Singing with the Dead

As I mentioned in my last post, I read Reggie Kidd's With One Voice. In the book, Reggie makes a case for diversity in worship. Citing Psalm 22, Reggie notes that our "Singing Savior" invites all the families of the earth to worship including the poor and the rich, those who have died and those not yet born. Reggie draws a number of implications from this (and other texts), one of which is the importance of tradition. He writes:

This expression of the living connection between the church in heaven and the church on earth is correct. As G. K. Chesterton observes, honoring tradition is how we give the dead their voice in our community. And that is important, because their voice is a part of Jesus's voice." (p. 129).

There is a lot we can learn from dead people. C. S. Lewis points out somewhere the arrogance of believing what is modern is, by definition, better. The brothers and sisters who have gone before us have much to teach us. That is one reason it is helpful for us to read the writings of the teachers that God has given the church throughout history. It is also why it is important to join with the ancients in song by singing the old hymns. Not only do we learn from their expressions of worship, but it reminds us that we are part of a community of faith that is far greater and far more vast than what we see today.

It saddens me that we are raising a generation that does not know the old hymns. I realize that the hymnody that I was raised on only goes back a 200-300 years (there are some exceptions) and does not truly cover the history of the church. Still, there is a reason these hymns endured. There is a richness to them. So often in my prayers, the words of the hymns of my youth come to mind. The old hymn writers had a way of expressing my heart that I could not do on my own. Sadly, we are raising a generation that does not know these hymns and, when they hear them, cannot appreciate them.

In terms of music style, the church I pastor tends towards contemporary music. I am very grateful that our worship director incorporates many hymns in our worship, usually with a contemporary arrangement. Often, he retains the traditional melody while dressing it with modern instrumentation. I am also delighted that there seems to be a movement among groups like Indelible Grace and Sovereign Grace Music to introduce a new generation to the songs of the past. But these groups have only begun to scratch the surface and, let's face it, many of our people have difficulty with the words.

Still (and this is probably just nostalgia), I miss not only the words, but the music and style as well. It is not that I am a classical music buff or that I want to turn the clock back, I just don't want to lose my Christian heritage. I grew up singing in choirs from childhood through college. I learned so much that is still with me in singing choral works from Bach to Mendelssohn. I remember laboring over Brahm's German Requium, and singing the Messiah so much that the story of Christ was embazened in my memory. While I probably will never buy a CD of organ music, I remember hearing the organ thunder in church calling us to worship. Plus, how can you sing "For All the Saints" or "Guide Me, O, Thou Great Jehovah" without an organ?

Of course, those who are steeped in tradition need to learn the importance of contemporary forms of worship. Here are two more quotes from Reggie on that subject:

Musically, we are called to do the best we can with the musical idioms we have inherited so we can help the next generation hear the Savior's song and take up their own voice in response (p. 132).

Because the King matters to me, his people have to matter to me. Accordingly, it has to matter to me that my Singing Savior surrounds himself with so many whose ways of singing are so utterly different from mine. It has to matter to me that Jesus hears harmonies that sound cacophonous to me. It has to matter to me that he dances to rhythmns that do not move me (pp. 129-130).

One time I was doing some consulting for a congregation that was caught up in the "worship wars" (talk about an oxymoron!). I told them "If Jesus died for you, then certainly you can sing some songs that don't suit your taste." Reggie is saying the same thing, only better and far more tactfully. Our love for the next generation should enable us to put our musical preferences aside so that they can express their heart in the musical forms of their subculture. Just as Jesus accomodated Himself to us so that we might worship Him, we should accomodate ourselves to others so that they might worship Christ in their own cultural language as well.

All this to say, we need to join with the ancient voices who have gone before us in our worship. We also need to sing new songs with the voices of today. That is part of the beauty and richness of the church.