So parents, don’t lose heart. Stick with it. We are laboring in the hot sun right now, but autumn is coming, and there will be a glorious harvest. Make sure to take advantage of the helps that are available to help you and your family prep for next Sunday (Sing Your Part and Moscow Armory, both in the App Store).  
• We are not a church with a ton of programs. But we are a kirker community with a ton of things going on, and many of you are very busy. But in the midst of all that busy-ness, don’t overlook the prospect of serving the body through singing in the church choir.  

Back to the Heart    

In both Colossians and Ephesians, the description is of believers rejoicing melodically in their hearts, and doing so “to the Lord.” If you have trusted in Christ for your salvation, and you attend worship faithfully, and you have learned how to confess your sins which keeps short accounts with God, and you are in the Word regularly, the Scriptures tell us what the result of that will be. The result will be music—cheerful music. “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).