Opinion: Will We Be the Generation that Did Away with the Great Hymns?

by   Clonnie Yearout                                                                                                                     q                                         Vol. XIX, No. 6, August 2006

I recently heard a minister of music remark that there are two types of songs which Christians sing: those we sing to God and those we sing about God. Did the minister mean that when we sing about God we are not singing to Him? And did he mean that when we sing to God we can’t be singing about Him? To my mind, this appears to be a distinction without a difference.

There can be no doubt that a huge change has occurred in the music heard in many churches within the last few years. The traditional hymns of the church, many sung for hundreds of years, are quickly disappearing while new contemporary songs and choruses are sung almost exclusively. When hymns are sung, they are usually abbreviated and sometimes unrecognizable because their music has been changed to reflect an up tempo style, allowing for full participation by all the instruments of the church band. It seems as if we don’t really consider it worshiping anymore unless we close our eyes and move our bodies rhythmically to the beat of the music. Many welcome the change, believing that vibrant life has been given to an area of worship that was dull, dreary, and dead. Others see the change as shallow, emotion driven, and fleshly. Which side is right? Is either side right? Why can’t members of The Church of Jesus Christ agree on what constitutes correct worship?

The fact that conflicting music styles exist and are able to cause so much dissension should be an obvious indicator of gross error within the church body. Somebody, perhaps everybody, is wrong! Does God want constant and continuing conflict to exist within His church? Certainly not! Either the music is wrong or the hearts of the people are wrong, possibly both, but the situation as it now stands can’t be acceptable to Him. What is the source of the conflict? Is it possible for all sides to come to an agreement that would not only solve the problem but strengthen the body in a way that would bring glory and honor to God? We must all pray earnestly toward this end.

As I write, I am increasingly aware of my own strong bias relative to today’s church music. I have been in church all my life and the memory banks of my mind are filled with lines from the great hymns of Crosby, Wesley, Watts, Newton, et al. The great doctrinal truths of these songs were burned into my mind long before I had the capacity to accept them into my heart, and there is a desire burning deep within me that wants my children and grandchildren to be drenched in their glorious truths just as I was. But I’m not without error and while I must confess my love for the old hymns, I want to be as fair as I can possibly be to all types of music.

Let’s compare the two music styles in an attempt to reach an understanding of the situation. Traditional church music is the music of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and great-great grandparents. It is harmonious, melodious, and devoid of obnoxious, monotonous beats and syncopated rhythms. Its lyrics are profound yet simple, memorable, concise, precise, and above all scriptural. Although the lyrics are not inspired in the sense that we know scripture to be inspired, they are almost unfailingly faithful to scripture. Therefore, to the degree that they are faithful to scripture, they can be honestly sung by anyone, lost or saved, and their truth will bring glory to God. The truth contained in the lyrics of the great hymns is not dependant upon the emotions of the singer.

Contemporary music is the style of the modern, (maybe post-modern?) Christian church. Proponents of this style say that music and all its qualities are amoral (neither good nor bad), and that any musical style can be employed in worship so long as the words are "Christian." This style of music usually consists of exceedingly simple one or two stanza choruses sung repetitiously, but it can range all the way to head banging, ear splitting, hard rock with unintelligible lyrics. In general, the lyrics of this style of music tend to focus less on the glorious attributes of God and mostly on the thoughts, desires, and feelings of the singer. The lyrics often contain an abundance of personal (I, me) and possessive (my, mine) pronouns, leading one to wonder just exactly who is being praised.

But is it safe to sing about feelings? The singer who is singing feelings may in fact be singing a lie if the words of the song don’t line up with their own personal feelings and actions (and they rarely do). During corporate worship, how can we assume that the entire group has the same feelings and even if they do, is God impressed? In John 21: 15-19, the Apostle Peter verbalizes his love for Jesus three times yet the Savior seems unimpressed. Each time Peter expresses his affection Jesus tells him to demonstrate it by feeding His sheep. Just as faith without works is dead, words without actions are meaningless to our Lord. Which brings more glory to God, to praise Him for who He is and what He’s done or to mouth some platitudinous words about my feelings which are subject to change with circumstances no matter how hard I may wish otherwise?

There are two ways to verbalize my love for my wife. I can dutifully say "I love you" over and over with various degrees of real or faked emotion. Or I can studiously take notice of her beauty and the multitude of ways she pours out her life to serve me and make our marriage a success, then thank her specifically and sincerely for each and every effort she makes. The first way would mimic contemporary choruses; the second would be a hymn.

The Apostle Paul wrote a huge part of the New Testament yet it is hard to think of a single reference where he verbally expressed his love for God. His first words as a Christian were, "Lord, what do you want me to do ?" and the rest of his life was consumed with proclaiming the truth of The Gospel. Paul was not unemotional, yet he knew that emotions were not an end unto themselves but that valid emotions come as a result of hearing truth, not vice-versa. Should not today’s Church have the same mindset? Shouldn’t our music seek first to express the great and glorious truth of the Word of God which alone has the power to save?

In an honest, word for word comparison of the lyrics of the two music styles, the greater doctrinal depth of traditional hymns is obvious. While modern songs and choruses may contain one or two elementary truths, they are just as likely to contain lines that are false or at the very least, incomplete or misleading. Given the fact that humans have a propensity to seemingly store song lyrics in a lockbox somewhere in the brain, doesn’t it make sense to insure that what we are storing is absolutely true and useful for edification?

How did the music in today’s Christian Church get to the point where it appears that the contemporary style is taking over and pushing tradition completely out the door? Could it be that our music merely reflects the depth of our knowledge of God’s Word and is simply an indicator of the over all health of the church? Could it be that most church goers don’t understand the great Christian truths and aren’t interested in learning much about them? Or are we so used to mouthing less than honest words to our fellow man that we think we can put one over on God as well?

[Readers wishing to comment may wish to contact Clonnie Yearout, 5230 Quail Hollow Cr, NW, Roanoke, VA 24019 or 540-562-0544 or at cyearout@verizon.net.]