Posted on 06/12/2009 3:31:04 PM PDT by NYer
Evangelical Protestants – born-again, Bible-believing and ever-ready to spread the Word – make up the country's biggest religious group, with 26 percent of all U.S. adults.
Marching under that banner are some of America's most prominent figures of faith, from Rick Warren to Franklin Graham.
And who is most closely identified with mega-churches, contemporary Christian music, mass-rally evangelism and best-selling, purpose-driven Christian books? That's right: Evangelicals.
Sounds like a golden age for the evangelical church, right?
Wrong, says Warren Cole Smith, an evangelical journalist and longtime editor of The Charlotte World.
In his new book, an insider critique called “A Lover's Quarrel with the Evangelical Church” (Authentic Books, $16.99), Smith argues that many, if not most, evangelical churches have lost their way. Instead of sticking with core biblical principles, rich traditions and church-as-community, he says, they promote feel-goodism, technological fads and church-as-entertainment.
During a recent interview, he laid out his criticisms – as well as some of his solutions.
Among his more provocative charges: “For the sake of money and power and status and celebrity … we've made ‘church' easy. We've made being a card-carrying member of the evangelical movement easy. But being a disciple of Jesus in the early 21st century is hard and, for the most part, the evangelical church doesn't teach us how to do that.”
Smith, who attends Presbyterian Church in America-affiliated StoneBridge Church, told me he's not in favor of destroying the evangelical movement, just reforming it. Call him an Orthodox evangelical.
For starters, he's put off by what he calls the sterile look of modern evangelical churches.
“You see PowerPoint presentations, projection systems. You've got to spend an hour looking in the cubbies to find a cross or an altar,” he said. “We have, in the space of 20 years, almost completely discarded the historic symbols of Christianity.”
Smith is also no fan of the latest practice in some churches: Twittering. Typing a mini-message into your BlackBerry may give the pastor feedback on his sermon, Smith said, but it also turns the congregation into an audience. He'd prefer his fellow evangelicals join in the recitation of the Apostles Creed or extend a handshake of peace to a pew-mate.
“The liturgy understands that humans need to actively participate and not be spectators,” Smith said.
Contemporary Christian music?
He'll take the time-tested hymns of yesteryear any day. When evangelical churches sing spiritually shallow “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs, Smith said, they are following the lead of today's Christian radio listeners, rather than the theologically astute composers of old.
“Music in church is not meant to make us feel good. It's to bring glory to God and be part of the teaching ministry of the church,” Smith said. “Those (hymns) have been vetted by the best theological minds of the last 200 years.”
OK, I know what you're thinking: Smith sure sounds cranky. What's so bad about feeling good about ourselves?
Plenty, said Smith. He calls it “the triumph of sentimentality,” recasting the world as we would like it to be (humans are basically pretty good) rather than what it really is (we are sinful creatures who need a divine savior).
In our hourlong talk, Smith saved his sharpest jab for smiling televangelist Joel Osteen, a Houston mega-pastor who fills auditoriums, goes on “ LarryKing Live,” and sells millions of books with his upbeat message.
“Joel Osteen has a view of the world that you can have your best life now,” Smith said. “If I were going to rewrite Genesis and put (modern) words into the mouth of Satan … I'd put Joel Osteen's words there: ‘You're not so bad. You're so close to being God now. Just a little tweak, a little tune-up, a little bit better. Just follow these 7 rules.'”
So how would Smith save evangelicalism?
Among his answers: Make pastors accountable to deacon or elder boards. Urge churchgoers to discover the vocation God is calling them to. Recover face-to-face community. Develop a stronger sense of history. Plant new churches. And avoid easy answers.
“I'm not saying that I've got all the answers,” Smith concluded. “But I am saying we have a rich biblical Christian tradition that has given us many, many good answers. We've forgotten them. Let's try to recover them.”
1Ki 19:18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
Our Awesome God’s further encouragement to His restored prophet. We share that encouragement daily. Keep the Faith my brother.
N
I’m a member of my parish choir and we have a great repetoire of music. This weekend we are singing the Missa Brevis Joannis de Deo of Haydn with string trio as well as the Franck Panis Angelicus and the (oversung) Mozart Ave Verum. Last week we sang music of William Mathias. In our season we sing everything from Chant Communio for the Sunday to Palestrina to Bruckner. We also have had a composer in residence and routinely perform premiers by guests and by choir members. I already can’t wait until next year.
free time??? lol Redeeming the time Eph5:16 .... somebody forgot to put 25 hours in my day......does your day have it, maybe you got mine. lol
Went to a seminar led by a disciple making educator, and Osteeen came up. Bill said, “Osteen....he doesn’t say ANYthing!”
“Twittering”?
"Our Father or Mother, who art in Heaven,
Don't laugh. I actually heard someone pray that way once. Scratch that church off our list!
We must have hit about 25 in our 20 years as Protestants. Not a lot of mainline denominations, but some. Also AG, Vineyard, Evangelical.
I grew up in a Presbyterian USA church where the Apostles' Creed was recited each service just as the Lord's Prayer was. We didn't say the Apostles' Creed for a while at our new PCA church, but it did become part of the service.
One of our Pastors in the PCA grew up Catholic and there were things he did miss.
The more parishes tap into the amazing treasury of beautiful Catholic music, the sooner we'll lose the OCP rep.
Jesus's instruction to pray to "Our Father" wasn't good enough for them? What is the matter with these people?
The chorus at my daughter's high school (I also graduated from there many, many years ago!) does a grand performance of Messiah (Part the First, plus the Hallelujah Chorus) the evening before Christmas vacation starts.
Parents and alumni (at least, those who can read music and sing) are invited to grab a score and rehearse (and perform) with the kids. It is a great deal of fun. Cast of hundreds, plus an orchestra and a harpsichord (well, really, an electronic keyboard set on 'harpsichord'). The singers from the small touring chorus plus an occasional ringer sing the solos.
We always have a very good time.
I never heard the Nicene Creed spoken in a Protestant Church.
Of course in the Episcopal Church (which used to be called officially "The Protestant Episcopal Church in America") we said the Nicene Creed every Sunday, but then again we were "just one step from Rome". It's in the BCP communion service, though, so even the most protestant variety of Episcopalians say it every Sunday (or at least they're supposed to).
Don't give up hope re your music. Make sure whichever member of the clergy is in charge of the music program knows who you are and that you are very "musical". Then bide your time until the organist retires or gets a job offer from another church. Then get yourself put on the search committee.
I didn't actually plan that scheme out ahead of time, but that's how it worked out here. We used to have a music director here who was a very nice man personally but far too fond of OCP and Haugen/Haas dreck. I met the deacon in charge of the music program while he was teaching the class for parents of confirmands, and we got to talking about music quite a bit (he was a music major in college). So he asked me to sit on the search committee when the music director took a job at another church, and the rest is history (and much better music).
The university near us did the Messiah that way. We brought our own music and I got to sing the solo part for “How Beautiful Are the Feet.” Nobody else apparently knew it.
Cool! That must have been fun, good thing that you knew it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et9I11JCqgE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO_Phl9XCHg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQAPMRpNoe8&feature=related
Just thought I’d round out the thread with a couple of examples of what everyone seems to agree that they hate.
Except, evidently, me. I like it.
Oh, yes, search committee. A wonderful idea. Capt Ahab should retire one of these days, and it won’t be a moment too soon.
Atlanta is not tooo awfully far, for good music. Neither is Rome. Our good Pope has done wonderful things there, with the Sistine Choir.
Nobody's saying they HATE that sort of music. "Hate" is way too strong a word. I personally dislike most pop melody because it is banal, dull, and repetitive. (Note that in the first cut you posted, the singer repeats the same descending and returning three-note major scale five or six times, relieved only by pausing on one of the notes for awhile. Q.E.D.)
But anybody is free to listen to anything they like on their own time. Lots of people like 'Christian Rock/Pop' and there's plenty of room in the musical world for different tastes.
The point here is that pop music, with its commercial associations, is wholly inappropriate for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Read Pope Benedict's essay for the reasons why.
And because of its commercial appeal and superficial 'hook', in some Catholic parishes it has completely shoved out the appropriate music, probably on a principle like that of Gresham's Law (bad money drives out good). Selling their birthright of beautiful and appropriate music for a mess of pottage.
A thought just occurred to me: This is not to say that pop music cannot form the basis of liturgical music. Listen, if you will, to this pair --
This is a popular tune of the fifteenth century - L'homme armé - The Armed Man. The words are a bit repetitive and so is the tune, although it's a little catchier than a three-note major scale -
The man, the man, the armed man,
The armed man
The armed man should be feared, should be feared.
Everywhere it has been proclaimed
That each man shall arm himself
With a coat of iron mail.
Composers of liturgical music took this popular tune and worked it into something quite beautiful. Probably the first one to do it was Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474) but it was used by lots of folks, including Palestrina.
Guillaume Dufay: Missa l'homme arme - Kyrie
If you listen carefully, you can hear the tune, but it's been transformed and glorified (at one point the tenors are singing it backwards). It's like the grain of wheat - being sowed a physical body, it becomes a spiritual body.
Is he “Captain Ahab” because he has a peg leg, or keeps a white whale as a pet, or just because he looks like Gregory Peck in a fake beard?
hahha, he gets up on the organ like a madman. I believe I am really referring to Capt Nemo playing the organ in 20,000 Leagues. But Ahab sounds better, and there is definitely some madness in him. Some of his preludes are just over the top/ which is Ahab-ish too.
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