Worship: don’t check your brain in at the door
OUCH!
i just read an article written by a columnist who lives in our area…. and he has a lot to say about praise music… i have to admit, i think one of Mr. Henry’s complaints is valid:
IT IS AN INTERESTING PARADOX. Churches devoted to rigorous, difficult theology — real Christianity, in short — have largely adopted praise music, mainly to get people in the doors. In doing so, they have denied their parishioners an intimate connection with the art, the music, the poetry, and the history of the faith of our fathers, embodied in hymns.
again: ouch! i am facing this challenge in my own church. we are largely made up of “older” members who do not want to see their sweet church literally die off…. in an effort to bring in others, they have agreed to worship in a more blended setting. as the worship leader, i constantly juggle hymns and contemporary songs, the piano and the guitar (the organ is broken)…..
back to Mr. Henry’s complaint: these praise songs seriously lack content! one of our elders presented the same concern to me before i accepted this role as WL at our church: these praise choruses repeat the same phrases over and over again, without much theology or history or scripture – where’s the stuff that will inspire scholars?!
unfortunately, i think some of what they are saying is valid. oftentimes, praise songs draw on the emotions and feelings of the worshiper, with overplayed statements about God’s nature (holy, loving, kind, merciful, etc.). note: i am NOT saying we should remove our emotions when worshiping or that these aspects of His nature are bad — i’m simply noting that we could use a few “original” declarations about the One that we worship.
in short, the lyrics are the same for many praise songs. these songs all have the same message: you are holy, loving, merciful, and i worship you.
granted, there are a number of popular worship songs with refreshing content. “Blessed Be Your Name” [Matt Redman] wrote this song as a response to the tragedy of 9/11. His lyrics powerfully illustrate the fact that God is worthy of praise in good times and bad. THIS is a song that stirs the hearts of people, because it gives voice to a deep theological point while framing it in the heights and depths of life.
one thing we must keep in mind is that today’s hymnals are the “greatest hits” of thousands of hymns written over hundreds of years (i read this recently somewhere). its safe to assume that not all hymns were worth singing — we just do not have the privilege of sitting in a church 200 years ago when the resident hymn-writer banged out hymn after hymn that didn’t make the cut. the same process is occurring today.
here are a few things to think about to avoid the problems mentioned above:
- THEOLOGY – when adding new songs to our repertoire, carefully consider the words: what is being “taught” by this song? does this line up with scripture? does it line up with our devotion, conviction, and lifestyle? worshiping in truth = we must guard that what we are asking our congregation to sing is true.
- CULTURE – try to avoid adding songs simply because they sound good or are fun to sing or are the latest/greatest additions to Christian worship culture. read the lyrics independently of the music… consider content before composition.
- PSALMS – well, if God says these are worth putting in the scriptures, then they are probably a good example of what we should be incorporating in worship. study the psalms for content, meaning, and emotion.
with all that being said, how does your church overcome these issues with worship songs?
any other suggestions on how to make this all work?
does anyone have a story of how they successfully incorporated hymns into a modern contemporary service?
Blessings in blending,
more thoughts on this:
the worship blog Writing Worship Songs
worshiptogether.com article: Songwriting – Substance and Simplicity
In the last church we went to we had some pretty talented musicians and they were able to put some of the hymns to a more modern music.
It was great for me to hear some of my old favorites–in a new way. They also sand some of the new stuff intermixed with the old.
At our new church there are not a whole lot of older folks but our pastor makes sure that those old goodies are sung every Sunday.
Good thoughts to ponder.
It’s an interesting shift in recent years. Many modern worship songs are about our personal response to God and our feelings about him. Songs in times past – whether they be hymns or choruses of the 80s to early 90s – where usually more about declaring truth about God. This is probably a reflection of cultural/sociological shifts in other areas as well though. Modern generations are touchy-feely and wary of turh.
Personally I think both these types of song are good and have their place, but I am wary of emotional response without truth to respond to. That’s not to say all songs have to be theologically deep and complex, but it should mean – as you suggest – that you have a good balance in a set-list.
Thinking about songwriting, many of the all-time great praise and worship choruses have verses which declare truth and choruses which express a response. Without getting too formulaic about it, that’s a great combination.
daniel: i like the concept of p&w songs that have verses that declare truth & choruses that respond to that truth.
sounds like a great way to find the balance i think our worship services need.
thx!
mt
Hey Mandy, my name is Brent. My wife Tam and you have been talking a little. She directed me to your site and I enjoy it.
First of all let me say that what you are doing with blending styles and music is a terribly difficult task. I’ll be praying for your creativity and longevity in this process. It sounds like your heart is in the right place to learn through it all.
One thing about this discussion of Hymns and Praise choruses. I grew up in a Baptist church, so I am very familiar with the traditional and the modern/contemporary clashing. One thing that I think we tend to do though is defend our side. Hymns versus Praise Choruses. In doing so, we find all the things wrong with both genres. I think it would be more appropriate to discuss, as you have here, the depth and theological insights of songs. I think if we went back in time, we would see there were songs(Hymns) that were extremely shallow(repetitive and all) and songs that were right on and had great depth. Just like now. Some songs are very shallow and repetitive and others seem to be very heartfelt with great wisdom.
There’s our argument. Let’s continue to fight for songs with depth and wisdom and great theology and not fight over styles or genres. I think when we do that, most people appreciate the intelligence and maturity of song selections on Sunday morning and may even “allow” more freedom in our song choices. The only time I ever get a complaint about “today’s” choruses is when they are pretty shallow and pointless. Of course the argument is “I don’t like today’s music”, but I think the argument is that they didn’t like how little the song had to actually offer them spiritually and intellectually.
Sorry if this was long, but you brought some great thoughts to the table!
Thanks for saying hello over at my blog.
I will definitely be around. I enjoy your posts.
Brent
[...] worship done right! Brad at relevintage.com also linked the article that i mentioned in Worship: Don’t Check Your Brain in at the Door. [...]
worship done right! « blendingworship said this on July 10, 2007 at 2:42 pm |