tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10588797.post3810527795624449779..comments2023-06-24T11:08:45.596-05:00Comments on For the Love of God and Humankind: From Music to Worship: A Chapter in My Storymattstephenskchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16710700768667514897noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10588797.post-75534903698992385882009-02-06T14:57:00.000-06:002009-02-06T14:57:00.000-06:00Cami... absolutely love this: Russ is "the instrum...Cami... absolutely love this: Russ is "the instrument God plays." As a worship leader myself, that's exactly how it feels... i've just never thought about it in those terms before. Thanks! :)<BR/><BR/>As far as style and so forth, you're right... it does matter. Common cultural expressions are what binds a community together, which is why not only sections of our cities, but perhaps even more so, our churches are so segregated. It's a difficult subject, but one that needs to be addressed more thoughtfully and graciously. I'm halfway through a book on this subject—Emerson and Smith's <EM>Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America</EM>—and it's quite perplexing and troubling. Maybe by the time i finish it, i'll have a good solution. :) (for some reason, though, i'm doubting it.)<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/><BR/>mattBelovedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178571788989858707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10588797.post-69486297489510797242006-10-30T23:32:00.000-06:002006-10-30T23:32:00.000-06:00Hey Papa, thanks for reading and being the first t...Hey Papa, thanks for reading and being the first to chime in! I most definitely appreciate the article. In fact, I agree wholeheartedly with its basic premise. If you'll note my description of a certain group of song-writer/worship leaders, I described them as "very deep, theologically-thick... pastors... mature, seasoned, committed... after God", as contrasted with the majority of other "worship" bands I've heard.<br /><br />You have mentioned that you're nearly always disappointed with your experience of "contemporary worship" at church... so am I. "Me-centered" music, as the author labeled it, makes me sick as well, as does an unhealthy diet of simplistic lyrics and repetition. You and this author have it right: there are too many immature, unthoughtful, uncreative, self-centered song-writers out there who need to shut up.<br /><br />A couple years ago, the Passion fellows I mentioned recorded an album entirely of hymns, all but one of which were over 100 years old, and including the oldest known hymn of the Church... done in modern rock fashion. David Crowder rearranged and recorded "Heaven Came Down", and the author is quoted as having written David thanking him for putting his song in a context in which his grandson now enjoyed it. So there are some worship leaders--even younger ones--who understand the importance of those historic hymns, and of God-centered, theologically deep, creative worship songs in general. It is these song-writers and worship leaders from whom I gain inspiration.<br /><br />On the flip side, I have to admit that there are massive numbers of selfish <em>hymns</em> as well, particularly of those written in the past 100 years. Most hymns that are sung in Baptist churches have been of this sort, in my experience. And the ones that aren't are so often <em>about</em> God rather than <em>to</em> Him. Nevertheless, I believe the songs we sing need to have a mixture of imminence and transcendence, to God, about Him, praising Him for who He is, and thanking Him for what He's done.<br /><br />If I could direct your prayers on this issue a bit, I would ask that you pray this: that God would raise up mature worshippers to lead the Church into the future, while staying rooted in the past, refined by fire, creative, theological, radically Christ-centered, and culturally sensitive. I too am worried by the flippancy and casuality of the majority of today's worship services. I rarely attend a service where true worship is taking place, whether traditional or contemporary. Which indicates to me one fundamental problem: our pastors, worship leaders, and congregations have become shackled by the comforts of the American Dream and so have avoided the fire that would otherwise refine them. The American Church is suffering from a deadly disease of immaturity and irreverence, all the way up to our pulpits. Which I suppose is why I am so challenged and refreshed by such few song-writer/worship-leaders and pastors.Belovedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13178571788989858707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10588797.post-60202972902481058842006-10-30T20:41:00.000-06:002006-10-30T20:41:00.000-06:00Hi Matthew,
I see I am the first to step into this...Hi Matthew,<br />I see I am the first to step into this chilly water on the issue of todays' music. I am going to give you a very long address for you to read. I wish I were intelligent enough to have written it because it says much about the way music is used in todays churches. Many of the "worship teams" I have witnessed are anything but! I know I am an old fuddy duddy but to hear some of the really old music from the early church inspires me and elevates my heart to new highs. Here is the address: Christianitytoday.com/music/commentaries/learningfromthemasters.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com