I want to start with a subject that gets a lot of people up in arms. Hymns. That one word makes some people sigh in contentment and others cringe on the inside. I grew up singing hymns in church until I was a teenager and we moved to more contemporary worship. The truth is I love both so I hope I can speak to both sides of the issue.
To my hymn lovers:
I read a book recently about an Amish family living in today's world. I was struck by the rules they follow. Evidently each church district's leaders make the rules they have to follow. These particular people could have gas appliances, running water and a fully functioning bathroom, but no electricity. They could use telephones, but couldn't have them in their houses. They could not own or drive cars, but they could hire a reliable driver to take them places. I just found my self wondering, how do you find the cut off? How do you define what goes to far and where to draw the line? Those are the questions I want you to try to answer.
I keep thinking about how your parents probably didn't approve of Elvis or the Beatles, and their parents may not have approved of jazz or swing. But with the generations come change, and lets face it: every song, every hymn was new at some point. Some were even set to the tune of secular songs. Did you know that Luther wrote some of his songs to old pub tunes? You have to stop putting a line in the sand, saying “if I didn't sing it as a child it doesn't work for me.”
I want you to know that I know the value of something familiar. Some songs are powerful to you because wrap around you like your favorite blanket. Warm and comfy you can access His presence more easily. I get that, more than you know. But think of the people who don't feel that way about those songs. People who a turned off by just how old the song sounds. People whose warm comfy blanket is something more modern. People who also need to connect to God in a real way. Isn't it worth giving up a little comfort to provide a little comfort?
To my hymn dislikers (I didn't want to say haters even though it sounds better :))
Let me set the scene for you. You are in church enjoying praise and worship. Then the piano starts to play these old chords and you know what is about to happen. The “more mature” people get excited and start singing their hearts out while you wonder where they pulled this song from. You stand there and try to figure out the actual meaning of the song around the thee and thous. It can be a bit frustrating. But just take the time to think about it for a minute. Do you think that maybe these classic hymns have stood the test of time for a reason?
A lot of the modern worship songs carry you places. The music is intense and the lyrics make sense and can be easily related to. These songs express raw yearning and need and put people in a place to not only access God's presence but pour out our hearts before Him. But I think what a lot of modern songs miss is the depth and beauty of hymns. For example:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.
I nearly cry just reading those words, let alone singing them. This is the 3rd verse and chorus of my favorite hymn. In all honesty it may be my favorite song. What we miss today is poetry in music form. I'm not saying people don't write “deep” songs anymore, because they do, but some things are truly timeless.
I think where people do hymns a disservice is to not only tune out the beauty and meaning of the words, but avoid the sense of history and tradition that comes with singing a song that your mother, and her mother and her mother sang. To avoid the tradition in hymns would be like never again singing your favorite Christmas carols. Think of a Christmas without Silent Night or Away in a Manger. That, dear friends, is the church without hymns. It just wouldn't be the same.
Stay tuned for more on worship. . .
To my hymn lovers:
I read a book recently about an Amish family living in today's world. I was struck by the rules they follow. Evidently each church district's leaders make the rules they have to follow. These particular people could have gas appliances, running water and a fully functioning bathroom, but no electricity. They could use telephones, but couldn't have them in their houses. They could not own or drive cars, but they could hire a reliable driver to take them places. I just found my self wondering, how do you find the cut off? How do you define what goes to far and where to draw the line? Those are the questions I want you to try to answer.
I keep thinking about how your parents probably didn't approve of Elvis or the Beatles, and their parents may not have approved of jazz or swing. But with the generations come change, and lets face it: every song, every hymn was new at some point. Some were even set to the tune of secular songs. Did you know that Luther wrote some of his songs to old pub tunes? You have to stop putting a line in the sand, saying “if I didn't sing it as a child it doesn't work for me.”
I want you to know that I know the value of something familiar. Some songs are powerful to you because wrap around you like your favorite blanket. Warm and comfy you can access His presence more easily. I get that, more than you know. But think of the people who don't feel that way about those songs. People who a turned off by just how old the song sounds. People whose warm comfy blanket is something more modern. People who also need to connect to God in a real way. Isn't it worth giving up a little comfort to provide a little comfort?
To my hymn dislikers (I didn't want to say haters even though it sounds better :))
Let me set the scene for you. You are in church enjoying praise and worship. Then the piano starts to play these old chords and you know what is about to happen. The “more mature” people get excited and start singing their hearts out while you wonder where they pulled this song from. You stand there and try to figure out the actual meaning of the song around the thee and thous. It can be a bit frustrating. But just take the time to think about it for a minute. Do you think that maybe these classic hymns have stood the test of time for a reason?
A lot of the modern worship songs carry you places. The music is intense and the lyrics make sense and can be easily related to. These songs express raw yearning and need and put people in a place to not only access God's presence but pour out our hearts before Him. But I think what a lot of modern songs miss is the depth and beauty of hymns. For example:
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.
I nearly cry just reading those words, let alone singing them. This is the 3rd verse and chorus of my favorite hymn. In all honesty it may be my favorite song. What we miss today is poetry in music form. I'm not saying people don't write “deep” songs anymore, because they do, but some things are truly timeless.
I think where people do hymns a disservice is to not only tune out the beauty and meaning of the words, but avoid the sense of history and tradition that comes with singing a song that your mother, and her mother and her mother sang. To avoid the tradition in hymns would be like never again singing your favorite Christmas carols. Think of a Christmas without Silent Night or Away in a Manger. That, dear friends, is the church without hymns. It just wouldn't be the same.
Stay tuned for more on worship. . .
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