Heretical Hymns

I am often amused by repeated historical complaints in the church, especially those pertaining to music. People will use all kinds of reasoning to support getting what they like.

English: A picture of Fanny Crosby. Rationale: The subject died in 1915, prior to 1923, making this image public domain in the USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Robert Morgan tells about one such complaint in his book Near to the Heart of God.

When Ira Sankey and Fanny Crosby came along, they introduced a new kind of church music by relaxing the melodies, adding choruses, lightening the messages, and calling them gospel songs. This didn’t go over well with everyone. Robert Anderson, for example, thought Crosby’s song “Safe in the Arms of Jesus” was ‘reeking with mere sentiment.’

How familiar that all sounds. I’ve heard some of these same complaints about the contemporary music being sung in church today. Most people don’t like change, but outside the church it is a mere nuisance. Inside the church, change is heresy.

Fanny Crosby is one of America’s most beloved hymn writers penning songs like “Tell me the Story of Jesus,” “Blessed Assurance,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “He Hideth my Soul.” Crosby wrote thousands of hymns many of which are the favorites of today’s traditional church.

It would be nice if one day we could learn from history and realize that just because something we love about church changes doesn’t make it heresy.

 

How’s Your Hunger?

I recently finished Margaret Feinberg‘s Hungry for God and wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from it.

I’ve learned that God’s voice is the only entree that can nourish our ethereal cravings. Hearing and experiencing, rather than eating, assuages spiritual hunger.

The image of a whisper speaks to the posture of our relationship with God…the stillness of the whisper grabs his [Elijah's] heart and brings him to a place where is able to receive God’s answer.

God often takes years to position us in the place he has in mind, rarely revealing the entire plan at one time.

Some have said that prayer doesn’t change God, but only changes us. Yet on several occasions in the Bible, God makes a concession based on a mere human request.

If we will listen for God’s voice in our prayers and study, if we wait for God to show up in unexpected moments and search for him in vibrant acts of love, we’ll find that God will begin fulfilling our hunger as we draw closer to him.

Even Jesus asks his own Father a rather scandalous question: whether someone else could drink his cup of impending death. The answer is no, but Jesus was bold enough to ask.

If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?

When we learn to wait well – not grasping for what isn’t ours or clutching to the past – our faith grows, and our ability to hear from God becomes more fine-tuned.

When all we hear is silence, sometimes God is trumpeting a message to others.

Sometimes love asks us to limit our freedom on behalf of someone else.

God can teach us just as much through a closed door as an open one.

I’m convinced that people today know a lot more about how to become a Christian than about how to be one.

Related articles

• Resting in Jesus’ Arms (acmul.wordpress.com)

 

Where Personal Preferences in the Church Go Wrong

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve written on several occasions about personal preferences in church and how they should not be completely set aside. They are what help shape a church’s personality. But they can definitely cause problems, and this article sent to me by a friend seems like a good example of personal preferences gone bad. The issue here is not that the author has preferences for his type of church, but that he implies all other types of churches are wrong or ineffective at best.

The author cites Willow Creek’s seek-sensitive movement as support for his preferences. I’ve written about seeker-sensitive programs as well, stating that true seekers will not be offended by symbols of Christianity. Removing organs, choirs, pulpits, etc. was not Willow’s problem. Their problem was shallow teaching for which they admitted.

What many fail to accept is times change, things change, methods change in the church just like everywhere else. Technology plays a big role in this, and there is no getting around it. Yes, the organ is the perfect instrument for choral singing, but choral singing is not the only way to sing praises. And the organ was certainly not welcomed by all when first introduced to the church. Classic hymns have also had their share of controversy. And the pulpit has its own story.

I really wish Christians would focus more on spreading the gospel than judging each others’ methods of spreading the gospel.

 

Weekly Link-Up

Some of my recent finds.

Is Steve Jobs’s Biography An Inspiration To Entrepreneurs, Or A Warning?

Custom weekly video announcements for your worship and web site

1 thing you can do today to make your organization more creative

Learning Worship from Idolaters

Party Matters: The Big Game

 

What Do You Think About in Bed?

I don’t about you, but that idle time in bed before going to sleep and right after waking up is a prime time for Satan to fill my head with negative, destructive thoughts. The psalmist has some very good advice for overcoming that.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. – Psalm 63:5-7 ESV

We can greatly influence our dreams, our mindset, and our day by pondering the goodness of God both before sleep and immediately. Practice it. Make it a habit, and see what happens.

 

The Purpose of Art in the Church

Image via Wikipedia

Art in the church has changed a great deal over the years due largely to technology, but it’s purpose remains the same. Instead of painting beautiful murals on the ceiling or designing captivating stained-glass windows, we can now change a room’s look and feel at the push of a few buttons with lighting and projection. It’s cool and fascinating, but that’s not why we should do it. Gary Molander has a great article on this using Psalm 40.

 

Do You Prefer Life Fresh or Stale?

I talk a lot about change here. How it is inevitable and necessary but often disliked. But let’s look at it from a little different perspective.

It’s kind of like when kids grow up and do / live the opposite of what their parents did. I’m not talking morals here necessarily but philosophy. Sometimes it takes a couple of generations before the differences are apparent. For example, my parents lived in a time of hard-working, dedication to one company, climbing the corporate ladder, making money. My kids are more interested in enjoying life and making a living (not the same as making money) doing something they love.

The interests and passions of today’s 20-somethings are quite different from that of their parents and grandparents. Some of those differences are good, some not so much. I think the biggest driving point is just being different, not necessarily improvement. It’s like “whatever my mom and dad did, I’m going to do the opposite.”

Maybe it’s partially an identity thing, being your own person. But doing something different from what you grew up with adds a freshness to life that makes it more interesting. I thought about this need for freshness as I read a recent article from WorshipVJ on liturgical worship. He made the following statement.

In hindsight, perhaps I would not have the appreciation for liturgical worship I do now had I grown up with it. Over-exposure to anything tends to create baggage.

It also brings to mind the command in the Bible to “sing a new song.” A one point at the church I grew up in, our pianist could only play about ten songs, which means they got repeated a lot. I think one song was sung three out of every four weeks.  Needless to say I still do not like that hymn.

The point here is we can get stale with anything not matter how “modern” the idea over time. It’s important to keep like, and worship, fresh. It’s not about trends or being different just for the sake of being different. It’s about not letting it get stale.

 

Resting in Jesus’ Arms

Beautiful imagery from Margaret Feinberg’s Hungry for God.  Speaking of John the beloved’s intimate relationship with Jesus, she says:

The imagery of reclining into Jesus’ arms is a glimpse into the closeness that develops when we spend sacred time with Christ.

Close your eyes and try to imagine the feeling of “reclining into Jesus’ arms.” Perhaps the best example we can draw on is that of a child sitting in a parent’s lap, being held and loved on. Not a care in the world. The ultimate peace and contentment.

We can have that feeling regardless of human relationships by spending “sacred time” with God and allowing the intimacy to

develop and grow.

 

Weekly Link-Up

A list of some of this week’s finds.

7 Buckets of Worship Ministry

Why Artists Are Fleeing Your Church and How You Can Change It

Church Online Platform

Tech Trends, Past and Future

The Top 20 Most Influential Worship Albums of the Last 20 Years

 

Contemporary or Relevant

Two words you’ll hear quite often in the church world.  Contemporary was the buzz word in the 90s.  Relevant became the buzz word in the new century.  Many of us have grown tired of referring to our services or music style as contemporary, but since the Christian music community has grabbed on to it so firmly, it is hard to avoid.  And what’s the difference between contemporary and relevant?

I suppose the best place to start is the dictionary.  Here is the common meaning of each word:

Relevant – closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand.

Contemporary – belonging to or occurring in the present; following modern ideas or fashion in style or design.

And what’s the difference?  Contemporary takes on more general terms applicable to society or an entire generation.  Relevant is, well, relevant. It is more specific to a group of people or situation.

Relevant applies not just to generational differences, but to personalities and preferences as well.  (Remember personal preferences are not always a bad thing.)  We all have preferences, and if they helps us worship and connect with God better, then they are also relevant.

How does all this apply to the church?  It means each congregation of people has its own relevancy.  The music may be traditional and or contemporary.  The instruments may be organ/piano, or a guitar/drum driven band.  (By the way, “blended” is another buzz word I had just as soon see us lose.)

What songs, styles, and presentations are relevant to one group may be completely wrong for another group across town.  For a church to be relevant, it has to look inside and outside.  What methods and styles will best reach those attending and those trying to be reached?  Relevance is all about preferences, just not in a selfish, demanding way.

Related articles

• The New Traditional Church (acmul.wordpress.com)