Worship Music Link #1. I’ve been a worship musician (not a choir member) for almost 16 years and while I like doing “contemporary music” every so often, I really prefer the older hymns. It’s an issue of musicality for me and also that many praise songs are theologically-shallow or inaccurate. Here are a few examples and why we need to stop singing them.
Worship Music Link #2. Here is a fabulous piece addressing why we need to stop singing praise songs. Be sure to click on all the links to understand why it is so wonderful.
Worship Music Link #3. I found this in the “I’m fed up with bad church music” group on Facebook and I know there are some praise songs I would pay serious money to not have to sing. What hymn/praise song/service music would you pay good money to block?
Worship Music Link #4. One of the rants I see online frequently has to do with how the Catholic church has a beautiful tradition of choral music going back 1500 years and yet we have to settle for Marty Haugen, David Haas, and so on. Someone posted the “Glory Pony” mass on there and it’s facepalm-ingly bad how similar the mass setting is to the “My Little Pony” theme.
Twitter does it again. One of the best things I’ve seen online in the last few weeks is the #ThingsJesusNeverSaid hashtag on Twitter.
For those who love people with anxiety. Those who have anxiety or who love people with anxiety need to read this piece.
It makes a difference. While I was up in San Jose this month, I was worshipping with my friend Rebecca at my home congregation and I was in the pews this last week at my church here with my VBS music partner-in-crime Margaret. It was a content feeling each Sunday and upon reflection, I think the reason is that I didn’t have to explain what I was doing (standing, kneeling, sitting, singing, genuflecting) or *why* I was doing it as I frequently have to do when I’m at church in Jon’s Lutheran parishes given that my practice of the faith is more toward the Catholic and Anglican part of the spectrum. I’m liking the opportunity to worship with like-minded people and to not be on display all the time.
For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.
One thing I have noticed recently about A LOT of the worship/praise music is a lot of them sound like love songs you’d sing to your husband/wife/significant other….more than something to help us pray to God.
I’ve seen that ban a song photo pop up on social media EVERYWHERE this week. It’s fun to see the chatter about it. That would make an interesting item at a silent auction. Another good item is front row at christmas/easter mass.
That twitter hashtag is awesome!
Praise music is often referred to as “Jesus is my boyfriend” music because you can sing it just as easily to your significant other as you can sing it in church. I was at a retreat on Catalina Island 16 years ago and was walking by the annex where a Young Life group from Colorado was meeting and worshipping. I could hear them singing and while I think they were singing “you are my fortress”, it seriously sounded like they were singing “you are my boyfriend” instead!
yeah some of the music is good and not like that but some of it is awful. There’s this one song by jars of clay that was in the christianmingles commercials and it bugged me!
Gah. I used to love “Love Song for a Savior”.