Usually the pastor-evangelist has to de pend on local talent for both his song leader and his special music. Many of our churches have excellent talent that is lying dormant. It needs to be sought out, encouraged, and coached. Sometimes the results will sur prise us. If you have a good lay brother who shows talent as a song leader, encourage him. Show him that he will be your associate. Encourage him to be neat in his dress and circumspect in his manners. His shoes should be shined, his clothes pressed, and his hair neatly trimmed. Coach him on how to speak clearly and dis tinctly. In his song service he should do more than just announce one song after another. Warn him against becoming verbose, but encourage him to say just a sentence or two to bring out a deeper meaning in each song. Sometimes a Bible text will be helpful. For example, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12), might be quoted in connection with song No. 30 in Gospel Melodies, "My Hope Is Built." Or the same text might be used with the solo or duet, "My Only Hope Must Be in Jesus." A text can usually be found for any particular hymn or song.
If the layman knows how to "beat time," en courage him to be smooth in his movements. Weed out any awkwardness. Make sure he is the leader and not the accompanist. Nothing looks more awkward than an amateur song leader waiting for the accompanist to start lead ing the congregation with the instrument, and then following along by "beating the air." Should there be no one available who can actually beat time, you can still choose someone who does well in public. He does not have to be a conductor. He can simply be the master of ceremonies for the short song service. You should choose the numbers with him. And in this case he should go over the songs with the accompanist, and they should decide on the tempo of the songs. The accompanist will then lead with the instrument. The leader will sim- JANUARY, 1954 ply give a little gesture at the beginning of each hymn so that all will start together. Make the song service short. Fifteen minutes is long enough. Although this leader may not be an actual conductor, he should, however, be able to "carry a tune." He can conduct a fine song service and present the special music, by simply being a cheerful, dignified master of ceremonies. The use of song slides, which throw the words on the screen, is still a useful innovation for the song service. If you as the evangelist lead your own music, you can often save your voice by whispering portions of songs and not leading with your voice. In this way your mouth still moves to the words, but you are sparing your voice. En courage the accompanist to follow your leading carefully, but to play with a good medium-to-full volume so that your voice can be saved. Stand ing erect and yet relaxed and breathing deeply will conserve your voice for the sermon.
Coaching the Special Music
If you have some church talent that shows promise of development, take time to coach and encourage it. Or perhaps your wife or the or ganist can do this. Above all, watch for careful and clear diction in your would-be singers. Study with them the full meaning of the solo, duet, et cetera. When the words are studied separately as a poem, the number will be under stood better. There may be some passages that should be sung faster than others, some more slowly; some louder, some softer. Coach the singers carefully in the tempo of their songs. As a rule, gospel singers sing their numbers too slowly and list lessly. Let there be energy and feeling in the song. Soloists usually sing too slowly, while quartets frequently sing too fast.
Gospel singers also have a habit of holding on to a high note, even though that note is not on an important word. Watch for this fault. If a high note is on an unimportant word, encourage the singer to minimize it. In places he may have to emphasize a low note on an important word, holding it a little longer for emphasis.
Many singers look too solemn and pained while they sing. Let them endeavor to show the mood of the song somewhat by their facial ex pression. Some songs are joyful, others more solemn. As a rule, have your singers sing no more than two stanzas of a gospel song. There is a sameness about hymns and gospel songs that seems to become tiresome to an audience when sung as a "special," unless a great deal of in terpretation is brought into the number. But have your singers study the stanzas to find the most appropriate ones, instead of just singing the first and last stanzas.
Good phonograph recordings can be a boon in a small campaign. Even your special music can be presented in this way. It can be made more interesting if you say something appro priate about the number before you mention the singer and the song on the recording. Per haps you are going to play a recording of "The Holy City." Then read Revelation 21:1-5, and say just a word, that will help the people to think about the message of the song. There are two excellent albums of phonograph recordings by Fred Waring and his choral group "Songs of Devotion," No. 1 and No. 2. The diction in these albums is perhaps as nearly perfect as it can be, and that is extremely important in sacred singing. Write also to Chapel Records, Box 432, Glendale, California, for their catalog of sacred recordings. Your local music store will be glad to help you select sacred numbers by such nationally known artists as John Charles Thomas, Marian Anderson, Richard Crooks, and others. Beautiful organ recordings can also be played while your crowd is gathering if you do not have an organ or someone capable of playing it.
There may be in your community a good singer of another denomination who might be willing to help you. If he or she is a genuine Christian, you can feel free to accept this serv ice. But you should make sure that the singer is converted and is not just singing to parade his talents.
However, if you have exhausted every avenue and are still unable to find singers, and you feel you do not want to use phonograph record ings, do not let that hinder you from launching out into a series of meetings. You can conduct a fine series-without special music and without a song leader. Simply have an opening song or hymn and when the time comes launch into your subject, and the Lord will bless you. Or it may be wise to conduct your meetings on the order of a community Bible school, after the manner described by T. Milton Rowe on page 33 of this issue. Of this you can be confident: if you preach or teach the message in its sim plicity, and with a love for souls in your heart, some will accept the message. That is always a soul-satisfying reward in spite of all one's short age of equipment and talent.
