This week we made our monthly visit to a church we previously attended all the time. While the teaching is good, as is the leadership (for the most part), the music is what drove us away. Often it is played too loud, and the songs are often vacuous, or mindless, or repetitive ad nauseam. However, usually the first Sunday of the month they have communion and the songs are usually old hymns or good new ones, with not a whole lot of band participation; but not this week.
The first thing that assaulted our ears was a few minutes prior to service they had a recording blaring way too loud, and it was an advertisement for some band coming on Saturday (I don’t think churches have any business paying for bands to come to entertain; I think it is a horrible waste of offerings.). It was totally inappropriate for a worship setting. And the band participated in every song we sang, but at least it was more sedate than usual.
The first song we sang was the old hymn “At Calvary”; no complaints there! After this, with the chorus of:
Mercy there was great
Mercy there was great
And grace was free
Pardon there was multiplied to me
There my Burdened soul found liberty
At Calvary
…we discovered that the theme for our songs was “mercy.”
The choir then sang His Mercy is More. While I can’t complain about the lyrics, this is another expense I don’t think churches can justify—buying the material for choirs is a travesty when there is excellent hymnology sitting in the pews and already paid for!!!
Then it began to go downhill—the congregation then sang a “radio song” which I’ve never previously heard: Mercy, by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin:
I will kneel in the dust
At the foot of the cross,
Where mercy paid for me.
Where the wrath I deserve,
It is gone, it has passed.
Your blood has hidden me.
Mercy, mercy,
As endless as the sea.
I'll sing Your hallelujah
For all eternity.
We will lift up the cup
And the bread we will break,
Remembering Your love.
We were fallen from grace,
But You took on our shame
And nailed it to a cross.
Mercy, mercy,
As endless as the sea.
I'll sing Your hallelujah
For all eternity.
Mercy, mercy,
As endless as the sea.
I'll sing Your hallelujah
For all eternity.
May I never lose the wonder,
Oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen.
May I never lose the wonder,
Oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen.
May I never lose the wonder,
Oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen.
May I never lose the wonder,
Oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen.
May I never lose the wonder,
Oh, the wonder of Your mercy.
May I sing Your hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Amen.
I will kneel in the dust
At the foot of the cross,
Where mercy paid for me.
This repetition was just inane! This song was written for performing or listening to, and NOT for congregational singing!!! There was even an octave change which no one could have expected unless they had heard the song before! When will song leaders get that through their skulls and quit choosing songs because they drive emotions and make people feel good!?!?
After communion we sang Mercy to Me, by Randy Cagle. I can’t get the lyric on the ‘net, but this song was acceptable lyrically.
After prayers, offering and scripture reading, we just had to have another “radio song,” Have Your Way, by Claire Cloninger and Don Moen. This one is definitely from the charismatic world with praying to the Holy Spirit (notice you won’t find praying to the Holy Spirit in the Bible) and the mindless repetition (with emotion-driving music).
Have your way
Have your way
Holy Spirit, fill our hearts
And have your way
As we wait (we wait on you)
And as we pray (we pray to you)
Speak your word into our hearts
And have your way
Have your way
Have your way
Holy Spirit, fill our hearts
And have your way
As we wait (we wait on you)
And as we pray (we pray to you)
Speak your word into our hearts
And have your way
As we wait (we wait on you)
And as we pray (we pray to you)
Speak your word into our hearts
And have your way
Speak your word into our hearts
And have your way
Speak your word into our hearts
And have your way
Talk about vacuous! Nothing is taught in this song except charismatic nonsense of praying to the Holy Spirit.
Well, after the sermon we had relief from this silliness as we sang an old hymn, Trust and Obey.
We like to go back to this particular assembly because we like the pastor’s teachings and we miss seeing many friends we’ve met there. But when even communion Sunday gets this way, it makes it more and more difficult to want to return.
7 comments:
Glenn,
I am convinced that in this day and age, that church is just going to be like this. It is hard to accept. It is sad, but I am afraid it is a sign of the times. Music seems to be a massive problem in many churches. The lack of discernment seems to be the common denominator, even among leaders. That, and the wrong attitude of many churches to cater to the unbeliever, instead of building up the saints.
Personally, I'm generally happy to see a church choir. Hearing worship music/sacred pieces sung in four part is a joy and a delight (as is participating). Not many congregations will break into parts even with hymnals in hand. I believe that's one consequence of churches relying so much on CCM music... not enough know how to sing parts anymore.
If you can manage to find good preaching and mostly good leadership, consider yourself quite blessed. Sad to say, but the hour is late, and good churches are rarities. As for the music - I'd ask the pastor why God would want empty, repetitious music when He has expressly said he doesn't like empty, repetitious prayers (Matt 6:7). I'd also ask the pastor how empty, repetitious songs fulfill the command for us to *teach and admonish* one another with our music (Col 3:16). As for the volume being too loud, that is grossly unnecessary. I'm sure you've said something. Say it again. Or - my husband's sense of humor - work in the sound booth, and then you've got the controls in your hand. :)
It is very clear that you and your wife want to be a part of a good assembly, and greatly value both good teaching and God-honoring music. From following your blog for years, it is also clear you've been discouraged (as have many believers!) with what you've seen in so many of today's believing assemblies. It's hard not to be.
I say, since you said you really liked this assembly, pray, and go back. Tell them why you left, and see what God does. :)
-Carolyn
Carolyn,
Well, we like the assembly we attend now better than the noisy one. I have noted a few times to the leadership at the noisy church about the volume and how it affects people; I was last told that they'd try to be more sensitive to it. HAH! I even told the pastor this Sunday that the volume was why we don't come as often any more. I've previously commented about their musical choices, and the only thing it did was get them to drop Hillsong and Bethel stuff.
Hi Glenn,
Wow, it's great that they dropped the Hillsong and Bethel songs. That's a wonderful change for the better!
It is frustrating, however, when churches have loud music and don't understand how much it affects people.
-Carolyn
Glenn,
What do you think of the use of drums in church hymnals? Is that wrong?
Jesse,
I don't find anything wrong with drums, per se, as part of a small instrumental ensemble (instead of a band), but the problem lies with how they are played. Too often the drummer over-powers the other instruments. The drum is there to accompany, not to do solos.
What do you think of this article?:
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go/
Jesse,
I disagree. Mindless repetition in songs may not be a "doctrinal" issue to him, but to me it is. Mindless repetitions isn't just about taste, it's about proper teaching of doctrine.
Also, when the assembly one is attending has a band with very loud music, then that isn't doctrinal either, but it is playing to the secular world and ruining the ears of those attending.
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