Posted on 08/04/2014 8:38:22 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The song is, after all, “Amazing Grace”, not “How Wonderful I Am”, or the favorite of CCM: “God Loves You Just the Way You Are”...
The problem with CCM is that much of it ignores the ideas of sin, the need to repent, and that we need to be made a “new creation” in Christ.
We alternate between my husband’s Methodist formal church, and my Assembly of God less formal. That way we both get what we like. Strangely enough my AG Church, I would prefer to skip the praise hymns they have adopted for the youth, and go in for the preaching. And love the older more up tempo of the formal Methodist. Yeah, some are draggy and hard to sing kind, I skip those.
You have a multi fold problem. The number of generations in a church. Youth like the more modern hypnotic hard to sing to repetitious praise hymns. Seniors don’t care for them. NO MEANING in them.
Middle age like their gospel older, but with more up tempo beat.
Seniors get left out.
Old gospel tunes have depth, they just need to be modernized with up tempo, blue grass and C & W beats where possible. This gets rid of the draggy stuff that is hard to sing to, much less listen to. Then you have those choir directors who want to do 6-8 verses of a song. When the 3 main ones would be enough.
You have to think how long you keep your congregation on their feet, Seniors don’t do well with long standing hymn services.
This is some of the music I listen to on a USB stick in the car, or Tape, or CD at home.
The Old Love Letter, The McKameys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgC1-5WciFE
Alan Jackson “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqOjJJjE_Gw
He set me free
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRvGI1kWkZ8
Where the Timbers cross
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOT5z2arQzc
Note the difference between the 2 songs. First is the original, second is the more modern version.
Gathering Flowers for Master’s Bouquet (Hank WMS Sr
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0zQEBlgnjI
Master’s Bouquet - Dennis Keasling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQSXBcjrGP4
More up tempo, a little Jerry Lee tweedy added in.
Great Speckled Bird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6KtUuQLYJs
Lo, the conflict of the ages is upon us today,
And the armies are assembling all in battle array;
Are you numbered with the faithful, one of God’s loyal few,
Who have sworn Him full allegiance? can He count upon you?
Refrain
Have your eyes caught the vision?
Have your hearts felt the thrill?
To the call of the Master do you answer, "I will"?
For the conflict of the ages, told by prophets and by sages,
In its fury is upon us, is upon us today.
Catch the vision of a lost world going downward in sin,
While the Master’s great commission long unheeded has been;
See the children of the kingdom joined in heart and in hand,
Pressing forward in the struggle to redeem this fair land.
Refrain
See the Church of God awaking and with glorious zest
She is laying on her altars now her noblest and blest;
T’ward the final consummation we are hastening on,
And the time for loyal service will forever be done.
Refrain
I’m not a fan of Amazing Grace either. I find it sappy and sentimental. But music, much like beauty is in the eye of or ear of the beholder.
I thought they changed it to "Pass the Loot."
I am not a big Amazing Grace fan either. Give me Great is Thy Faithfulness and The Gift of Love , etc and I am fine. But I like the modern music, too.
Self-centered, like about half the Psalms. Are those too contemporary, too? De gustibus non est disputandum.:)
Amen! The grand old hymns were like mini-sermons. They had a theme, a purpose, and a point. They were crafted to not only be harmonious but to appeal to the ear’s natural sense of meter and rhyme, and strove to use the right words, not just any words. In contrast, many modern Christian songs seem to start with a tolerable tune, to which words are applied without regard to ear appeal. Then, running out of originality, they repeat the same stanzas again and again and again. I dread when our worship leader introduces another “new” tune.
Here is an example from Casting Crowns of a song that I think badly misses the mark:
Jesus, Friend Of Sinners
Jesus Friend of sinners we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus friend of sinners the truth’s become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they’re tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I’m so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus friend of sinners break our hearts for what breaks yours
I know of no scripture that would support the idea that the world is rushing to Jesus, or that mentioning sin and the need to repent gets in the way. In fact, I find far more discussion in the Bible about our need to repent and turn away from sin than I do on the idea that sin is a minor point for God.
How can we call on folks to repent if we ignore what sin is? Yet how often do you hear anyone in the church or in CCM even mentioning sin, let alone hammering ANYONE for sinning? Yet Casting Crowns seems to think we are too negative, and that if we just accept people and ignore sin, they will come rushing to Jesus.
They may come rushing to a message like that, but they will not find Jesus or life.
Where Jesus Is, Joey and Rory Feek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1aPBxQJtgY
This is the type song you mean. It has a lot of depth in it. But this is not an ordinary pair of singers, they live a Christian life. But do C & W more old style. This is off their Inspirational Album. Ms Joey just had her first and last baby girl Indiana Boone, then it was discovered she had cervical cancer and had to have a complete hysterectomy and do the Chemo thing. Indiana is a Special Needs baby. She will go on tour with them when they resume it.
Hammering Nails
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkTzE1g3Zfc
Then you have Merle Haggard doing Amazing Grace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFrrpvrMkyQ
“Self-centered, like about half the Psalms.”
A large amount of CCM is based on Psalms and the Psalm used is usually credited.
You mean like Jonah, Abraham, or King David (just to name a few)?
Curious, what songs/hymns do you find acceptable? What do you sing?
The only awards for music Elvis received were for his Gospel Albums. It didn’t matter how popular his songs were, and still are, his gospel was his BEST music.
Milky White Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqMiURGCCgI
Like Page Lingua or O Salutaris ?
PANGE .. not Page.
…so I assume my little quip was over your head? I mean, if not, your response was astonishingly weak.
You have to understand Grace and mercy before you can consider it.
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