I am NOT going to give my opinion on Chuck Colson’s article in Christianity Today called Soothing Ourselves to Death; however, for those of you not following blog-world, it has been a source of much discussion over the last few days. In the article Colson is blasting the song “Draw Me Close” (a contemporary worship song we’ve never done at Parkview… but has been on the radio a lot). More specifically, Colson uses his thoughts about this song as a basis to critique the weaknesses of contemporary Christian music in the church. I am not going to spend time on the specific argument in this post, but did want to share with you part of Bob Kauflin’s thoughts on this issue. He shares some really good points about what it is we need to be about when it comes to selecting and singing music within the church. If you want to read his thoughts in entirety click here.
Bob Kauflin on the issue…
"Is Draw Me Close symptomatic of a larger problem in Christian hymnody? I think so. For more than a hundred years we’ve favored emotional, response-type songs over songs that magnify the nature, attributes, and works of God. We need both, and more songs that help us do both at the same time. We tend to pit doctrine against devotion and both camps end up the worse for it. Is singing this song proof that a particular church has gone off the deep end into subjectivism and man-centered emotion? No. Are there better songs to sing in congregational worship? I believe so.
This is far more than an issue of hymns vs. contemporary choruses. There are sentimental, feeling oriented hymns, as well as contemporary songs with rich theological content. It’s an issue of pastors taking responsibility for what their churches are singing, leading them wisely into truth-based affections, and making sure that good fruit is being produced in their lives. It's also an issue of all of us making sure that we're not taking pride in the particular songs we sing or don't sing.
May we all proclaim the beauty, authority, and truth of Jesus Christ with our lives, remembering that neither passion nor propositional truth is out of place when we worship God. They were meant to go together."
2 comments:
I understand the problems addressed in this article. For me to be worshipful is to focus on a big idea such as "Blood of Jesus" in the song we did tonight. Repetition such as in a chant finally breaks through and I get rid of my worldly thoughts and I am able to worship Jesus..
DBoats April 8
I agree. Sometimes we need to sit still on a thought in order to contemplate it most fully (in music and life).
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