The best summation of the 'hymn vs. modern worship' issue I've read yet
Via WORLD:
"The slogan for most Christian radio is 'it's safe for the whole family.' What does that really mean? You don't have to think?" That was the protest of Jars of Clay musician Dan Haseltine when he and the band's other three members–Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason, and Charlie Lowell–sat down with WORLD before a concert here to talk about their activities.
When Jars of Clay released "Valley Song" on the Furthermore album in 2003, it heard back from some Christian radio stations that the lyrics were too dark for their listeners. "Valley Song" deals with the unexpected death of a band member's sister-in-law, and some listeners didn't want to hear a song about death: Not safe, not comfortable, not listener-friendly.
In Redemption Songs, the band's new, seventh album, Jars of Clay again does not play it safe... [the band] reached into the past to produce a worship album that infuses the modern sound of bluegrass, blues, and soul with the poetic and theologically deep lyrics of 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century hymns.
...the band members explained why: Mr. Lowell, the quiet keyboardist with a tattoo of a Roman cross on his right wrist, said the hard message of the old hymns is "so raw, and yet we need to hear it daily." Mr. Mason, the bassist, spoke sarcastically about the contemporary church's "idol of safety" as he squatted in a wooden-arm, caneback chair, like a little kid: "The gospel doesn't call us to a radical life of sacrifice, but how can I get all of my debt into one manageable payment to save well for my kid's colleges?"...[they] criticized Christian lives that are "safe," "controlled," "micromanaged," "risk-free," and "a list of do's and don'ts."
Rejecting modern praise music, Redemption Songs revives old hymns that focus on man's desperate need and the centrality of "who Christ is." Mr. Odmark, the guitarist, argued that "modern Christian music is focused on what we contribute and what we bring to God–I sing this, I give this–where hymns just have a way of saying 'I am evil, born in sin / Thou desirest truth within.'" That's why he likes hymns like John Newton's "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder."
"I Need Thee Every Hour" and "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" come across with intimate intensity. The traditional musical structure of "It Is Well with My Soul"–with its metrical stanzas, rhythmic refrain, and stylized repetitions–has the same simplicity as a rock tune and adapts perfectly to the new style with hardly any change.
Some of the hymns here are so traditional that, ironically, they will be new to many Christians today. The album's first cut is Psalm 51 from the Reformed Psalter of 1912. (Band members belong to the Presbyterian Church in America, and the liner notes include "special thanks" to Reformed University Fellowship.)
Other less-familiar hymns, all put to new music, include "God Will Lift Up Your Head" by the great Lutheran hymn writer Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) and "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" by John Newton (1725-1807), better known for "Amazing Grace." The emotional range and lyrical beauty of such nearly forgotten hymns are evident from the titles: "O Come and Mourn with Me Awhile" by Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863); "Thou Lovely Source of True Delight" by Anne Steele (1716-1778).
Many churches, trying to be more relevant, have thrown out hymns in favor of "contemporary" music, by which they mean praise songs written back in the 1970s in styles that have been out of date for three decades. Leaders of churches trying to reach today's young people need to realize that vapid sentimentality is currently out of fashion, even in pop music. They might do better to employ songs that have a darker but honest recognition of suffering, that express more complicated emotions, and that are grounded in an objective reality. Like hymns. ~ Gene Edward Veith
"The slogan for most Christian radio is 'it's safe for the whole family.' What does that really mean? You don't have to think?" That was the protest of Jars of Clay musician Dan Haseltine when he and the band's other three members–Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason, and Charlie Lowell–sat down with WORLD before a concert here to talk about their activities.
When Jars of Clay released "Valley Song" on the Furthermore album in 2003, it heard back from some Christian radio stations that the lyrics were too dark for their listeners. "Valley Song" deals with the unexpected death of a band member's sister-in-law, and some listeners didn't want to hear a song about death: Not safe, not comfortable, not listener-friendly.
In Redemption Songs, the band's new, seventh album, Jars of Clay again does not play it safe... [the band] reached into the past to produce a worship album that infuses the modern sound of bluegrass, blues, and soul with the poetic and theologically deep lyrics of 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century hymns.
...the band members explained why: Mr. Lowell, the quiet keyboardist with a tattoo of a Roman cross on his right wrist, said the hard message of the old hymns is "so raw, and yet we need to hear it daily." Mr. Mason, the bassist, spoke sarcastically about the contemporary church's "idol of safety" as he squatted in a wooden-arm, caneback chair, like a little kid: "The gospel doesn't call us to a radical life of sacrifice, but how can I get all of my debt into one manageable payment to save well for my kid's colleges?"...[they] criticized Christian lives that are "safe," "controlled," "micromanaged," "risk-free," and "a list of do's and don'ts."
Rejecting modern praise music, Redemption Songs revives old hymns that focus on man's desperate need and the centrality of "who Christ is." Mr. Odmark, the guitarist, argued that "modern Christian music is focused on what we contribute and what we bring to God–I sing this, I give this–where hymns just have a way of saying 'I am evil, born in sin / Thou desirest truth within.'" That's why he likes hymns like John Newton's "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder."
"I Need Thee Every Hour" and "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus" come across with intimate intensity. The traditional musical structure of "It Is Well with My Soul"–with its metrical stanzas, rhythmic refrain, and stylized repetitions–has the same simplicity as a rock tune and adapts perfectly to the new style with hardly any change.
Some of the hymns here are so traditional that, ironically, they will be new to many Christians today. The album's first cut is Psalm 51 from the Reformed Psalter of 1912. (Band members belong to the Presbyterian Church in America, and the liner notes include "special thanks" to Reformed University Fellowship.)
Other less-familiar hymns, all put to new music, include "God Will Lift Up Your Head" by the great Lutheran hymn writer Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) and "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" by John Newton (1725-1807), better known for "Amazing Grace." The emotional range and lyrical beauty of such nearly forgotten hymns are evident from the titles: "O Come and Mourn with Me Awhile" by Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863); "Thou Lovely Source of True Delight" by Anne Steele (1716-1778).
Many churches, trying to be more relevant, have thrown out hymns in favor of "contemporary" music, by which they mean praise songs written back in the 1970s in styles that have been out of date for three decades. Leaders of churches trying to reach today's young people need to realize that vapid sentimentality is currently out of fashion, even in pop music. They might do better to employ songs that have a darker but honest recognition of suffering, that express more complicated emotions, and that are grounded in an objective reality. Like hymns. ~ Gene Edward Veith
posted by Seth at 6:27 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah, the new Jars disc has been out since this the springs sometime. It's a great CD; you can get it at Grassroots Music.
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