When it comes to Christmas, you’d think the traditional carols would be the standard music for the worship service. There are so very many of them to choose from, and just about everyone knows them (and if they don’t know them, they are usually very easy to learn!). Ah, but in today’s world, we must have more excitement, with lots of band (too much drumbeat for my taste), especially when you have the band playing a bridge while the congregation waits to sing. And that is what happened at our Christmas worship.
Before I get to the song we opened with, I’ll tell you what other music we had. First there was “special music” with karaoke — okay, she sung with recorded accompaniment (either CD or downloaded on the computer), but I really dislike this fad. The song was “Be Born In Me,” which I’ll let you look up for the lyrics. My problem is that I don’t like songs which are supposedly what some person is thinking; in this case it is supposedly Mary’s thoughts. I think it is presumptuous. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want someone writing lyrics and claiming the lyrics are what I’m thinking — or was thinking a couple thousand years ago! Other than that, it was okay, I guess.
The three other songs we sang as a congregation:
What Child Is This?
Good Christian Men Rejoice
While By Our sheep
Normal good stuff, right? Okay, now here is what we opened our worship with:
"Joy To The World / Shout For Joy"
by Paul Baloche (the same guy who couldn’t leave “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” alone)
Joy to the world the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and heaven and nature sing
Shout for joy
For the Son of God is the Saving One
He's the Saving One
Shout for joy
See what love has done
He has come for us
He's the Saving One
Joy to the World, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy
Shout for joy
For the Son of God is the Saving One
He's the Saving One
Shout for joy
See what love has done
He has come for us
He's the Saving One
Jesus, Immanuel
O come let us adore Him
Jesus, Immanuel
O come let us adore Him
Jesus, Immanuel
O come let us adore Him
Shout for joy
For the Son of God is the Saving One
He's the Saving One
Shout for joy
See what love has done
He has come for us
He's the Saving One
Shout for joy
For the Son of God is the Saving One
He's the Saving One
Shout for joy
See what love has done
He has come for us
He's the Saving One
Jesus, Immanuel
O come let us adore Him
Jesus, Immanuel
O come let us adore Him
Jesus, Immanuel
O come let us adore Him
Again we have a musician who has to use an old song to be able to get his new “chorus” marketed. Notice how much repetition there is in the chorus — which shows me the limited imagination of the writer.
But what really, really irritated me was that we dropped off half of the song just to fit in Paul Baloche’s repetitive manufacturing of emotionalism! Look at the important lyrics tossed out:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of
His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonder wonders of His love
And the churches using this stuff are enriching writers who have little imagination and no real talent for writing! Oh, but they manufacture the emotions and give the band something to do besides just being accompaniment, so let’s bring them in!
SIGH!
9 comments:
Sighing with you... the lack of true talent among "Christian" musicians is sad.
Vain repetition isn't favored by God.
-Carolyn
Maybe you should just leave where you are attending....all you seem to do is complain
Anonymous,
You say "All you seem to do is complain." Wrong
I've previously noted that the reason we chose this particular assembly after leaving the one which went market-driven was because the teaching and philosophy is good here. My only problem with this assembly is that the music leader likes too much the modern stuff, so that he can have the small band do bridges and get some emotionalism in them. We usually do one of this type and the rest are more traditional/conservative. There have been times when he chooses to do more, but that isn't often.
The problem is that when it comes to church assemblies, it is nigh impossible to find one (unless it's a KJVO, fundamental Calvinist, or legalistic assembly) which isn't using this newer stuff. So you deal with it.
My point of reviewing this type of mishmash of new with old is that there should be more discernment with music leaders so that they aren't using this stuff to manufacture emotions. It is important to use music most of congregation is familiar with and/or is easy for congregational singing (vs "radio" songs or what you find by artists on their CDs). I'm also making a point about the type of "musicians" who have no talent when it comes to lyrics so they use solid hymns to market their silly choruses they make up so to make more money that way, since they prove they don't have the talent to write their own lyrics.
My complaints about the songs are about the songs more than the assembly I'm at. My complaint with these songs is that song leaders are lacking in discernment.
If the song leaders are lacking in discernment...then so are the others more at the top of the hierarchical totem pole for allowing it...
Anonymous,
My experience shows that most pastoral leaders don't pay attention to the music unless there heretical lyrics.
As long as the lyrics aren't heretical or aberrant, then it really is a matter of taste, is it not? There is nothing unbiblical about the songs I've critiqued the past couple weeks, rather they are insipid, and my complaint with them is primarily also directed at the butcherer of them.
So after singing this song about the Saving One, did the Preaching One give a sermon? And then the Serving Ones (deacons) take an offering. And then after the service, the Sitting Ones all stood up and left the sanctuary. And if you had had communion, The Gathering One would pick up all the communion cups from the chair backs. After some fellowship, the Nurturing Ones would gather their children from their classes and the make it out to the parking lot, where the Driving One would drive them home. Then the Cooking One would make lunch. After the Door Opening One unlocked the front door, of course.
castiron,
ALL churches have "liturgies," i.e. and order of service. Even the one you attend, so why poke fun?
At the assembly we attend there is prelude music as everyone arrives. As the clock hits the beginning of service time the first few minutes are used for important announcements, prayer requests, praises, etc which affect the entire congregation.
Then we have an opening song or two, which on Christmas was the one my article is about.
From there it varies a wee bit week by week, but just as an example I will continue with this week's liturgy.
After the opening songs, we had a Scripture reading: Luke 1:26-38. Usually we don't have two readings, and often the readings are whole chapters and will be what the sermon for the day is based on.
Then we had "special music" with a soloist. Often this time is when the choir has a song, but we do occasionally have soloists and even a duet now and then. This was followed by a pastor praying on behalf of the assembly.
Then we have the offering "plates" passed. After which we sang "What Child Is This?"
Then there was the reading of Luke 2:1-20, followed by the song, "Good Christian Men Rejoice."
THEN we had the message/sermon or whatever you want to call it, and it focused on what took place in the cited Scripture and how that particular last Christmas carol reflected on the Luke passage.
At the conclusion of the message, we sang "While by Our Sheep," and then the service was closed by a benediction.
Does that meet with your approval?
You should know me by now(smile), I was NOT poking fun at the church service, but the horrible wording of the song. I do not call my Savior, the Creator God who made the Heavens and the Earth, My Redeemer, My Lord the "saving one". That is a bad use of English and a bad use for a worship song in my feeble but often prideful, sometimes obnoxious opinion. He IS Savior, not "one", not "one" kind of saving type of thing that the mediocre lyrics of this song suggest, at least in my ear. No one else is bothered by that type of vague language? Sorry my joke fizzled and died. It reminded me of the joke, "Hi, I'm the Pastor, that's who I am. That's who I am. I'm the Worship Leader, that's what I do, that's what I do..." Sorry I went there and didn't emphasize the right direction of my sarcasm or explain it better!!
I grew up in church, my dad drove. My mom made lunch. My husband drives. I make lunch : ) My kids gather the communion cups (hey, they're shorter and don't have to stoop down) : ) So that's why I used those examples, just from real life. My apologies!
Hi Castiron,
Sorry I missed the humor! No apologies necessary. :) Sometimes when it is too subtle, my old brain just doesn't register. And, I've had quite a bit of emails complaining about my raising these songs as an issue, as if no one should point out problems is songs which people like to sing!
Yes, the lyrics added absolutely nothing to the song, and even detracted from it.
Your last paragraph gave me a smile.
Post a Comment