Filed under: Christianity, Religion, church, hymns, music | Tags: Bob Kauflin, hymns, worship, Worship Matters
One more quote to share with you from the book “Worship Matters.” The quote is actually from Os Guinness in the book “Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance,” but was referenced in Worship Matters.
“By our breathless chase after relevance without a matching commitment to faithfulness, we have become not only unfaithful but irrelevant; by our determined efforts to redefine ourselves in ways that are more compelling to the modern world than are faithful to Christ, we have lost not only our identity but our authority and relevance. Our crying need is to be faithful as well as relevant.” (pg 15)
I worry that too many times I have pursued relevance over faithfulness, and I fear that many other churches, pastors, and worship leaders have pursued the same thing. It’s not all about the best lights, the best production, the most cutting edge music, the best musicians, the most dynamic pastor, the best HD video screens, the most seamless transitions, the best videos, the funniest sermon illustrations, or how many people you can stuff into your church services. It’s about being faithful to what God has called us to do. I’m not knocking all the things that I listed above. Being relevant to your congregation is extremely important. However, our focus should be on Jesus, and we should be driven by faithfulness, not relevance.
Filed under: Christianity, Religion, church, hymns, music | Tags: church, Religion, hymns, jesus, Christianity, worship, lord i lift your name on high, shine jesus shine, hillsong, Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters, praise songs, As The Deer
Around 10 years ago (maybe even longer), “praise choruses” started to be introduced to the church. What started out as just a chorus has now turned into what can now be as long as a 10 minute song (Hillsong). Granted, most songs are 10 minutes, but the songs have become much more complex and also musically appealing than songs such as “As The Deer,” “Lord I Lift Your Name on High,” and “Shine Jesus Shine.”
I grew up in a church singing hymns all the time. Looking back, I probably love those hymns much more now than I did then. I didn’t understand the same things about Christianity and theology that I do now. So for the record, I love hymns, and I love the songs that we sing in “contemporary” churches today. (Also, for the record, I hate the word contemporary. What is contemporary today is old next year. Who is the judge of what is contemporary? I have no idea). You will never hear me say that hymns are better than today’s current songs or vice versa. I believe that they are all useful for today’s church and the Kingdom.
The reason for this post is a quote that I read today from a the book “Worship Matters.” After reading almost all of this book, I have a ton of respect for Bob Kauflin, the author. There are a few things where I don’t agree with him 100% (mainly stylistically because he comes from a more charismatic background) , but overall, the book has challenged me, changed my perspective on some things, and helped me to think about WHY we do the things we do. I would highly recommend it to ANY worship leader or musician who plays at a church. It is awesome. Without any further rambling, here is the quote:
“As grateful as I am to God for the outpouring of modern worship songs, I think the riches of hymnody far outweigh what we’ve produced in the last thirty years. They cover a broader range of topics, are more dense and theologically precise, and are often brilliantly crafted… The hymns we sing today have been tested for centuries, causing the best ones to rise to the top. ” (pg 190)
I am glad that he clarified “the last 30 years.” I think the authors of the songs we commonly used have come a long way in just the past 5 years. I feel that the songs are more theologically “rich” than they used to be. However, there are still some songs commonly used that could be sang to any god, person, or thing (think about “Draw Me Close To You” for example).
Anyways, this quote definitely got me thinking. And I am thankful that the songs we have to choose from that are being written in this day and age are theologically rich. I know that some songs aren’t as rich as others and some are somewhat “watered-down,” but I think this generation of songwriters is making tremendous progress.
Thoughts anyone?
Filed under: Christianity, Religion, hymns, music | Tags: christ, Christianity, hymns, jesus, music, old hymns, Religion, what a friend we have in jesus, worship music
Joseph Scriven was born in Dublin Ireland in 1819. He was a very interesting, but compassionate person who seemed to take the Sermon on the Mount literally. At age 25, he moved to Canada and worked sawing wood. One day in Canada, a rich man saw him and wanted to hire him to cut wood for him. The rich man told his friend standing beside him, and his friend replied, “That’s Joseph Scriven. He wouldn’t cut wood for you - He only does it for those who can’t pay.” So needless to say, Scriven was a generous man who served the poor. He gave freely of all that he had.
Scriven suffered a lot of tragedy in his life. On the night he was supposed to get married, his fiancee accidentally drowned. He did fall in love again later, but his fiancee died AGAIN! She died after getting pneumonia. Later on in life, his mother became sick. He didn’t have the money to travel back to Ireland to visit, but he wrote her a poem to encourage and comfort her. He called it “Pray Without Ceasing,” but we know it today as What A Friend We Have in Jesus.
The words were written in 1855 and set to music in 1868, but Scriven never recieved full credit for it until the 1880’s.
I can honestly say this is one of my favorite hymns ever. The words have comforted me and encouraged me in hard times. We all feel at times as though nobody is on our side. We all lose ones that we love. We will all go through times of pain, hurting, and suffering. But through it all, Jesus is there to comfort us.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge—
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Filed under: Christianity, Religion, hymns, music | Tags: Christianity, come thou fount, hymns, music, old hymns, Religion
“Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace”
Come Thou Fount has always been one of my favorite hymns musically with its beautiful melody. It’s one of my favorite songs of any type to play on the piano or guitar. If I remember correctly, my mom says its one of the first melodies I ever sang/hummed at an early age.
The words to the song were written by a young man named Robert Robinson at the age of 23. He lived in London, and when he was 17, he lived a crazy life. One source had this to say: “During his early teen years, Robert Robinson lived in London, where he mixed with a notorious gang of hoodlums and led a life of debauchery.” I guess in words that are relevant for 2008, he lived a life of hard partying, rampant premarital sex, drugs, and who knows what else.
One evening, Robinson went to hear a Methodist preacher in England. He went to make fun of the Methodists, and the message that was being preached. But by the grace of God, by the end of the night he ended up professing his faith in Jesus Christ. He was still 17 at the time, but by the time he was 23, he was a minister and scholar writing theology books and hymns such as Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.
Prone to wander Lord, I feel it Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.
Filed under: Christianity, Religion, hymns, music | Tags: Annie Hawks, Christianity, hymns, I Need Thee Every Hour, music, old hymns, Religion
I need Thee every hour, In joy or pain; Come quickly and abide or life is vain.
This particular hymn was written in 1872 by a woman named Annie Hawks. Here is a direct quote from her that tells of how and why she wrote this song.
One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became filled with the sense of nearness to the Master, and I began to wonder how anyone could ever live without Him, either in joy or pain. Then the words were ushered into my mind and these thoughts took full possession of me.
Unfortunately, 16 years after she wrote these words, her husband passed away. I have only been married for 3 years, but I couldn’t imagine living life without my wife. The pain and grief from that type of loss is unimaginable. Here is how Annie Hawks responded after her husband passed away.
I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace.
When times are going well, and I have money saved, job security, a great marriage, good health, etc – it’s hard to feel that I NEED JESUS EVERY HOUR. I often forget that I need Jesus. So often, I don’t depend on Him. This song serves as a great reminder to me that I do need Jesus every hour of the day. I don’t want to be dependent on anything else except for his love.
If you are not familiar with this hymn, go check out Jars of Clay’s version. For the most part it stays true to the original melody except for the Bridge which uses the words from a verse but completely changes the melody. Hopefully we’ll roll it out at Midtown sometime soon.
Filed under: Christianity, Religion, hymns, music | Tags: hymn book, hymns, jesus, just as i am
Just As I Am was written in 1834 by Charlotte Elliot. She was struck with a severe illness in 1821, and lived the last 50 years of her life disabled and incredibly sick. She wrote over 200 hymns during this time, but the one that is the most well-known is Just As I Am.
Elliot wrote the words as a confession of faith in the face of her disability and hardship. Being as sick as she was, it seems that she may have felt at times that God could not use her because of her weakness and disability. But she trusted came to trust that Jesus would use her even as she was sick.
I know that I have felt this way many times, and I’m healthy as can be (at least I think so.) These words are so encouraging to me. So many times I think I have to be this special person to be a worship leader, or to serve Him, but the way that I can serve and lead best is by being ME. l don’t have to try to be somebody that I am not.
God creates each of us to be unique. None of us are alike. Even though I have an identical twin brother, we are not alike. We may look alike, but God has created us to be 2 completley different people.
Start learning to be content with who God has created you to be. He wants to use YOU just as YOU are.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come
Filed under: Christianity, Religion, hymns, music | Tags: Baptist, church, hymns, jesus, music, worship
Until I entered college, I spent most of my life in a traditional baptist church. This consisted of singing a few hymns, the doxology every now and then, offertory prayers, choral anthems, benedictions, preludes and postludes, and of course the fantastic solos by the best (and sometimes not so great) choir members.
I must admit, many times in church, I grew bored singing the same hymns over and over. At the time I just didn’t find the hymns very moving. Most likely because I’d heard and sang the same hymns over and over for 18 years! I worry that the same thing will happen now with the current music that is used in our “contemporary services.” (What is contemporary by the way? – I don’t think I like that word.)
Currently, I get to sing the same song 3 times each Sunday (4 counting practice). Now, I’m not complaining, but it’s so easy to lose sight of the words we sing when we sing them so much. The words “How Great is Our God” or “How Great Thou Art” end up rolling off of our tongue as we sing instead of pouring out of our heart. I am guilty of this. I really have to battle this and I try to keep it on the forefront of my mind each Sunday.
With all of that said, I really do love the old hymns. So in my next few posts, I’m going to go through some of the old hymns that I grew up singing and maybe tell the story of how some of them came to life.
