Hymn: “Eternal God, May We Be Free” – Michael G. Dell
(1959- )
Tune: CANONBURY
This hymn-line written by somebody ten years younger than I
is so on-target, it makes me shudder! And since this one is going up on a
Sunday morning, I thought it was particularly poignant. I’m not sure it appears
in any book other than The Baptist Hymnal 1991, but it
should!
In the worship war discussion, the one thing that comes to
the surface most often is authenticity of those who plan and lead worship –
whatever the musical style – whether contemporary or liturgical – whether dancing
the aisles or standing and kneeling. Therefore, this request of God that our
worship be sincere is exactly where we should always begin. I probably took
most everything about my music ministry pretty seriously, but when it came to
worship planning and implementing, I was about as sincere as they come.
Shallow words. Hmmm. When selecting hymns and anthems, I
always look first at the text; then I move on to see how the music sounds
against the text. I never want to put anything in the mouth of a
worshiper that they don’t believe or shouldn’t believe. In my humble opinion, fluff
and filler just have no place in worship-singing. For sure, if the text is too
deep to get your mind around, it won’t work in the corporate setting; those are
more likely to minister to us as devotional literature when we have more time
to reflect on the depth. Dr. Louis Ball taught me over the years that the
congregation should be able to grasp the basic meaning of the text the first
time they sing it—subtleties later.
The last thing Dell encourages us to stay away from is
thoughtless prayer. Our conversation with God (whether aloud or silent) should
not be throw-away moments. Like the rest of our worship, the prayers should not
be insincere or shallow. I personally prefer to write out my public prayers
when I’m called upon to lead in worship; maybe that’s why I’m rarely invited to
do so! Rambling, rote… yea even thoughtless
are not the kinds of prayers I want to lift-up in worship.
So do you think I am prejudiced toward this hymn-line? You’re
dang right, I am! This should be the prayer of all of us who congregate today
to participate in the highest hour of the Christian week – whatever the worship
style. I hope against all hope that those who have put the services together
have already approached their job with this kind of prayer.
Insincere, shallow, thoughtless – not good worship words,
wouldn’t you agree? Go thou and do un-likewise!
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