Featured Hymnals Still Have a Place in Modern Churches

I don't "get over" speaking the truth.

 

If you say so. I suppose I'm a bit surprised to hear someone in the reformed camp say that any person has the "ability to shut the gates of heaven" for others. But perhaps I'm not interpreting your statement correctly.

 

Would you have said the same thing to Martin Luther when he went up against the Roman Catholic Church?

 

I noticed you didn't answer the question. Instead, you went for ad hominem.

 

You still didn't answer the question.

 

Oh brother. You think I need to check my ego? Mirrors are wonderful inventions...

 

I've been in two churches that fired the pastors (one the minister of music) over contemporary "worship" issues. Both held out for the deeper hymns and spiritual worship. I visited one some time later and caught a kid flying through the air with a tambourine in my peripheral vision. With PLEXIGLASS caged drums made necessary by lack of skill and good taste on the part of the drummers.

A different church I visited by accident was Pentecostal. The pianist was twitching and drooling, with eyes rolled back in her head. As the "praise band" blared hypnotic pulsating rhythms kin to their voodoo roots at Azusa street in the early 1900s.

 

That's one way of doing it, assuming there is a music director. My church is elder-led, so the worship team is under the general authority of the elders. My understanding is that they usually coordinate with the elders to align the music generally with the content of the sermon.

But I was referring more to songwriters using lyrics from older hymns but arranged in a contemporary style.

My personal preference is for more contemporary music, and my church is definitely not a traditional kind of church. That being said, it was never a traditional church in the first place. It started a few decades ago as a church plant and then grew, so it hasn't had the conflict over worship style, as far as I understand it. Of course, the elders would be the ones to oversee these matters anyway.

 

I love Hymnals and firmly believe that older hymns are on average much deeper theologically. Our church has a balance of usually 1 traditional hymn, then 1 contemporary, then 1 special music that can be either which works well.

I think when you compare the depth and beauty of a hymn such as "Am I Born to Die", "Jesus Thou Art the Sinners Friend", or "Wayfaring Stranger" to a good newer song such as "These are the days of Elijah" there's no comparison. Both have their place, but in general I believe older ones have better theology, better depth and more meaning.

I actively collect old hymnals from the 1700s and 1800s as I believe those old hymns are worth preserving. Plus I enjoy singing them!

 

You think Trump will push it? Be honest.

 

I write new "theological" hymns to traditional tunes - e.g.

Repent and be baptised
and trust the name of Jesus.
The Gospel call comes clear,
He loves & saves and frees us.
Believe with all your heart
He is the Son of God;
your sins are washed away,
cleansed by his precious blood.
2.
The Spirit shows our sin
as guilty covenant breakers;
we must be born again,
He'll cleanse, renew, remake us.
Redeemed & saved by grace;
buried & dead to sin;
and raised to life in Christ;
we live new lives in him.
3.
The Father calls us his;
his children by adoption.
The water speaks of blood -
the price of our redemption.
The children of his love;
joint heirs with Christ, God's Son
one family in Christ;
with all his people one.
4.
Reborn, renewed, restored;
eternal life before us.
Christ walks with us each day
till he to glory calls us.
Then we shall see his face;
be free from all our sin;
this Paradise is ours -
repent and come to him.

© Ian Day 2016
Tune – “Nun danket” “Now thank we all our God,”

 

From the "Favourite hymnal" thread -

 

Theological enough?

 

Anything wrong with that?