One more for the day . . .
Those of you close to me will know that I've got some real issues about how we as a people approach worship . . . you'll also know that my thoughts are works in progress. Click on the title ("One more for the day . . .) above to read an article from the latest issue of the Salvation Army Southern Territories 'flagship' publication, The Southern Spirit.
Please tell me what you think . . . I'll post my reply and letter to the editor once I get it finished.
Grace.
4 comments:
I really have nothing to comment on specifically, but I just wanted to say how incredibly refreshing it was to come upon a blog that had such a spiritually growing Christian. That is so INCREDIBLY rare in the blogosphere, that I had to say something.
It's so good to meet a Christian in real life, but to meet someone in cyberspace that really, truly loves the Lord.....it's amazing. God Bless you. And congradulations on the nuptials.
Theresa
And thus the divide continues....is a thought.
Another thought is, what songs has the author sang...and what about sooo many 'contemporary' (don't care for that word, but the only one I could think of) songs that do dive into these other topics: "confession, cleansing, and commitment"? If I need to list them, then give me tomorrow and I'll find some.
That's all I have to say for now...interested to hear what you have to say Des!
good post. i read that article, too, and responded on johnny's blog.
see you tonight.
Hmmm... this guy is bold. I don't agree with his generalizations- "The difficulty with most of our praise and worhsip music is that it speaks nothing of confession, nothing of cleansing, nothing of commitment. It is simply something to make people feel good when they come to church." Is that a slap in the face? I appareciate folks trying to "tell it like it is," but know what you're talking about.
What about the words " I'm desperate for you..." or "I'm lost without you." Those phrases sound like confession to me.
Cleansing- another good one. What about phrases such as "I wanna be broken.... I wanna be spilled out." These are just a FEW examples.
I don't know about the rest of you, but personally, I don't smile really big and all of a sudden become really HAPPY while I'm singing the phrases "I'm desperate for you..." and "I'm lost without you..." So I don't agree when the writer says "It is simply something to make people feel good when they come to church."
Yes.. some songs DO lift the spirit and the mood. However, the praise and worship songs that I listen to, for the most part, encourage me to "pause.... reflect... and repent." And what's wrong with lifting hands?! can we not be free to worship the way we want? Why so many stipulations and limitations?
I appreciate the songs of old... if I didn't, I probably couldn't be a Salvation Army Bandmaster! These songs are a major staple of our repertoire, and I love them. But I am open minded enough to enjoy the new stuff as well.
I don't believe that the song writers of today are any less talented than those of the past years. Ok, so we don't always use big "fifty cent" words and we don't always write our songs in rhymed iambic pentameter, but what really matters here- that we only use 6 words in our songs(according to Major Satterlee) or that we take the talent we have and give it God???!! Which is more important?
I enjoy a mix of different types of music during a service. If we had an African drum ensemble play during the service, I would like that too. Do I enjoy 17th century Gregorian chant? No! But am I mature enough to be open minded to it? I believe so. If Gregorian chant is your thing, then do it and don't worry about what others think. It's between YOU and GOD.
Perhaps I missed the real point that this writer was trying to make, but all I can do is read it and tell you what comes to my mind. I'm very interested in knowing what the rest of you think....
Respectfully submitted,
Daniel
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