Come...

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, 
 tune my heart to sing thy grace; 
 streams of mercy, never ceasing, 
 call for songs of loudest praise. 
 Teach me some melodious sonnet, 
 sung by flaming tongues above. 
 Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, 
 mount of thy redeeming love. 

 Here I raise mine Ebenezer; 
 hither by thy help I'm come; 
 and I hope, by thy good pleasure, 
 safely to arrive at home. 
 Jesus sought me when a stranger, 
 wandering from the fold of God; 
 he, to rescue me from danger, 
 interposed his precious blood. 

 O to grace how great a debtor 
 daily I'm constrained to be! 
 Let thy goodness, like a fetter, 
 bind my wandering heart to thee. 
 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 
 prone to leave the God I love; 
 here's my heart, O take and seal it, 
 seal it for thy courts above. 

Oh that day when freed from sinning,

I shall see Thy lovely face,

clothed then in the blood washed linen

How I'll sing Thy wondrous grace!

Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,

Take my ransomed soul away.

Send Thine angels soon to carry,

me to realms of endless day.

An Update on Church Music

I sent our Pastor an email a few days ago, I felt the need to clarify some things and make sure he understood my stance on contemporary music in the church. 

My heart truly goes out to anyone whose worship experience does not include hymns and that at present, cannot connect with them, however that doesen't mean that we shouldn't give them the opportunity to make them a part of their future worship experience. As a church, we are called to excellence, not mediocrity and much of what we sing now and much of what I hear in "contemporary" music is mediocre at best. Our singing is an offering to God and in the Old Testament when the offerings were made they were to be from the "first fruits", the very best of what was available which in our case is hymns...true hymns. Whether the church chooses to purchase another organ or not, hymn singing should never become a thing of the past. It was made clear to me at our meeting that the plan is to retire hymns at some point and whether that happens in five, ten, or twenty years from now it will be a disservice to the congregation and I believe, dishonoring to our Lord. Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16. Note...we don't sing psalms anymore...something to think about.

Cynthia, you said "the church doesn't have to lower it's standards to broaden it's reach". I agree, however, I have seen time and time again when contemporary music comes in without being filtered, the standards are indeed lowered. The music of quality and depth is replaced with music of weakened doctrine and lacking in creativity. I'm all for a variety in music as long as it's of quality and is designed for congregational singing and not solo song. 

While it is true the church needs to be reaching out to the community and bringing them in, one must realize that worship is between God and the believer...it's not for the un-churched...the outsider looking in. Our music is for worship and it makes no difference if the outsider gets it, or likes it, it's not for them until they become a part of the church. If the service is a worship service, that is where the focus should be. We should not use any vehicle to get them in the door that is not of high standard, honest and truthful. Moses struck the rock to get water...it got the job done, but it was not the means God wanted him to use. 

It's interesting as I look back at what we were singing in youth group as teens...none of them have lasted the test of time. Most of it was weak and tawdry and as I look back I think I even knew it then, but I wasn't mature enough to admit it. We got bored with them and had to constantly re-invent the wheel with something new something more exciting (yea, right), either that or the publishing houses just want to make more money. 

I want to thank you all for joining in this conversation and for all the prayers you have offered.

I'm not hurt as much as I am disappointed in the direction my church is choosing to go. Disappointed that my grandchildren won't have the opportunity to lift their voices in praise that is bigger than they are...creative praise that is focused on our God who is changeless, not on the changing emotions within themselves found in the latest number one hit on the "Christian" hit list and that will most likely display the traits that Cheryl has listed for us. 

That's my update, thanks again for listening and for your participation.