CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

March 12, 2006

LIFT UP IN PRAYER:

Our congregation                                                                 Our nation, military and leaders

Various friends, relatives and co-workers                        Our students

James and Leon in the Army

UPCOMING EVENT:

A baby shower for Coco and Ramon’s baby girl will be March 26 at 3 P.M.  Gundi Talbert will be hosting it at 11222 Canyon Trail, Houston, 77066.  Details are on bulletin board at the building.

THE JOY OF MUSIC

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs” (Psalm 100:2).

Music is a very powerful form of communication in that it can unite or divide a community.  It can rally a people around an event or an issue.  Patriotic songs during the World Wars were powerful in the support of the efforts of the country.  It is more than a tune, it is the words that go with the song.  I enjoy singing especially with meaningful words.  Listening carefully to what we sing and its meaning is important no matter what style of song is being sung.

As I grow older, my tastes in music have changed.  While I like a variety of styles, I tend to lean to three distinct groups of music throughout the year.  Most of you know that I really like Christmas music, especially the sacred, which is saying more to us than just about the birth of Jesus the Messiah.  I like contemporary Christian music, especially as it is sung a cappella.  That style is becoming more thoughtful, possibly because of the criticism it has received over the years.  While some of the one verse songs are powerful, more theology is coming into the music genre. 

The third group of music that I am enjoying at this time is folk music.  You might have heard of or remember the more famous folk singers such as The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul and Mary, The Limeliters, the Brothers Four, The New Christy Minstrels, and the Chad Mitchell Trio.  There were different styles within folk, one of the more prominent being protest songs, usually from a politically liberal perspective.  It also included humor, history, and surprising, religious.  Go Tell It On the Mountain, Amazing Grace, Wedding Song (There Is Love), and Kum Ba Yah are just a few of the religious songs sung by such groups.  A number of songs often drew from Biblical characters, images, happenings, and even scripture.  One such song that was considered folk rock is Turn, Turn, Turn, which comes from Ecclesiastes 3, a time for everything.  One has to be Biblically literate to catch some of the illusions to scripture found in these songs.

Today, Country and Western is producing more overt religious songs in the secular area than any other group.  These are often thoughtful and moving songs.  Billy Ray Cyrus and Randy Travis are just two of many who are doing this, though Christian influences can be seen in many songs for years.  That contrasts with many other forms from early Rock and Roll through Rap in which lust, drugs, narcissism, and hedonism have been the norm.  As the styles in these genre changed, the hopelessness increased.

We should not be surprised about music.  The songbook of Israel and the first century church was the book of Psalms.  It has a variety of styles from praise to lament.  Some were written for a particular instrument, others for solos, out of distress, and some for choirs.  They reminded the people of who God is, of suffering and sorrow, of history, and the word.  Today we sing a number of these Psalms.  We sing in one form or another Psalms 23,100, and 148.  In contemporary Christian music, Psalm 95 is one, and in all genres many are eluded to in a number of ways. 

Of course, songs are not limited to the Psalms.  According to Paul, there were hymns, Psalms and spiritual songs (see Ephesians 5:19).  Elizabeth (Luke 1), Miriam (Exodus 15), and Deborah (Judges 5) all sang songs.  Many scholars consider Philippians 2:5-11 an early Christian hymn as well as 1 Timothy 3:16.  Songs remind us of what God has done especially in Christ, and who He is.  Many songs move us because of the words.  They remind us of events, good or bad, that have affected us.  The idea of lament is being rediscovered and as such, songs are being written for people to share in and express sorrow.

This year at the Abilene Christian University Bible Lectureships, two events were celebrated, though surprisingly, it was very low key.  The first was the one hundred anniversary of the founding of Abilene Christian University (ACU).  It began as a Bible college to train preachers and has expanded to various disciples, hopefully bringing Christian influences into many fields. 

The second event was the official recognition of a division that occurred over music.  The government recognized that churches of Christ and the Disciples of Christ were two distinct groups.  (As a side note, the Disciples of Christ split into two groups, the second being more theologically conservative and known as the Independent Christian churches).  There were a number of contributing factors to this division, but instrumental music in worship became the most prominent.  The Independent Christian churches believe that the use of instrumental music is allowed because the New Testament doesn’t say anything about it.  Churches of Christ say that instrumental music isn’t allowed because the New Testament doesn’t say anything about it.  This subject has been debated and written about for over one hundred years. 

Over the last twenty years or so, efforts have been made for both sides to talk to each other.  What has been found is that we have many things in common, and there are definitely some things we see differently.  ACU hosted a forum in which the discussion centered on the idea that we have many things in common.  Can we be brothers even though we disagree on several things, and especially on music?  This leads to a more difficult question: can we worship together?  For many, the instrument is a hindrance, a conscious matter of faith that is an addition to worship and is unacceptable.  For them it is a sin.  I understand this point of view.

I grew up in a Presbyterian church and instrumental music wasn’t an issue.  What was a problem was that the older the organist got, the louder the music got, and that became a distraction.  Yevette and I attended a Lutheran church as part of a mission’s class.  The shape of the building contributed to the loudness of the organ so that we could not hear any words that were being sung.  I like many forms of instrumental music such has marching music, bagpipes, and some religious music as well.  The question is what do we do about it in the assembly?

So here are my thoughts, though I know some will not agree with me on some or all of this, but it is where I am right now.  One, we need to ask ourselves the question that Paul states.  “Everything is permissible -- but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible -- but not everything is constructive.  Nobody should seek of his own good but the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:23-24).  In application, this text is difficult.  There are those who will want instrumental music and will in some way introduce it into the assembly.  The question: is it beneficial for them to do so?  Some like it and will not be bothered one way or another about it.  But for those of us who do not want it in the assembly, we see it as not being either beneficial or constructive.  While I do not see instrumental music as a sin, forcing it on me to violate my conscience is a sin (see 1 Corinthians 8).  Like many texts, this can be abused by just saying it is a sin without wrestling with other texts and thoughts.  Both sides can be abusive.

Two, when music is mentioned in the New Testament, it is almost always singing.  To me, singing comes from the heart.  That brings me back to what I started with; words in songs have great benefit for thinking about our lives in Christ and combined with singing, becomes the best way to express our hearts.  All of us can be involved in singing.  Of course, one could argue that we can do that with instruments as well.  Then there is the discussion over solos and choirs, which have often been connected with instrumental music rather than standing on there own.  Several things are important to mention here.  A cappella music is becoming more popular today, there being over one thousand a cappella groups on college campuses.  To paraphrase Paul Harvey, it would be sad for us to be moving away from a cappella music while others are coming to it.  Marva Dawn spoke recently at the Austin Graduate School of Theology, a church of Christ school in Austin, Texas.  She is a scholar who has written extensively on worship.  Interviewed in their publication, and asked whether we should give up a cappella music, she said no, that it is brilliant, and that people do not know how to sing that way.  Others have made similar comments about our singing.  According to Dawn, the Mennonites have sung a cappella; so too the Greek Orthodox churches. 

Finally, I think that some have stopped listening to the beauty of a cappella music.  They might be buying into ideas that to keep young people in church we need instruments, since that is what they hear on Christian radio stations.  Some see unity as important, and it is, and the debate over the instrument just isn’t worth it.  I think that we have contributed to these ideas because of our spiritual condition.  For instance, I have attended a number of youth events in which the youth sing without song books.  It is a moving experience.  Now I know that we need the words and the tunes to sing.  There is the need for song books.  But consider this; we often sing the same songs.  How many times have we sung Amazing Grace or Our God He Is Alive?  We have to announce the number, give every one time to open the book, and then, depending on the song leader, sing fast or slow.  When the sermon ends, people pull out song books to sing invitation songs that they have sung numerous times.  Why such dependence on song books?  Are we afraid to miss a word or make a mistake?  Singing as a command has cause some to have lost the heart in the matter.  I also realize as we age we tend to forget some of the words and that would be cause for concern.  I just wonder though how many of us have lost the joy of singing.  Poor song leading, repetition, and conflict over new songs might have contribute to this, but maybe more importantly, the idea that we are just fulfilling a command, and once done, we do not need to worry about until next time therefore loosing the joy of singing.

None of the above will convince anyone to change from one style to the other, though they might view me differently.  What I want us to see is that there is more in this discussion that needs to be considered from both sides.  I will say that while a few have decided to adopt instrumental music to draw in others, many have decided that a cappella music is too important to give up.  For those of us with this view, we need to examine ourselves to see how we can better use this style of music and the words involved to the glory of God.  Maybe we need to find the joy of singing again.

                                                                                                                                George B. Mearns