Like a fruit tree, a church song list needs regular pruning if it is to remain healthy. People become tired and jaded by the same old songs sung year after year. A new song often has the power to re-engage us emotionally and intellectually. Not every “new” song needs to be recent - a ten year old song will seem fresh if you’ve never sung it before. And there will always be some classics you want to hang on to.

My own experience suggests it is best to start cutting old songs before you add in the new. If you simply add more songs to an already crowded play list, they tend to get lost. And so I regularly “prune” songs from our repertoire, and replace them with fresh tunes.

Here is my current play list, which is the result of six months regular pruning -

Amazing Grace (sixsteps)
Amazing Love (Make Way)
Beneath the Cross (Garage Hymnal)
Blessed Be Your Name (Thankyou)
God Moves (Sovereign Grace)
Grace Unmeasured (Sovereign Grace)
He Is Holy (Garage Hymnal)
How Deep Is Your Love (Sovereign Grace)
How Great Is Our God (sixsteps)
How Marvelous (sixsteps)
In Christ Alone (Thankyou)
In the Valley (Sovereign Grace)
Indescribable (sixsteps)
It Is Not Death to Die (Sovereign Grace)
Jesus Thank You (Sovereign Grace)
Kingdom Song (Emu)
Let Your Kingdom Come (Sovereign Grace)
My Hope Is Built (Emu)
Never Alone (Emu)
Take My Life (Garage Hymnal)
The Power of the Cross (Thankyou)
The Voice of the Lord (Emu)
This Life I Live (Morrow)
You are God (Emu)

It’s a good mix of established and fresh songs, and I’m really pleased with it. My main problem is that I have at least ten more really good songs I want to introduce. More pruning needed in the coming months…