Music in the Christian Church

[OBW]

This is not about the LCM. It is about the church. The real deal. The body of Christ.

In response to a very recent post in the Favorite Hymns thread, I was a little bugged by the content. Not bothered that someone would like what was there. But I thought about how the kind of thing I was seeing was too often tendered as worship in a meeting of the assembly (or "at church" according to the typical terminology).

Below are the thoughts I had. I do not think that my way is the only way. But there is a lot about modern worship, whether contemporary, Pentecostal, traditional, etc., that seems to miss what I think is the mark of worship.

Here it is. I decided that griping in a place to raise a praise was just not right.

. . . .

When I think hymns, I immediately turn my thoughts to worship. And too much of what I hear these days is really not worship of God, but of what I get out of it. Or something to make me happy and upbeat.

So I don't relate too well to most of the gospel quartet/family music because it is often just a lot of sentimentality. Even when singing a truly great hymn. Sue me. That is what comes across. Too much sappy emotion overwhelming what could be great about the song.

Not saying any of the songs linked in this thread are bad. But if it is thought of as worship, then some of it needs to be rethought. And when we speak of hymns, those are designed for worship, so they should fit. Many of the others are not necessarily so, but we use them for it anyway and probably shouldn't.

I'm sorry. That video was at some points a little funny. They froze pretty early-on on one guy just chewing gum and looking around. Then after that a real close-up on another that was barely moving his lips, but clearly not in any way singing the words that were heard.

And the animated clapping. Too much show.

Now I don't think these people as a whole thought of it as a show.

While I like older hymns, I mostly like truly older hymns. Too much of the writings of the early-mid 1900s are excessively focused on me. Just as a whole lot of the modern worship and other Christian music is. Good songs often, but not really worship songs.

And I like older hymns re-chorded (not totally rewritten) so that they work well with guitar and don't need a choir. But the melodies remain the same. And remain in character with the content of the song.

(I recently wrote a song. Was never truly finished, partly because about half way through I realized that the content and the nature of the music were clashing. But I was stuck as to how to fix it. Maybe it will happen some day. But light 60s styled rock for "Our Prayer" just didn't work.)

We sing about being happy. We want upbeat. And the Gaithers very often provided a whole lot of both. And so does a fair bit of Chris Tomlin. I don't dislike either. But not as worship or as hymns, though both can really do it if they want to. And there is a rather good hymn that Gloria Gaither wrote (if we can just eliminate the tendency for a country swing from the 6/8 music). But even that one is a little too much about me. Close.

I have been bugged a little lately by a current song on the radio by Mercy Me. I like the group. They generally have great songs. And this one sounds great. But in the chorus, it says "greater is the one living inside of me, than he who is living in the world" Great song up to this. Then it stretches out "In the world" two or three times, holding "world" for a very long time. That seems to make the world the most important part of the chorus.

But in worship . . .

How often do we sing simply about God? Without reference to us? Like a Fairest Lord Jesus? How often do we interject ourselves only in reference to our worship to him rather than to comment on what we are getting out of it? Not saying those songs are bad. But they are too often all we sing in the worship of God. (Sing them all you like elsewhere. And I do. Sing them sparingly in worship.)

How often do we turn it down and sing some variant on "Lord have mercy on me"? There is a great little section from a choir song we did years ago that simply recites the opening of David's prayer; "Have mercy on me, Oh God, according to your steadfast love. According to your great compassion blot out my many transgressions. Cleanse me from sin."

Those are almost lost in the church these days. We seldom confess. We don't declare a need for mercy. We just privately claim God's grace and move on.

The best hymns are mostly from eras before 1900. There are some truly quality hymns from the past 10 years, but not many. What the quartets and other gospel singers too often do is raise emotions with pearly gates and seeing old friends and family "by and by." And what too many modern hymns and worship songs do is magnify me with some reference to God or Jesus in it. Tells a story. Isn't really worship of God. Often isn't very theologically sound. There is a place for the story. In a different context the theology might not matter. But not in worship.

Let's praise God for who He is. Not just what He's done for me. As much as the LCM over-emphasized the corporate, modern worship overemphasizes me. In worship, the corporate in praise of God should be the norm, not the occasional spice.

Get your stones out now.