Last month this column made a brave attempt at distinguishing gospel songs, Scripture songs and worship songs. Before we go on, while these labels have some value, they are all misleading if we press them into anything more than a rough and ready guide.
The first fall short of the gospel; the second are not truly Scripture; the third have no more to do with worship than any other item in the service, or for that matter with what you do on Monday morning. The standard length for 'A time of worship' is three score years and ten; see Psalm 90 and Romans 12.
That some older readers scratch their heads and complain, 'But you're talking about choruses!' Many churches still use this word to describe the song spot or time for less formal musical items. It has an older and more varied history, through Greek tragedy, oratorio, opera and all. But the 'Hallelujah Chorus' is noticeably different from the evangelical songs which used to be covered by the word. Again, my dictionary is no help. Christingle, download, football hooligan, are all there; chorus in our sense, no.
