Church Music
Southern Gospel Quartet music is very popular with some people. I wrote some new verses to “Just A Little Talk With Jesus”. I was going to include them here but I sensed that the Lord deemed them inappropriate. They were somewhat nonsensical parody. I was not trying to make fun of that particular song. It is just that that one probably has the most well known lyrics. I was, however, trying to make a point regarding that genre. To a degree, the genuine lyrics of many of those kind of songs are nonsensical. They are often completely foreign to Bible doctrine. That does not matter, in the opinion of many people. That style of Quartet music is so loved by many people. They are often almost nonsensical or unbiblical ditties. But, do you really want to stand before the Throne of the universe and say some of those words?
“Well, Brother, it's just sort of a fun thing to do on Sunday nights.”
Alright, then. Never mind. Sorry to slow you down.
Songs have an amazing property. They are a means of all of us saying the exact same words at exactly the same time. Some of the older hymns are so rich in theology. Their content is deep and thrilling if you concentrate on what you are saying. However, many of them are so bad musically, it is a tragedy. I have included one verse from an old hymn.
The Church's One Foundation
Samuel
John Stone
(1839-1900)
The Church's one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav'n He came and sought her
To be His holy Bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
It is not the melody I find thrilling. It is the content. It is not a mindless ditty. I feel that it expresses the mind of the Spirit. It is remarkable that we sinful humans can stand on earth and corporately say words like this in unison. It seems to touch something in the core of a genuine believer.
When did our worship degenerate into singing? Music and even “Christian” music have become industries. Does this mean that talented people should be penalized? Should gifted people be minimized? Of course not, but leading worship is somewhat like a priesthood. We should not lead it or even participate in it without realizing this is a holy thing. Do we really want to stand before the Throne and say some of the things that may be popular today?
A few decades ago there was a movement that, in my opinion, really seemed to have a special anointing for worship. This is highly subjective but I think there was something real there. Over a period of not many years something seemed to change. This movement attracted very proficient musical people. Things seemed to evolve. For reasons that I will not develop here, I was making a circuit of several churches in the San Diego, CA area. One church I visited started a new early Sunday morning service. It was a small group. There was a new family visiting. The woman was trying unsuccessfully to clap her hands to a new song with a 5/4 time signature over a 7/13 rhythm pattern. (In other words, it was very complex.) What a mess. I am sure some super-musician would have loved it. It was worthless and pointless for corporate worship.
I am not the only one who had noticed this. I call it “musician's music”. That is great but not in church where the vast majority of the people are “non-musicians”. This is super-sensitive stuff but it really does matter. This is Jesus' church not yours or mine.
In many cases it seems that nostalgia rules the day. Some nonsense words trigger a memory in our minds. A particular music style that reminds us of Granny cannot be released from our past. Being old or new is not good or bad, necessarily. What does the Spirit bless with His approval?
My wife and I were attending a church in Florida that had a remarkable worship leader. This man could play almost any instrument. He could use any genre of music to worship God. He was also sensitive to God. The music and worship were always great. It was always a 9 or 10 out of ten. One morning, as he switched to a different song something happened. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. The worship service went from a 10 to a 37 or so. The Spirit of God filled room. It was terrifying. The worship leader was playing a keyboard that morning. He was so skilled that he was not thrown off by the surprising presence of God. But I will never forget the look of horror on his face. He was frightened nearly to death, as were most of us.
What happened?
When he switched to the new song, he knowingly or “accidentally” lined up with exactly what the Holy Spirit wanted to do that morning. That is the secret. All we have to do is what God would like to do, not what we want to do. Easy to say. Not very easy to actually do. How sad it is when we do not even try.
Repetition
Often, non-funny jokes are made about worship leaders who repeat certain words or phrases many times. This is irritating to many people judging by the constant and continual and repetitive complaining. Repetitive belly-aching is fine but repetitive worship is bad, apparently. There is one important thing that repetition accomplishes. It is about the only way that earth-time creatures can approximate eternity. It seems we can sometimes get a weak but real sense of being before the Throne of God in a timeless or near timeless state. Time really does seem to stop or slow down when we are “lost in God” during real Spirit-enhanced worship.
In the next life, are we going to complain to a nearby angel if heaven's clock seems to slow down to almost nothing while others allow that new thing in us, now unhindered by our decaying flesh, to soar in the heavenlies overcome by the goodness and greatness of God? This is serious.
Here, it seems we cannot be inconvenienced by an extension of the worship time for a few minutes. If we think that Jesus is going to come and change us all into fervent worshipers, we are wrong. This “magical” Christianity is a deception. If we cannot stand to be a worshiper now, why do we think God is going to change us into a different person who loves God with all his heart? This is insane. We are not going to be a different person. We are going to still be us, with the amount of transformation that we have allowed (or refused).
This is tremendously important. Our future ability to enjoy God will be related to our desire for Him now. We have as much of God as we want. Let us cultivate an intense desire for Him now.
May 28, 2024
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