By Editor Bob Terry
In the 1700s as Charles and John Wesley road horseback through the American wilderness making rounds as Methodist circuit preachers, they used many of their lonely hours writing new music for the church. Today these crude compositions are found in most Christian hymnals — songs like “Blessed Be the Name,” “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling,” “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”
A century later, another Methodist singer and composer introduced the Christian world to future classics. Ira Sankey, the song leader for Evangelist Dwight L. Moody, frequently introduced his new hymns and spiritual songs in revivals he and Moody led across America and the British Isles.
Imagine the response of enthralled listeners as they heard for the first time Sankey’s sweet tenor voice sharing the words of his songs like “Faith Is the Victory” and “The Ninety and Nine.” Those songs became classics almost immediately.
A contemporary of Sankey, Fanny Crosby, who lived in New York City, was a prolific hymn writer — perhaps the most prolific of all time. Although blind from shortly after birth, Crosby wrote more than 9,000 hymns. In the most recent Baptist Hymnal, she is one of the hymn writers with the most songs. The list includes such treasures as “Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine,” “To God Be the Glory,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It” and many more.
More recently, Bill Gaither blessed the Christian world with songs like “The King Is Coming” and “Because He Lives.” These and others quickly found their way into Christian hymnals.
What was true of the past is true today. God is using men and women to compose new music for the church. In fact, there may well be more new Christian music composed today than ever before in history.
Unlike the days of the Wesleys, Sankey and Crosby, one does not have to wait for a new hymnal or a personal encounter with the composer to experience a new song. Christian radio, Christian music Web sites, electronic recordings and other technologies bring new music to the public square quickly. Even in churches, one can be singing a new release within weeks, perhaps even days.
Varied reactions to new music
The explosion of new music has produced different reactions. For some, the new music is as welcome as a cool breeze on a sultry summer day. Others are still evaluating the welcome offered to this addition to the worship experience.
One popular West Coast evangelical leader contended that after a song has been sung 10 times, singing it again is more of a historical experience rather than a present-day worship experience. He argued that people recall their history with the song rather than having a new experience with God through the song.
For some, singing a new song is spiritually invigorating. It is alive. It is a new experience.
One of the realities of singing a new song is that in most cases, only music leaders have copies of the words and music. The congregation follows the leader’s voice or direction.
Possible division of participation
This might not have been a great problem when choruses and Scripture songs had simple, easy to remember tunes but that day is past. Now much of the new music is as complex as traditional hymns.
The music leader may know when a note is held for several beats or when it is quickly passed but the congregation does not. The leader knows the relationship between the music and the phrases but not the congregation. The leader knows when rests occur and when phrases begin but not the congregation.
Memorizing new tunes is almost a requirement for singing new music with the words cast on a screen or printed on a piece of paper. Otherwise one mumbles unfamiliar words and stumbles through an unknown tune. That is not praise or worship.
This can create a division of participation between those who know the music and those who do not. An Alabama director of missions told of visiting a church where he did not know a single chorus sung in the service. All he could do was stand silently while others sang.
To be truthful, this is not a new situation. When singing from the hymnbook was the popular style, some charged that one had to read music in order to participate. One was expected to read the words and the tune from the hymnal. When singing parts was encouraged, the experience became more of a task than praise or worship. Some simply chose not to participate.
Still some people prefer music that connects them to the history of the faith. These believe that the river of faith was flowing long before they waded into its waters and will be flowing long after they are gone. They would sing “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” with more meaning than the chorus “God Is So Good.”
There may be no simple answer to bridging the gap between music preferences for worship. Certainly a song does not have to be printed in a hymnbook to be worthy of use.
Nor is every new composition worthy of use for praise and worship. Time has a way of weeding out the great from the not so good no matter whom the composer may be.
One style of music is not necessarily better than the other. Some people may love the chorus “Alleluia” in which the word is repeated over and over again, while others enjoy the “Sevenfold Amen.” Using a variety of music styles may help the church reach more types of people for the Lord.
Whatever music is used should speak to the needs of the entire congregation. One group of members does not have to be sacrificed in order to please another group. Church music should have broad appeal, and members should be mature enough to understand that one’s preference is not the only legitimate worship style.
What will happen in church music, no one knows. Some believe this is a watershed moment when church music moves to a more contemporary style, offering greater participation by the congregation. Others believe the contemporary style has reached its peak and the pendulum is moving back toward a mixture of traditional and contemporary.
Christ’s honor is determining factor
They point to the rapid growth of liturgical worship in the United States as evidence of the change. In most of the world, however, the Pentecostal flavor of worship holds sway.
Hopefully Christians will remember that as long as the music is Christ honoring and as long as it helps the congregation experience the risen Lord, then the music — whether traditional or contemporary — is appropriate as music of the church.
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