We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Monday, August 10, 2015

Spiritual Junk Food Songs


As anyone who has followed the blog for a while knows, I do a lot of criticizing modern “praise and worship” songs, mostly because they often have very poor (and sometimes heretical) lyrics which are more for creating enthusiasm and focussing on self rather than contemplating our God and our Savior, and focusing on Them.  Well, recently I’ve seen/heard several of these types of songs and could not help but think about how much they are nothing less than spiritual “junk food,” with all the sweetness and saccharine but virtually no spiritually-nutritional value.  Most of the time I think the authors believe that if we say something often enough, no matter how trite, it just might make you think outside of your emotional moment.  Then again, I think all they really want is to have you in an emotional moment!

The great hymns and songs of the Church didn’t just focus on praise or just on worship, rather they seemed to cover a whole realm of theological thinking, usually building verse by verse expounding some great truth about God, or why we praise Him, or why we worship Him, solid testimonies of how the writer was brought to faith in the Lord, encouragement of the saints, etc.  I’ve posted some of these great songs (and some are modern by authors who “get it”) and demonstrated these attributes.  Take a look at the lyrics of some of these I’ve previously posted:

How Deep The Father’s Love For Us
The Love of God
In Christ Alone
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Oh Church, Arise
It Is Well With My Soul
At the Cross
Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
Wonderful Grace of Jesus
Old Hundredth
The Power of the Cross
Christ the Lord is Risen Today — Alleluia!
Of the Father’s Love Begotten
Holy, Holy, Holy!  Lord God Almighty!
Behold the Lamb
Rejoice, the Lord is King!
There Is A Fountain

Okay, I think that is enough to see how meaty and meaningful these songs are.   However, what got me finally starting this post was one I was reminded of yesterday morning — “Now Thank We All Our God.”


Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.

Oh, may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts 
And blessed peace to cheer us
And keep us in his grace
And guide us when perplexed
And free us from all harm
In this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and him who reigns
With them is highest heaven,
The one eternal God,
Whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

So, now let’s look at some “new” stuff running rampant throughout the Church in an attempt to be “relevant” or to bring in “excitement” or whatever. 

CARRY YOUR NAME  (one we sang a few weeks ago)
by Christy Nockels

Verse 1
How merciful the cross
How powerful the blood
How beautiful Your arms
Open for us
Open for us

Chorus 1
No greater love
God's only Son
Jesus, Jesus
No other name
Mighty to save
Jesus, Jesus

Verse 2
By Your wounds we are healed
And You have conquered the grave
And in Your rising, we will rise
To carry Your name
Above every name

Chorus 2
I will carry Your name
Carry Your name
Jesus, Your name forever
For all of my days
In all of my ways
Jesus, Your name forever

How merciful the cross
How powerful the blood
How beautiful Your arms
Open for us
Open for us

No greater love 
God's only Son
Jesus, Jesus
No other name
Mighty to save
Jesus, Jesus

By Your wounds
We are healed
And You have
Conquered the grave
And in Your rising,
We will rise 
To carry Your name
Above every name

No greater love 
God's only Son
Jesus, Jesus
No other name
Mighty to save
Jesus, Jesus

No greater love
God's only Son
Jesus, Jesus
No other name
So strong to save
Jesus, Jesus

I will carry Your name 
Carry Your name
Jesus, Your name forever 
For all of my days
In all of my ways
Jesus, Your name forever

I will carry Your name 
Carry Your name
Jesus, Your name forever 
For all of my days
In all of my ways
Jesus, Your name forever

Jesus, Your name
Bless Your name

No greater love 
God's only Son
Jesus, Jesus
No other name
Mighty to save
Jesus, Jesus

I will carry Your name 
Carry Your name
Jesus, Your name forever 
For all of my days
In all of my ways
Jesus, Your name forever

WOW!!  Talk about mindless repetition!  For the most part the lyrics are innocuous (except for the weird “How beautiful Your arms Open for us”) but there is no meat!!!  Just around and around building emotion.

We did the rest of these yesterday (and this is how we sang them):

Come, Now Is the Time to Worship
(I won’t sing this one just because it comes from the Vineyard, that bastion of signs and wonders and aberrant theology.  Of course the repetition drives me crazy anyway.)

Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are, to worship.
Come, just as you are, before your God.
Come.

One day every tongue will confess
You are God.
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
Who gladly choose you now.

Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Oh, come. Just as you are to worship.
Come just as you are before your God.
Come.

One day every tongue will confess
You are God.
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
who gladly choose you now.

One day every tongue will confess
You are God.
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
who gladly choose you now.

Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are to worship.
Come, just as you are before your God.
Come.

Oh, come. Oh, come. Oh, come.
Worship the Lord. Oh, come.

Come, come, come...

Come, Let us Worship and Bow Down

Come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker.
Come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker.

For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture
And the sheep of His hand,
And the sheep of His hand.

Come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker.
Come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker.

For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture
And the sheep of His hand,
And the sheep of His hand.

I worship You, Almighty God

I worship You, Almighty God
There is none like You
I worship You, O Prince of Peace
That is what I want to do
I give You praise
For You are my righteousness
I worship You, Almighty God
There is none like You

(Sing one key higher)
I worship You, Almighty God
There is none like You
I worship You, O Prince of Peace
That is what I want to do
I give You praise
For You are my righteousness
I worship You, Almighty God
There is none like You
There is none like You.

Sing Unto The Lord A New Song

Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth

Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth

For God is great
And greatly to be praised
God is great
And greatly to be praised

Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth

Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth

For God is great
And greatly to be praised
God is great
And greatly to be praised

Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord a new song
Sing unto the Lord all the earth
Sing unto the Lord all the earth

Of course there was the clapping to the beat, and more hands up and more emotion with every repeat.  Where’s the meat in any of these?  Just mindless emotionalism.

The last song we did to close out the service was an old hymn, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” but the music team just had to jazz it up a bit and speed it up a bit (instead of “round” even notes, there were a lot of hold/cut notes).  Why can’t people quit trying to be “relevant”?!?

As annoying as these “junk food” songs are, at least they aren’t used as often as what is happening where we left, and at least they aren’t “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs, or Hillsong, or horrid theology.

Worship leaders, please hear us in the ranks.  We want MEAT!!!!  We want to be able to express deep truths in our focus on the Lord.  We don’t need a steady diet of sweets leading to spiritual “tooth decay.”

12 comments:

Doug Evans said...

I am blessed to be in a church family with what is now the rarest of all gifts: discernment. Their taste in worship music is very basic - hymns. We have the occasional cowboy hymn (we are after all a rural church in the Colorado prairies) and their idea of CCM is the Gaithers. I love this church!

Anonymous said...

Ok, are we up for a TWB congregational vote? Who will second my nomination for Glenn to be the official TWB Worship Director? HAHA, in all seriousness, those were some good hymns in that list. How Deep The Father's Love For Us is an EXCELLENT example of contemporary hymnody, written by British musician Stuart Townend. I LOVE THAT SONG.

As for changing the cadence to All Hail the Power, I'm with you, I don't like when syncopation is added to songs that are meant have a straight meter. We don't need to change old hymns. They are beautiful and worshipful as written.

Those other songs your church sang were repetitive and certainly not my cup of tea, but at least didn't contain strange lyrics or aberrant doctrine. You've posted far worse examples on your blog.

-Carolyn

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Put me in charge and 90% of what we'd sing would be at least 100 years old!

DebbieLynne said...

Wonderful post, Glenn. I don't mind updating hymns, but the pablum of most contemporary songs is so distasteful.

Lindsay said...

I agree with Carolyn's assessment of Stuart Townend's work. Can't fault his doctrine or his lyrics / musical combinations.

Anonymous said...

Can I just ask a simple question.....growing up in the church, we never had a "worship leader." We had an organist and we sang hymns out of the hymnals, everyone in unison. There was no human being placed in front of the cross at the front of the church building to "que" us in. We all sang in unison offering up words of praise and thanksgiving in giving our LORD all of the Glory that is so rightfully His. The pastor, when at the pulpit, did not even remark on thanking the organist, speaking how much time she spent in practicing and serving the church, nor praising her amazing abilities. In fact, he never boasted nor bragged about any human being, but only in Jesus, similar to the Apostle Paul. As I remember, God's people simply served Jesus and served one another without all of the accolades and back patting that we see today. People humbly served the King, Jesus.

Anonymous said...

Continued from previous comment:

Now, in today's churches, we have elevated the music to a place of idolatry in many respects. Today, we have a "praise team," "worship leader," "praise band," "worship committee," and "worship ministry." Congregations are now incapable of worshiping our LORD Jesus without the leading of these very important people who love the praises of men and women, who love to be seen in front of the churches in showing off their special talents, who love the applause of the crowds, and who love the singled out compliments from the pastor/pulpit system. Worship has now become no different than going to a pagan rock concert complete with all of the shallow idol worship happening there.

Oh, how men and women love the praises of the crowds. And if for some reason, they are ignored during the church service with swelling words, most will let you know after the service how many "hours" they spent trying to perfect a certain difficult song.

We sit and listen to the religious leadership bash the ways of Hollywood/the entertainment industry with its wicked sins, and yet, is there any difference between the two considering the fact that worship is now about "performance?"

Frankly, I am tired of worshiping the "worship band, praise team, or what have you." I am sick of filling their already inflated egos with more sweet sounding words of praise and I am tired of hearing and seeing their little temper tantrums when they are "not recognized for their important talents and positions." Exactly whom are we worshiping any more, really?

Is it man leading us into worship, or is God, the Holy Spirit leading us into worship and all truth?

Sorry Glen, worship in most churches has turned into the land of the self/I/me and more and more of leadership me.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

I don't have a problem with a "worship leader" per se. The one we used to have was just one guy who picked the songs for the day, usually picking good praise and worship hymns to open, then others which sort of went with the message. He was a humble servant and only was there to help start and hold the timing, etc. Not a show. He also usually accompanied with an acoustic guitar, but he wasn't the center - he helped lead the singing.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8/12 7:18/7:33 -

Totally agree that those who are seeking self have the wrong heart in music ministry, nor do I feel worship should be a 'show'. But I hope you do understand that honing a musical talent for service to the Lord is not a sinful act. It is a good stewardship of a good gift given by the Lord. There is nothing wrong with 'worship leaders' nor talented musicians - the Temple of old had such as singers (ex: 1 Chron 15:22; 1 Chron 25:7), who even instructed others in song. If it is done unto the Lord, it is a blessing to others.

Both my husband and I view music as a stewardship, and appreciate the hearts of those in music ministry who are there to serve.

-Carolyn

Anonymous said...

A few more thoughts -

First, it takes hours of practice and hard work to put together songs each week for a worship service. No one should be boasting about that, but I respect the time and work that church musicians put in to be able to lead a congregation. It is hard work, requires a lot of diligent care and planning, and prayer. Even the church organist is able to do what s/he does, because of years upon years of study and practice. The key is this: those who are humble know it's ALL from the Lord. There is nothing sinful in thanking them, nor thanking God for them.

Believers should be thankful. Apostle Paul thanked many people in the epistles. Again, it's a heart posture issue, humility verses pride.

Second, most people in the congregation do need musical cues from others, to help everyone stay in unison. Again, attention shouldn't be drawn to this, but as Glenn said, someone has to start and keep time. Especially necessary in this era of "songs on the wall" as one of my husband's friends calls them, it's hard for the congregation to know what to sing, especially when the people working a/v make a mistake. That's why I'm such a fan of FAMILIAR songs with FAMILIAR melodies. That way, even if the wrong verse is accidentally put up on the screen/wall, people keep singing because they know the song. It's easier by far to have people follow along in a hymnal, but if people hold their hymnal too low, then everyone's faces are looking toward the ground while singing. HAHA.

So truly, Anon 8/12, 7:18/7:33, I do get that it, that worship shouldn't be a show or about ego stroking. But please don't let your disdain for prideful and arrogant musicians become an overall disdain for music ministry. There are humble musicians out there, who are faithful servants.

-Carolyn

Anonymous said...

Precisely folks,

Most of us within the Christian culture have met with and worked with people who make sure the world knows they are "leaders" and have spent volumes of time in claiming they serve our LORD Jesus Christ.

What about all of those humble, faithful believers, who quietly serve Jesus, fully knowing that all of the Praise, the Honor, and the Glory belongs to Him alone, with absolutely no human praise what so ever.

Matthew 6 is not practiced in most 501c. 3 churches any longer for we have been taught to say "I am so proud" and this humanistic characteristic statement, "I do this and that for the LORD."

What lord may we ask? For the Spirit always testifies to Jesus as written in The Word, He never testifies to the self.

Perhaps the emergent synopsis is in more 'conservative' churches than one realizes.

Oh, but that glory shall be for me, me, and more of me, as Christ stands outside of the temples (our bodies) waiting to come in and live.

And to say that hymns are more godly than contemporary songs...hmmm....

Maybe we should only be singing the Psalms, for some hymns have some pretty dubious doctrines in them as well. Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD Almighty.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Anonymous,

Matthew 6 isn't the Christian life - only part of it.

No one is saying hymns are more godly than contemporary songs - really, if that's what you got out of the discussion then you need to start reading all over again.

We are talking about the difference in the focus of old hymns and contemporary hymns which point to God (age of song isn't the issue) and His attributes, rather than drumming up self-indulgent emotionalism. We're talking about lyrics with substance over mallow.

I've even addressed the dubious lyrics of old hymns, such as the original "Jesus Is My Boyfriend" song, "In the Garden."