Netflix’s animated smash hit K-Pop Demon Hunters has been watched over 500 million times worldwide, its songs streamed to the top of the charts, and its stars rocketed into global fame. Amid the flashy animation, insanely catchy tunes, and moments of genuine humour runs a surprisingly clear and powerful message: what you sing shapes you. It’s not surprising that millions of young people have accepted this to be true. As Christians, this offers a timely invitation to reflect more deeply on our own convictions about music, and to consider how deliberately and carefully that formative truth is carried—and protected—within our church’s music ministries.
Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church by Keith and Kristyn Getty is the perfect companion for this journey. The book’s key audience is anyone involved in the amazing privilege and responsibility of congregational singing—church choirs, musicians, leaders, children, families, congregation members… in other words, every Christian! It sets out on the bold task of convincing the reader of the huge impact of singing in just about every area of Christian life: our hearts, minds, homes, churches and witness to the world. A high bar, but one they reach masterfully.
The first three chapters are a brief but powerful articulation of congregational singing as something we are created to do by God, commanded to do in God’s word, and compelled to do by the gospel of God. The writers gently and carefully acknowledge preconceived ideas or personal hesitations and awkwardness we might have about singing, but earnestly call us to “sing because you love who made you, and formed you, and enables you to sing”. Each chapter finishes with a handful of helpful discussion questions, useful for group study or private reflection.
The book continues in the next four chapters by addressing how “Christ-filled, Spirit-prompted singing” changes our hearts and minds, our families, our churches and our world. It’s clear, compelling and genuinely wonderful to be struck afresh (or perhaps for the first time) by the incredible and transformative role of singing. “Our songs are the public manifesto of what we believe”, write the authors, which succinctly and brilliantly challenges us all to consider what we are singing, why we are singing, how we are singing, and to whom we are singing.
I’ve spent over a decade working alongside churches in cultivating biblical music ministries, but having recently become a mother, I’ve found myself equally keen but rather underdeveloped in my thinking and practice on how to foster a healthy singing home environment. For this reason, I loved chapter 5 and especially the “Ten Practical Ideas” for singing as a family. One of the more confronting observations in this chapter is the pattern the authors note between parents, particularly fathers, who do not sing, and children who are marked by a similar joyless and timid response to gospel truths. Oh might our children follow us, as the Gettys write, “not just in the singing, but in the faith that brings such joy!”
So far in the book, the reader has experienced the wisdom, grace, humility and gentleness of two people who love and know their craft, but most of all, love and know their God. The final four “Bonus Tracks”, however, are like drinking from a fire hose—shocking but satiating. The urgency is amplified and the practical application increases, culminating in absolutely brutal but wonderful lines like “Only fools think their artistry is more important than serving the congregation”, and “Music groups are notorious for attracting colourful, strong, often socially insensitive or emotionally inconsistent people”!
Written as checklists for different people involved in the ministry—pastors, singers, leaders, musicians, creatives—the Bonus Tracks really do help to land much of what is discussed in the rest of the book. They drive straight to the heart of the matter for each of these groups, consistently directing us to the main questions of “how did the congregation sing?” and “am I walking closely with the Lord?”. I have generally found the writers’ diagnostic distinction of “not all singing churches are healthy churches, but all healthy churches are singing churches” to be spot on.
For that reason, I would add my encouragement to the Gettys’ for all senior leaders of churches and church music ministries to be taking very seriously this issue and to consider carefully and prayerfully their role in leading the congregation’s praise under Jesus. The Bonus Tracks are a hugely helpful way to finish the book, but don’t be tempted to start here, or take your teams straight to these chapters. It’s worth checking in to the flight, doing up your seat belt, taking off and cruising at altitude before enjoying (and being slightly confronted by!) the landing.
One failing of the book, I believe, is the light touch on the New Testament ecclesiological doctrine of music. Some of the chapters, especially chapter six, could have been greatly enriched by unearthing more of the treasures in places like 1 Corinthians 14, Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5. While the writers are very clear that singing is an expression of our gospel unity, I believe these passages paint an even better picture of congregational singing that is first and foremost God’s ministry to us: the gift of his Word, implanted in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, who fuels our one-another ministry, enables our praise, and shapes a whole life of heartfelt thankfulness, of which singing is just a part.
However, I recognise the limitations here are largely due to the book’s broad intended audience, concise length, and accessible style. For an excellent treatment of the ecclesiology of singing, I can recommend Philip Percival’s Then Sings My Soul, or for a well-rounded and practical look into gospel-centred music ministry and leadership, you might find Bob Kauflin’s Worship Matters useful.
For a book written for every Christian, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to every Christian. Singing is not an optional add-on in the Christian life, and neither is it a temporary and vexing exercise of faith. It’s an eternal activity, one that has the power to transform us, our churches, and our witness to the watching (and listening) world right at this very moment, and will one day give way to endless and perfect singing in the presence of our great and true worship leader, Jesus (Heb 2:11–12).
I hope you won’t mind the spoiler alert, but at the end of K-Pop Demon Hunters, the love interest sacrifices himself in order to save humanity from… wait a second, that sounds familiar. Friends, we have a better story and a better song than K-Pop Demon Hunters, so let’s sing it.