July 12 1999

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P raise and worship music, launched with guitar and tambourine some 25 years ago, has evolved into a multimillion dollar industry offering a wide array of recordings, videos, publications, and Internet Web services. The industry has transformed the way music is produced and disseminated, and in the process, it has changed the way the church sings.

Praise songs such as "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High," "He Has Made Me Glad," "As the Deer," "I Love You, Lord," "Majesty," and "Awesome God" represent a contemporary form of hymnody that may be more popular in American churches than traditional hymns.

Straightforward and instantly memorable, these songs are among the nation's most frequently sung praise and worship choruses, according to Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI), the Portland, Oregon–based clearing-house that sells song-use licenses to North American churches for as many as 200,000 songs. In worship, these song lyrics are often projected onto large screens, freeing worshipers from the burden of juggling Bibles and hymnals. A Christian music magazine recently described this development with the headline: "Mr. Hymnal Goes Bye-Bye."

Harvesting songs
In 1974, Calvary Chapel's Maranatha! Music label released its groundbreaking The Praise Album, which featured melodic, memorable songs such as Karen Lafferty's "Seek Ye First." According to CCLI, it remains one of America's 25 most popular praise songs. Maranatha! soon published a songbook containing music and lyrics for the choruses. Through skillful marketing programs, recordings of praise and worship music found a home not only within the church, but on car stereos as believers began to listen to praise music wherever and whenever they wanted.

The most successful ...