Speaker: Jeff Jarvis
If you’ve spent much time at all in a church or religious setting where music has been played, you’ve likely experienced that moment, when you are reading out of a hymn book or off the projected words on a screen and come across lyrics that make you stop and say “Why am I even singing this? I don’t even understand what I’m singing!” or “I don’t even believe this!”
In this day and age, the lyrics and imagery behind age-old church music have become increasingly problematic for many. So much so, that many songs have been removed from current church playlists. Songs that just don’t seem to resonate with today’s spiritual seeker like they once did for people who came before us. Have you experienced this at all? Have you ever thought hard about what it is about those songs that is so problematic or no longer seems relevant or meaningful?
Recently I looked back into some church history to see the some of the big movements that shaped a lot of this music. In the process, I was challenged to not just look for newer and better but to consider what, from our past, should be kept, and just as importantly, how to find meaning in it. I’m going to share some of my findings this Sunday. Oh, and there’s going to be some good music to sing along to as well! 🙂
“Holy, Holy, Holy”, “How Great Thou Are”, “Rock of Ages”, “The Old Rugged Cross”, “Amazing Grace”, “Just As I Am”, “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today”, “Go Tell It On The Mountain”, “We Shall Overcome” and “This Little Light of Mine ” – these are some of my favourites. Plus Christmas Carols, like “Silent Night”, “What Child Is This?”, “Joy To The World” which should – in my view – be played and sung as the were written, with drums, guitar, bass – just keyboard.