Tag Archive for hymns

Redeeming God’s Music

2014-03-06 Congregational Song, Hymns One comment

This is the sixth in a series of Friday posts on congregational song.

I had blogged a devotional reading that ended in my Advent hymn, Come, Our Lord!. The same day I received an email from a lady who kindly said that she liked the words to the hymn but wished it would have been set to a different tune. The hymn tune is OLD BLACK JOE, and she was offended by the music of minstrelsy.

Her response is understandable. A number of the hymn tunes I use have had such unsavory associations. No example is more striking than AUSTRIAN HYMN. The music was a classical melody by Joseph Haydn, but it served as the national anthem of Nazi Germany (under the title, “Deutschlandlied”). For those who suffered during that era, that tune surely aroused horrific visions of militant hatred. But today the tune bears glorious, Christ-honoring words, such as the classic hymn, Praise the Lord! Ye Heavens, Adore Him, and Fred Kaan’s moving translation, Christ Is Risen, Christ Is Living, as well as my See the Seed of Faith.

While I understand objections to using such tunes, I make no apologies for doing so. All music is God’s music, created by Him for His glory. Evil creates nothing. It is a void, a poverty, an absence of God. It can only pervert God’s good creation.

But God did not abandon His marvelous creation because evil corrupted it. He did not abandon me. He is redeeming this beautiful world and all that sin has tainted. As His grateful child and His servant, I am part of His redemption process. For me, that includes redeeming God’s music.

One of my favorite sources of hymn tunes is folk tunes. They have a creative variety, a warmth, and a life-centeredness that I find charming and irresistible. And in a day when much of the music we hear is far too complex for congregational use, folk tunes are often very singable and people-friendly. They may have to be revised and adapted to work well as hymn tunes, but the raw material is there. (And I am careful to only adapt tunes old enough to be in the public domain. I always avoid copyrighted melodies.)

A folk song about a man who accidentally killed his wife became As You Love, a Maundy Thursday hymn. Ephesians 1 began as a drinking song. A Life of Thanksgiving was a bawdy ballad. By Faith started life as a sea chantey. And numerous other hymns borrowed tunes from folk songs about war, love, personal loss, or ordinary daily life; hymns such as O Living God, A Thankful Heart, All We Need, God Is Speaking, and God Is Working All Around You.

Experience has proven time and again that God’s powerful truth transforms the musical vehicles that carry it. His praise sanctifies the vessels that bear it; that is, it sets those vessels apart for His use. All music is God’s music, and He is reclaiming it to proclaim His glory, His grace, and His good news for all people. We, His servants in music, are privileged to work with Him in this. We look forward to the day when every song will sing of Him alone.

Mind and Spirit

2014-02-27 Congregational Song, Hymns One comment

This is the fifth in a series of Friday posts on congregational song.

When I read 1 Corinthians 14, I identify with Paul’s situation. He’s talking about speaking in tongues and the place it should have in the church at Corinth. He doesn’t forbid speaking in tongues, as long as an interpreter is there to edify the church. But he does strongly emphasize providing solid, understandable food for the mind, not just the emotions.

That reminds me of my inner struggle every time our Sunday worship service is loaded with contemporary praise songs.

Now I’m certainly not equating praise songs with speaking in tongues. But I do see in 1 Corinthians 14 something of the situation we face. I sense that part of the hymns vs. praise songs issue in our churches is similar to the struggle Paul was facing in Corinth: mind vs. emotion.

Again, hymns are not pure “mind”. They express lots of emotion. And on the other hand, praise songs are not pure “emotion”. They certainly express objective truth. But if there is a line stretching from “mind” on one end to “emotion” on the other, I assert that hymns are nearer the “mind” end, and praise songs are nearer the “emotion” side.

I like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:15:

I will sing with the spirit and
I will sing with the mind also. (NASB)

Music is always an emotional medium. But it can and must be more than emotional stimulation.

Speaking for myself, and myself alone—expressing personal preference only—praise songs are generally boring. The thought rhythm is too slow; that is, they seem to feed the emotions more than they feed the mind. Too little content, too much repetition. And with their complex, soloistic melodies that I can’t see (I’m used to reading music), they just aren’t worth the effort. They annoy me.

But for every one of me, there is at least one good, godly, Spirit-filled, committed child of God who finds my congregational preferences boring. They find them short on the emotional flavor they prefer, and thus the message just doesn’t connect.

Different cultures, ages, personalities, and individuals are comfortable at different places on that scale of mental stimulation to emotional stimulation. And of course, by even characterizing music that way, I’m painting a highly colorful media in black and white. The issues in congregational singing go far beyond the mind vs. emotion element.

But my point here is this: our Creator God has provided us with an amazing wealth of congregational song that runs the full gamut of mind to emotion. If you’re a worship leader, be aware of both needs, and know your congregation. Feed them a rich and varied feast of song, and don’t be afraid to give them a new flavor once in awhile. They might like it!

If you’re a worshiper, be tolerant, and allow yourself to be stretched. Consider it a chance to broaden your perspective and grow. Participate, and let yourself experience something outside your comfort zone!

For all of us, never forget these two unchanging truths:

  1. Congregational singing is like everything else in life: you will get out of it what you put into it. If resentment and annoyance are all you put in, resentment and annoyance are all you’ll get out.
  1. Always, unfailingly, constantly, show patient kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ. Pursue love (1 Corinthians 14:1, NASB).

As those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone…Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. (Colossians 3:12-14, NASB)

Emotion and Beyond

2014-02-20 Congregational Song, Hymns One comment

This is the fourth in a series of Friday posts on congregational song.

Music is emotional. Music arouses passion. Who would want it otherwise?

Not I! As a child of God and as a hymn writer, it’s my goal to be fully responsive to the truth. That includes being emotionally responsive to the wonderful truth of Jesus Christ. Who can believe what God has done for us in Christ and not be emotional? How can we grasp that truth and not be passionate about Him?

That’s why music is such a magnificent gift. It combines meaning with emotion.

But the Church is not the only party speaking to people through emotion and the senses. We minister to a people on sensory overload. Communications media saturate their senses and coddle them with entertainment, desperate to get a hearing for their products. Radio, TV, recordings, billboards, everything is designed with maximum sensory appeal and maximum entertainment value.

When we in the Church attempt to communicate with these people, we sometimes use the same tactics. We feel our music must have maximum energy level to break through to people accustomed to high-appeal communications.

So in our church music, we turn up the emotional volume to maximum. And why not? What is more deeply emotional than the truth we are communicating?

But there are negative effects. We further addict our congregations to high-energy emotional appeals. We feed them salt, increasing their thirst for emotional stimulation and entertainment. More and more, entertainment values saturate our expectations and our judgments of quality. “Good” Christian music is music that excites and impresses us, whether or not it improves our lives and draws us closer to the Living God.

With this increased desire for music that emotionally stimulates us, some themes–critically important themes–are minimized in our songs because they don’t readily lend themselves to musical thrills. Topics like holy living, prayer, perseverance, and self-sacrifice tend to be edged out of our church music. I’ve spent over 35 years in church music publishing, and I can assure you that this is true.

For hymns, the problem grows worse because of a blurring of the line between performance music and congregational music. Choirs, ensembles, and soloists believe that their music has to generate enough emotional energy to jump the gap to static listeners and stir them to emotional involvement. And remember, these are listeners numbed by constant, high-energy sensory appeals all around them.

Whether performance music actually needs such emotional levels, congregational music should not need them. The emotional dynamic is completely different. Hymns don’t have to jump a gap from performer to listener. They don’t need to stir static listeners to involvement. In congregational singing, performers and listeners are one and the same. As they sing, they are already physically involved in the music. With performance music, the congregation has to be jump-started into involvement. In congregational singing, they are already involved. No jump-start is needed. That involvement advantage, along with simpler tunes, should free hymns to focus on meatier words.

But the performance and entertainment mentality has so pervaded our congregations that congregations approach their hymns looking for emotional stimulation as the measure of value. Additionally, as performance increasingly pervades congregational music, singability becomes less and less important. The discipline of simplicity is often lost.

There’s more fall-out. With our church music addicted to high emotional energy and focused on narrow, high-emotion topics, our songs get further and further away from day-by-day, moment-by-moment Christian living. We talk less and less in daily, believable tones about daily, practical issues. And let’s face it: happiness, holiness, and the salvation of needy people are won or lost more on Monday morning than Sunday morning.

None of this is doom and gloom, nor is it intended as an indictment of any particular style of music. The solution is not easy, but it is simple: remember and refocus. Christianity is less about feeling better than about being better. For yourself and for your people, do you want to feel better temporarily or be better every day through a closer relationship with Jesus Christ?

In our society, music is usually focused on temporary emotional stimulation. Music makers gauge their success by how much they can stir their audience to excitement or sentiment, though only for passing moments. Music can do much more than that. Expect more from your church music. Expect more from your hymns. As you sing, look to the Living Christ. Desire to know Him better and to live closer to Him. Let emotion be only an overflow of your faith in Him.

Why Are Hymns Important?

2014-02-13 Congregational Song, Hymns No comments

This is the third in a series of Friday posts on congregational song.

Hymns are built to last.
Each generation receives them as a heritage and passes them on to the next.

Hymns are rich.
They combine the depths of human experience with the timeless wealth of scripture.

Hymns express God’s wisdom for all areas of life.
Hymns nurture faith, love, service, sacrifice, perseverance, hope, and holy living.

Hymns are not a thing of the past.
Quality hymns are being written today.

Hymns are not confined to one particular style or cultural preference.
The Holy Spirit is inspiring Christ’s servants in a variety of styles and musical cultures.

No More New Hymns?

2014-02-06 Congregational Song, Hymns 2 comments

This is the second in a series of Friday posts on congregational song.

Are you tired of the constant barrage of new Christian songs in a popular style? You’re not alone! Here’s a letter from one frustrated worshiper:

“Please! NO more new hymns. What’s wrong with the inspiring hymns with which we grew up? When I go to church, it’s to worship God, not be distracted with learning a new hymn. 

“Last Sunday’s was particularly unnerving. While the text was good, the tune was quite unsingable and the harmonies were quite discordant.”

This letter was written in 1890. The hymn that aroused the complaint? “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”.

Learn a New Definition of “Hymn”

2014-01-30 Congregational Song, Hymns One comment

This is the first in a series of Friday posts on congregational song. 

When some people hear the word “hymn”, their hearts are warmed. They think of songs that have proven deeply meaningful to them through all the storms and seasons of life, songs of lasting truth passed down from earlier generations. “Hymns” are dear friends and precious treasures.

To others, the word “hymn” suggests a song that is dated and stodgy. “Hymns” seem to plod along stiff-legged, like a horse with no knees.

Whatever your associations with the term “hymn”, see the bigger picture. Expand your vision of what hymns can be.

Many definitions of the word “hymn” have been offered through the years. Here’s mine: a hymn is a Christian congregational song. That’s all there is to it. A hymn is any song that God’s people sing for themselves, as opposed to songs they only listen to or have performed to them. Hymns are all the songs we sing together, regardless of style. They include:

  • praise & worship songs
  • traditional “hymns”
  • gospel songs
  • choruses
  • global music–congregational songs from Africa, Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere
  • spirituals
  • …and more.

In some contexts, we use the term “hymn” to refer to more traditional forms of congregational songs, to differentiate them from praise and worship songs, for example. Sometimes I fall into such usage myself. But realize that such distinctions are artificial and short-term.

Hymns are all the congregational songs of the entire Body of Christ. The term isn’t owned by Christians of one particular stylistic preference. Both lovers of traditional “hymns” and those who prefer more contemporary songs need to see themselves as part of a much broader picture. We are all part of the congregational song of Christ’s entire Church. That Church stretches through all cultures and ages, all peoples and times.

Expand your thinking! The Church’s congregational song is about much more than your personal preferences. You are part of something far bigger! Think like it! Sing like it! You are vastly richer in hymns than you thought!

Broaden Your Appreciation

2013-10-10 Devotional No comments

I had been in church music publishing for years and had learned to appreciate a wide variety of styles and songs. But there were some songs I just didn’t respect, to the point that I hesitated to include them in publications. For example, I read the words to Mosie Lister’s “Where No One Stands Alone” and the Gaithers’ “There’s Something About That Name” and found nothing substantial. Yes, there was emotion, but what were the songs saying? All I saw was sentimental drivel.

Then one day I realized that when I examined a song in that way, I was only experiencing half of it.  I wasn’t hearing the praise that arises from the hearts of believers for whom these songs are poignant expressions of faith. I wasn’t hearing the genuine worship these songs release when sung from a heart of worship. In the mouths of many God-fearing, Bible-believing brothers and sisters in Christ, these simple, sentimental words become powerful expressions of faith and praise to the Living God.

“Where No One Stands Alone” becomes a profound and moving statement of our loneliness without God and our deep, inexpressible hunger for Him. (It also helps to know that the song was inspired by Psalm 51.)

“There’s Something About That Name” verbalizes that indefinable attraction we feel for the man Jesus Christ.

A song is just marks on a paper or a sequence of sounds until some believer brings it to life and lifts it as an offering to God. Then it becomes a prayer or praise. Only part of it can be read on paper or heard on a recording. God often uses very humble means to speak to people and do His work. He often chooses lowly expressions of childlike faith to glorify Himself. Almighty God continues to confound the wise and to break out of whatever boxes we put Him in.

As a young person starting in music publishing, I was very negative about southern gospel music. I watched its performers. I was annoyed that so many of its songs harped on a very few emotional themes, like heaven. They made the whole style seem shallow and artificial. But working with gospel songwriter Mosie Lister, I began to appreciate southern gospel as true folk music. Its strength was its simplicity and natural exuberance. I learned to look beyond the seeming shallowness of some of its practitioners and see its tremendous potential for ministry.

On the other hand, some evangelicals hear more liturgical styles and write them off as cold, boring, and emotionless. What they don’t realize is that these believers want to hear God and exalt Him just as much as evangelicals. But they seek truth that is deeper than emotion. They long for thoughtfulness in worship. They want to taste the mystery of God. For many, quietness brings God nearer than does wild emotion.

As a hymn-lover and hymn-leader, beware of pride and narrow-mindedness, no matter what your educational level or musical style. Remember, God calls all His servants to minister with humility and compassion, to be people-centered and people-sensitive in all they do. Like Paul, we must be willing to be all things to all people so that we might reach as many as possible with the love of Jesus Christ, which crosses every boundary.

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