With a heavy heart I bring to our weekly discussion one of the most painful and difficult issues of our time, the matter of abortion. It is certainly the most intractably divisive issue of our day. If you believe that the pre-born fetus is, indeed, a human being “...endowed with unalienable rights,” then you must come to the conclusion that the termination of that life is tantamount to murder, and thus should be prohibited under American law. If, on the other hand, you believe that the fetus remains a part of the woman’s body until given life at the time of birth, any restrictions on the care or destruction of that fetus beyond the choice of the carrier is an unspeakable violation of privacy.
It is only natural, in questions of life and death, that many people turn to religious faith to form and define their beliefs and values about such important matters. If you believe the fetus to be a child created intentionally and specifically by God, then the preservation of that life is among the most important questions a society faces. If you believe that the fetus is a part of the woman’s body without a soul of its own, then religious faith would call us to protect the dignity and privacy of the woman and the province of her choice.
There simply is no middle ground in the question. The fetus is either life or it isn’t.
That said, it is imperative that we as a society take this question out of the realm of religious belief and argument. The United States of America is, despite the charmingly ignorant proclamations of some that we are a “Christian” nation, a secular society. We affirm freedom of religion, but we make our laws on the basis of known science and on the common understandings of personhood as prescribed in the Declaration of Independence and as codified in the United States Constitution. For the purpose of making and enforcing laws, it is these documents and known science, not articles of faith, that must guide the argument and our decisions as a society.
Thus, we must keep our religious faith off the woman’s body and, for that matter, off the body of the child.
I have often said, and I firmly believe, that the question of abortion at the turn of the 21st century is reminiscent of the question of slavery in the United States 150-200 years ago. On the one hand, there were those who then proclaimed that “all men are created equal, endowed.. with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...” They believed that the enslavement of one person to another was a base violation of the enslaved’s core right to personhood. On the other hand, there were those who argued that humans with black skin were not persons at all, that they were some “middle ground” between animal and human, and that to keep them enslaved was not only allowable, but was a compassionate means of providing for their care and protection. Such was often preached from pulpits in both the North and the South in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Thankfully, that question has been settled. Though the struggle was long, hard and bloody, there are very few modern Americans that would question the personhood of any human being. In fact, most Americans look back at the days of slavery with shame and embarrassment, a throwback to a more primitive and barbaric time.
One of the primary reasons for this understanding, even above Lincoln’s goodness and Grant’s artillery, has been the advance of science. In time it came to be commonly understood that beyond color and environment humans are essentially the same. They are each and every one endowed with gifts and graces, strengths and weaknesses, talents to offer and burdens to carry.
Though it escapes the notice of partisan media and lobbying organizations, there have been many advances in the science of prenatal development since the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that opened the door to the legalization of abortion. At every turn, with every scientific advance we learn more and more that the developing fetus quickly attains all of the elements of personhood, emotions of fear and happiness, curiosity, playfulness and self-preservation. We have learned that many elements of our personhood are formed in the womb, including personality and intelligence.
In the application of known science we must determine then that the developing fetus is, indeed, a human being “endowed with certain unalienable rights” under the Declaration of Independence and, by extension, the United Sates Constitution.
In light of the advancing march of clear science, the only way that the child can be considered merely a tissue mass that is a part of the woman’s body is through a form of blind faith or superstition that flies in the face of clear, indisputable fact. Thus when we say, “Keep Your Religion Off My Body” the words should apply to the protection of the child’s right to live, rather than the woman’s option to terminate the life of the child.
I believe, I guess as a matter of faith, that our culture and society will grow in this matter in the same way that we overcame slavery. It is my confident hope that, 200 years from now, an American society will look back with shame and sorrow over the denial of personhood and the destruction of the lives of the most vulnerable of Americans. I am sure that they will consider us a barbaric culture for our willingness to sacrifice human lives on the primitive altars of “choice” and “privacy.”
Though I fear that none of us will live long enough to see that day, I do believe that we can work together to help open the door to an America where the rights of all people -born and unborn- to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are equally respected.
Here is how you can help...
1) Approach all people on every side of this issue with compassion and with respect. Most people who consider themselves supporters of abortion rights take that position because they do not understand the facts of the situation or the barbaric nature of the procedure. The media and the abortion industry have worked hard to keep this information from the public. Without judgment or condemnation it is important to gently and persuasively keep the facts of abortion and the science of fetal development before as many people as possible.
2) Stand up for the social services that promote and enable adoption, and support the social safety nets that make it possible for women to carry their children to a healthy delivery. Mother Theresa was once asked, “If you wish to deny abortion, what shall we do with all of these unwanted children?” She replied, “Bring them to me!” Those who seek to protect life before birth must be willing to support the lives of children after birth. This means funding for health care, adoption programs and education.
3) Ensure that women who face an unplanned pregnancy know that alternatives to abortion are available. This is done by promoting adoption and support programs that will often cover the expenses of pregnancy. There are tens of thousands of American couples that would love to receive an adopted child into their homes.
4) Be sensitive and kind to women who have made the abortion choice earlier in their lives. In most cases these women were abandoned by the men who had fathered the children. In many cases financial fears and family pressure encouraged their tragic decision. In other cases they fell prey to the abortion industry and its counterparts in politics and the media. Every person on earth has made mistakes and most of us have made very serious ones. While it is important to fight the practice of abortion, it is not helpful to condemn good people who have made poor choices in tough times.
5) Be consistent in your support of life. If it is wrong to destroy a human life in the womb, it is equally wrong to support state-sanctioned killing in prisons. Most civilized countries have outlawed the death penalty. Those who oppose death by abortion should be at the forefront of opposing death by capital punishment.
6) Support the right of gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. Whatever one’s personal view might be on the appropriateness of homosexual relationships, there are tens of thousands of fine couples who happen to be gay or lesbian that would give anything to provide a loving home for a child.
7) Support life with your vote. Though you may be ridiculed as a “one issue voter” do not vote for any candidate for any office that claims a pro-choice position. Do not vote for any candidate of any party that proclaims a pro-choice position in its platform. Yes, it is a shame to vote against otherwise strong candidates for important offices, but there is no issue more critical to a civilized society than the protection of innocent human life.
8) Support life with your dollars. It is important to contribute to responsible pro-life organizations, and it is important to make sure that any organization receiving your support conducts its affairs with integrity, fairness, consistency and compassion. It is equally important to do everything possible to withhold funds from any organization that supports abortion or helps fund an organization that provides abortions. For example, the United Way is a funding source for Planned Parenthood, one of the largest abortion providers in the nation. Do not contribute to United Way, even if United Way supports other causes of interest to you.
9) Insist on impartial, candid and open abortion education. The media and the abortion industry do not want to talk about the process of abortion, how the procedure is done, or the emotional and physical complications that often continue throughout life. Most people do not understand exactly what happens in a partial-birth abortion or in a vacuum aspiration. Difficult though it is, like any other surgical procedure, the process needs to be revealed in vivid detail.
10) Most important of all, it is imperative that those who deplore the violence of abortion speak out loudly against violence and intimidation toward those with whom they disagree. Dr. George Tiller of Kansas was most certainly a mass murderer in the cruelest sense, but the deranged man who assassinated and martyred him did much to harm the cause of life. Even more, any word from anyone opposed to abortion that could be interpreted as supportive of the destruction of property, threats to abortion providers and supporters, or harm to any individual only serves to give credibility to those who contend that abortion is a legitimate medical procedure. The loudest condemnation of Tiller’s murder should have come from the pro-life community.
I believe that this painful matter is, indeed, the moral issue of our day. I hope that generations to come will look upon us as the people that began the process of eradicating this scourge from American society. The work will be long and hard, and it will not be accomplished on religious arguments, intimidation or abusive methods. The battle will be won through the application of science, the dispensation of factual information, and a spirit of compassion and healing.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
ROSES
The ice cream parlor is new. The street is old...even to me.
A few days ago, my young daughter and I stopped for an ice cream cone at a new Baskin-Robbins. The store was located on a street that I have known since high school. For nearly eight years I was Music Minister for a church a half-mile up the road. When I was in high school I occasionally sang as a guest in the youth choir of a buddy’s church across the street. The building for his church was constructed at least 75 years ago. It has a cemetery around it filled with the granite headstones that were once a tradition in (then) rural Gwinnett County, Georgia.
Things change over the years. The old strip center where our church staff often went for lunch is now a new Walmart. The ice cream parlor is where the bank and dry cleaners once stood. Most of the signs and words all around now are in Spanish. I am sure the pleasant young lady scooping the ice cream relied more on my pointing fingers than on my English request for “...two chocolate cones, one scoop each.”
As dad and daughter sat down to eat our ice cream, I glanced across the street to the old church (now converted to a school) and to the cemetery beyond.
I was too far away to see the features of his face. I could not tell his age for certain, but I would have guessed at least 80. He wore casual trousers held in place by suspenders along with a solid colored dress shirt. It looked liked it had been ironed by someone who was not accustomed to ironing every day. He carried in his hands a long box and one of those small hand-held clippers that you might use on house plants. His car was a mid-1980s white Oldsmobile sedan. Though it showed normal wear, it look well-cared for. The whitewall tires looked to have been recently cleaned.
With ambling but steady steps he made his way about 20 feet from his car to one of the granite headstones. He laid the box and his clippers on the ground while he cleared the contents out of a vase that was built into the granite marker. Then, one at a time, he took a rose out of the box, trimmed it and placed it lovingly in the vase. He reached into the box once again for some baby’s breath that he carefully arranged around the vase of roses. When he was done arranging, he produced a small watering can and slowly filled the vase with water.
Had he been 18 instead of 80, and had the vase been made of glass rather than stone, I would have believed his flowers to be for a prom date instead of the mission they served in a Georgia cemetery.
When he finished his work, he knelt in prayer for a few seconds. As he got up, he brushed the edge of the headstone a few times and gazed at its words. I couldn’t help but imagine that he brushed the sand off the cold, stone slab with same gentle motion that he must have once brushed his wife’s hair from her forehead. As he stood, he leaned forward to gently touch his lips to the edge of the granite headstone.
As I watched him amble to his car, my daughter’s musical voice brought me back from my trance. “Daddy, what are you looking at?” The little face asking the question looked like a clown with a two inch border of chocolate ice cream (yes, nose included) around the mouth.
“I am watching love, honey. I am watching God’s will at work.” “I don’t understand, Daddy.” “I can’t explain it, sweetheart, but you will know it one day when you see it.”
I will never know the elderly man’s name, but I will never forget his witness. I just hope and pray that one day, when my precocious little girl becomes a wondrous young woman, someone comes into her life to adore her in the way that this loving man treasures the partner that waits for him at God’s banquet table.
I also hope and pray that God teaches me to love likewise.
“Faith, hope and love...endure all things...but the greatest of these is love.”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
A few days ago, my young daughter and I stopped for an ice cream cone at a new Baskin-Robbins. The store was located on a street that I have known since high school. For nearly eight years I was Music Minister for a church a half-mile up the road. When I was in high school I occasionally sang as a guest in the youth choir of a buddy’s church across the street. The building for his church was constructed at least 75 years ago. It has a cemetery around it filled with the granite headstones that were once a tradition in (then) rural Gwinnett County, Georgia.
Things change over the years. The old strip center where our church staff often went for lunch is now a new Walmart. The ice cream parlor is where the bank and dry cleaners once stood. Most of the signs and words all around now are in Spanish. I am sure the pleasant young lady scooping the ice cream relied more on my pointing fingers than on my English request for “...two chocolate cones, one scoop each.”
As dad and daughter sat down to eat our ice cream, I glanced across the street to the old church (now converted to a school) and to the cemetery beyond.
I was too far away to see the features of his face. I could not tell his age for certain, but I would have guessed at least 80. He wore casual trousers held in place by suspenders along with a solid colored dress shirt. It looked liked it had been ironed by someone who was not accustomed to ironing every day. He carried in his hands a long box and one of those small hand-held clippers that you might use on house plants. His car was a mid-1980s white Oldsmobile sedan. Though it showed normal wear, it look well-cared for. The whitewall tires looked to have been recently cleaned.
With ambling but steady steps he made his way about 20 feet from his car to one of the granite headstones. He laid the box and his clippers on the ground while he cleared the contents out of a vase that was built into the granite marker. Then, one at a time, he took a rose out of the box, trimmed it and placed it lovingly in the vase. He reached into the box once again for some baby’s breath that he carefully arranged around the vase of roses. When he was done arranging, he produced a small watering can and slowly filled the vase with water.
Had he been 18 instead of 80, and had the vase been made of glass rather than stone, I would have believed his flowers to be for a prom date instead of the mission they served in a Georgia cemetery.
When he finished his work, he knelt in prayer for a few seconds. As he got up, he brushed the edge of the headstone a few times and gazed at its words. I couldn’t help but imagine that he brushed the sand off the cold, stone slab with same gentle motion that he must have once brushed his wife’s hair from her forehead. As he stood, he leaned forward to gently touch his lips to the edge of the granite headstone.
As I watched him amble to his car, my daughter’s musical voice brought me back from my trance. “Daddy, what are you looking at?” The little face asking the question looked like a clown with a two inch border of chocolate ice cream (yes, nose included) around the mouth.
“I am watching love, honey. I am watching God’s will at work.” “I don’t understand, Daddy.” “I can’t explain it, sweetheart, but you will know it one day when you see it.”
I will never know the elderly man’s name, but I will never forget his witness. I just hope and pray that one day, when my precocious little girl becomes a wondrous young woman, someone comes into her life to adore her in the way that this loving man treasures the partner that waits for him at God’s banquet table.
I also hope and pray that God teaches me to love likewise.
“Faith, hope and love...endure all things...but the greatest of these is love.”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Thursday, January 13, 2011
THE CREEPS
Christian bookstores just creep me out!
There. I said it. Now what!?
I have long had this problem. I am compelled by some dastardly force to be the yin for the yang....or is it the yang for the yin. Whatever!. When I serve churches of a more liberal bent, I have been the staff conservative. When I have served churches of a more conservative stripe, I have been the staff liberal. I have been deservedly blasted from both sides of the political spectrum at one time or another.
But, I have been consistent with my queasiness in “Christian” bookstores.
I had to go into one a few weeks ago. My precious daughter Marguerite likes to listen to Cedarmont Kids CDs while driving around in the car. As a parent, I think the music is excellent for children her age. Most Christian bookstores carry the series. So does Wal-mart. I have been to Wal-marts in four states looking for a particular CD without success. Since I would march barefoot through the gates of Hell for Daddy’s Little Girl, I decided to brave a “family Christian bookstore” at a local mall to find the album. It wasn’t easy.
I can deal with the massive display of Bibles. Actually, I rather like the Bible. Unlike some of my more liberal friends, I have no doubt that the Bible is the “inspired Word of God” and will proclaim it so to my dying day without apology. My favorite edition is the Geneva Study New King James Version, but I find several other translations interesting and useful. I like the commentary embedded in the text. It helps explain the literary and historical background of each passage.
I also like some of the books found in the store. Every Christian should read Luther’s Theology of the Cross, as well as the entire output of heros like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and C. S. Lewis. Some of the modern church sociologists are nutty, others are quite insightful. Some are actually nutty and insightful.
Its more the other “stuff” that bugs me: Some of the jewelry with depictions of the empty tomb dangling from a wrist bracelet. Doormats with “I stand at the door and knock” and electric trains with “Jesus Saves” emblazoned on the box cars. Magazines musing about “What Would Jesus Eat?” (My answer: “Well, crawfish, cornbread and fried okra, of course!”)
Part of my problem is that I can’t clearly define what “my problem” is with these stores. I just know that I would rather order my “Christian” books on the Internet than enter one of these businesses.
It is not entirely the commercialism. Even people who make Bibles have to eat food, buy houses and pay $75 for a tank of gas. After all, for many years I, myself made quite a fine living leading church music.
It is not even the gaudiness of some of the products for sale. Who am I to make a cultural judgement on what different people find meaningful? Both the St. Matthew Passion and The Ninety and Nine speak with power to some of God’s children.
It is not the people working in the stores. An attractive and helpful young lady took me straight to the children’s music section and helped me find the CD my daughter was looking for. She even offered to wrap it for free if it was to be given as a gift. Nothing creepy about her.
Maybe it was the whole business about taking Jesus and packaging Him into whatever shape or form might serve our purposes. Certainly, our Father created all food. It is His desire that we should take the best care of our bodies...that He called His “temple.” But, do we really want to be arrogant enough to speculate on what Jesus would choose to eat were He in His pre-ascended form in the United States of the early 21st century?
Taking the Gospel and reshaping it for our human purpose has been a sad feature of the Church since the apostles Paul and Silas got into a fist fight in the church parking lot about what color the nursery would be painted. Both combatants were certain that Jesus Himself would have agreed with their preferences in decor.
But the truth is that Jesus probably had other things to concern Himself with...like sorting out Bill Baker!
I can imagine Our Lord dropping by a Christian bookstore at the nearby mall and saying, “Hey guys... books about growing in faith, fun jewelry, cool toys, great music... all of this is good. My Father created you for life abundant and joyful. Enjoy all of these things and give Him alone the glory. But you don’t have to slap my Name on everything. Please don’t use my Name for your endorsement...I have already endorsed you and everything in this world with My grace and love.”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
There. I said it. Now what!?
I have long had this problem. I am compelled by some dastardly force to be the yin for the yang....or is it the yang for the yin. Whatever!. When I serve churches of a more liberal bent, I have been the staff conservative. When I have served churches of a more conservative stripe, I have been the staff liberal. I have been deservedly blasted from both sides of the political spectrum at one time or another.
But, I have been consistent with my queasiness in “Christian” bookstores.
I had to go into one a few weeks ago. My precious daughter Marguerite likes to listen to Cedarmont Kids CDs while driving around in the car. As a parent, I think the music is excellent for children her age. Most Christian bookstores carry the series. So does Wal-mart. I have been to Wal-marts in four states looking for a particular CD without success. Since I would march barefoot through the gates of Hell for Daddy’s Little Girl, I decided to brave a “family Christian bookstore” at a local mall to find the album. It wasn’t easy.
I can deal with the massive display of Bibles. Actually, I rather like the Bible. Unlike some of my more liberal friends, I have no doubt that the Bible is the “inspired Word of God” and will proclaim it so to my dying day without apology. My favorite edition is the Geneva Study New King James Version, but I find several other translations interesting and useful. I like the commentary embedded in the text. It helps explain the literary and historical background of each passage.
I also like some of the books found in the store. Every Christian should read Luther’s Theology of the Cross, as well as the entire output of heros like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and C. S. Lewis. Some of the modern church sociologists are nutty, others are quite insightful. Some are actually nutty and insightful.
Its more the other “stuff” that bugs me: Some of the jewelry with depictions of the empty tomb dangling from a wrist bracelet. Doormats with “I stand at the door and knock” and electric trains with “Jesus Saves” emblazoned on the box cars. Magazines musing about “What Would Jesus Eat?” (My answer: “Well, crawfish, cornbread and fried okra, of course!”)
Part of my problem is that I can’t clearly define what “my problem” is with these stores. I just know that I would rather order my “Christian” books on the Internet than enter one of these businesses.
It is not entirely the commercialism. Even people who make Bibles have to eat food, buy houses and pay $75 for a tank of gas. After all, for many years I, myself made quite a fine living leading church music.
It is not even the gaudiness of some of the products for sale. Who am I to make a cultural judgement on what different people find meaningful? Both the St. Matthew Passion and The Ninety and Nine speak with power to some of God’s children.
It is not the people working in the stores. An attractive and helpful young lady took me straight to the children’s music section and helped me find the CD my daughter was looking for. She even offered to wrap it for free if it was to be given as a gift. Nothing creepy about her.
Maybe it was the whole business about taking Jesus and packaging Him into whatever shape or form might serve our purposes. Certainly, our Father created all food. It is His desire that we should take the best care of our bodies...that He called His “temple.” But, do we really want to be arrogant enough to speculate on what Jesus would choose to eat were He in His pre-ascended form in the United States of the early 21st century?
Taking the Gospel and reshaping it for our human purpose has been a sad feature of the Church since the apostles Paul and Silas got into a fist fight in the church parking lot about what color the nursery would be painted. Both combatants were certain that Jesus Himself would have agreed with their preferences in decor.
But the truth is that Jesus probably had other things to concern Himself with...like sorting out Bill Baker!
I can imagine Our Lord dropping by a Christian bookstore at the nearby mall and saying, “Hey guys... books about growing in faith, fun jewelry, cool toys, great music... all of this is good. My Father created you for life abundant and joyful. Enjoy all of these things and give Him alone the glory. But you don’t have to slap my Name on everything. Please don’t use my Name for your endorsement...I have already endorsed you and everything in this world with My grace and love.”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
ABOUT HYMNS
One of my favorite characters in 20th and 21st century Lutheranism is Dr. Martin Marty. Marty, a native Nebraskan who has made Chicago his home for most of his rich life, must be considered the denomination’s foremost authority on worship and applied theology. He has been a contributor to The Christian Century since 1956. The depth of his scholarship is affirmed by 75 honorary doctorates. Smart dude, indeed!
Nearly three decades ago I attended a conference in Pennsylvania where Marty was a keynote speaker. In the Q & A after a lecture on the “place” of Lutherans in modern American Protestantism, he was asked what the primary distinguishing characteristics were of the Lutheran brand of Christianity.
He said that there were many distinctions, but two that stood high above all others, the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament in all areas of devotional life, and the quality and depth of Lutheran hymnody. “Without our hymnody,” he said, “..we are just run-of-the-mill, garden variety Protestants, as somber as Presbyterians and as wishy-washy as Methodists.”
Though I outwardly cringe, but inwardly high-five, at his bluntness, I do believe that the jolly old fellow rather has a point. Whether it be the German chorales of Luther, Nicolai, Bach, and others, or the Scandinavian hymns of Grundtvig and Christiansen, or the more present works of Burkhardt and Manz, there is nothing like Lutheran hymnody for scriptural authority, musical strength and poetic transport.
It is a crying shame that so many of our congregations, in both the ELCA and the LCMS, have opted to cashier this timeless and profound heritage to replace it with the drab, commercial bushwash common in other churches, music that has contributed to the loss of nearly 25 million members in Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Disciples, and yes, Lutheran denominations in the last generation.
But all the news is not bad. There are many congregations across the country that have reaffirmed their commitment to excellence in worship, excellence in choral leadership, and excellence in liturgy and hymns. During my recent months of “retirement” from church music leadership I have had the privilege of visiting such churches and witnessing their success first hand.
There are many common themes that I have noticed in these growing and vital churches. Excellence in liturgy and music is chief among them. I have been inspired by the well-played organs and well-trained choirs. From my vantage point as a visitor in the congregation I have seen how the leadership of these choirs and organists empower meaningful congregational participation.
Great hymns form the core of the liturgical and musical excellence of these winning churches.
I define a great hymn as having five primary elements, none of which may be lacking if a hymn is worthy of inclusion in the service of the faithful. First and foremost, a hymn must be scripturally authoritative. It must be consistent with Holy Scripture and (for us) consistent with Lutheran theology of salvation by grace through faith.
Second, it must be musically appropriate for congregational singing. A hymn is to be sung by the gathered assembly in the context of Christian worship. There are many “songs” that are enjoyable, even uplifting as solos, choral pieces, or choruses around the campfire, but they simply don’t work for a congregation to sing together. Sadly, a misguided attempt at “diversity” has brought many of such songs into the two recent weak hymnal efforts by the ELCA, With One Voice and Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
Third, the language of hymns should be particularly timely and exalted. Most certainly, the worship of the church in 2010 should include hymns from the best theologians and musicians of our day. Two songs in With One Voice are grand examples of this: “I Am the Bread of Life,” and “O Blessed Spring.” These hymns are more than worthy to take their place alongside “Praise to the Lord,” and “Now Thank We All Our God.” There is a grandeur to the language of quality hymns that emblazons Biblical imagery through the mind and deep into the soul. One of the most unforgivable offenses of recent hymnals has been the exchange of such powerful and exalted phrases for common language more fitting for a corporate expense report or the minutes of a club meeting than for the worship and praise of the Savior of the Nations.
Fourth, a hymn must be well-chosen to be effective. “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” is one of the richest hymns of the Lutheran (or any) tradition but it is simply not appropriate for the first Sunday of Advent or for Easter Day. Likewise, “Silent Night” would be out of place on Pentecost Sunday. Hymns well-chosen are chosen to augment and lift up the scripture for the day, especially the preaching text, the general theme of the liturgical season, and the specific theme of the liturgical day. For most services, the Hymn of the Day is the one that should be most closely tied to the scripture and preaching text. The opening and closing hymns can, and often should, be reflective of the theme in a more general application.
Finally, a hymn must be properly placed to be effective. In general, the opening processional hymn should be grand and majestic. Examples would be “The Church’s One Foundation,” “Praise to the Lord,” or “All Creatures of Our God and King.” The middle hymn can be more varied, as is necessary to be woven more intimately with the scripture. Often this is a good place for a hymn that is more meditative and reflective in nature. Finally, the closing hymn should sum up the themes of the service and send the worshiper out in a spirit of renewal, reaffirmation and recommitment. Hymns that are meandering or shallow placed at (especially) the beginning of the service or the end can do great damage to the energy and spirit of the worship. Consider these three wonderful hymns for the Feast of All Saints.
For All the Saints (LBW 174)
O God Our Help in Ages Past (LBW 320)
I Am the Bread of Life (WOV 702)
Obviously, “For All the Saints” is one of the most beloved hymns in the English speaking world...powerful, joyful... and it opens the worship with strength and a clear theme for the day. Though, from a purely thematic standpoint it could be placed in the middle of the service, to do so would strip it of its power while also denying the worship a grand source of majesty and energy at the outset of the celebration of Christ’s victory over death.
Likewise, “O God Our Help in Ages Past” can be used at the beginning of the service (as I have done during Lent) but it is not anywhere near as strong as “For All the Saints.” Plus, its themes of God continued providence well-fits all three gospel readings for All Saints Sunday.
Finally, in the church’s greatest affirmation of eternal life apart from Easter, there can be few worship elements more exalting and empowering than singing “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ... and all who believe in You shall live forever... And I will raise you up on the last day!” (Just typing the words in this note brings tears to my eyes in the sure and certain knowledge that I will one day be reunited with those from whom I have been parted by death.) Great hymnody should give such voice to the depth of the worshiping spirit.
Armed with rich heritage entrusted to us, and the urgent work set before us, the Church should accept nothing less than great hymnody, and should demand it without apology.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Nearly three decades ago I attended a conference in Pennsylvania where Marty was a keynote speaker. In the Q & A after a lecture on the “place” of Lutherans in modern American Protestantism, he was asked what the primary distinguishing characteristics were of the Lutheran brand of Christianity.
He said that there were many distinctions, but two that stood high above all others, the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament in all areas of devotional life, and the quality and depth of Lutheran hymnody. “Without our hymnody,” he said, “..we are just run-of-the-mill, garden variety Protestants, as somber as Presbyterians and as wishy-washy as Methodists.”
Though I outwardly cringe, but inwardly high-five, at his bluntness, I do believe that the jolly old fellow rather has a point. Whether it be the German chorales of Luther, Nicolai, Bach, and others, or the Scandinavian hymns of Grundtvig and Christiansen, or the more present works of Burkhardt and Manz, there is nothing like Lutheran hymnody for scriptural authority, musical strength and poetic transport.
It is a crying shame that so many of our congregations, in both the ELCA and the LCMS, have opted to cashier this timeless and profound heritage to replace it with the drab, commercial bushwash common in other churches, music that has contributed to the loss of nearly 25 million members in Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Disciples, and yes, Lutheran denominations in the last generation.
But all the news is not bad. There are many congregations across the country that have reaffirmed their commitment to excellence in worship, excellence in choral leadership, and excellence in liturgy and hymns. During my recent months of “retirement” from church music leadership I have had the privilege of visiting such churches and witnessing their success first hand.
There are many common themes that I have noticed in these growing and vital churches. Excellence in liturgy and music is chief among them. I have been inspired by the well-played organs and well-trained choirs. From my vantage point as a visitor in the congregation I have seen how the leadership of these choirs and organists empower meaningful congregational participation.
Great hymns form the core of the liturgical and musical excellence of these winning churches.
I define a great hymn as having five primary elements, none of which may be lacking if a hymn is worthy of inclusion in the service of the faithful. First and foremost, a hymn must be scripturally authoritative. It must be consistent with Holy Scripture and (for us) consistent with Lutheran theology of salvation by grace through faith.
Second, it must be musically appropriate for congregational singing. A hymn is to be sung by the gathered assembly in the context of Christian worship. There are many “songs” that are enjoyable, even uplifting as solos, choral pieces, or choruses around the campfire, but they simply don’t work for a congregation to sing together. Sadly, a misguided attempt at “diversity” has brought many of such songs into the two recent weak hymnal efforts by the ELCA, With One Voice and Evangelical Lutheran Worship.
Third, the language of hymns should be particularly timely and exalted. Most certainly, the worship of the church in 2010 should include hymns from the best theologians and musicians of our day. Two songs in With One Voice are grand examples of this: “I Am the Bread of Life,” and “O Blessed Spring.” These hymns are more than worthy to take their place alongside “Praise to the Lord,” and “Now Thank We All Our God.” There is a grandeur to the language of quality hymns that emblazons Biblical imagery through the mind and deep into the soul. One of the most unforgivable offenses of recent hymnals has been the exchange of such powerful and exalted phrases for common language more fitting for a corporate expense report or the minutes of a club meeting than for the worship and praise of the Savior of the Nations.
Fourth, a hymn must be well-chosen to be effective. “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” is one of the richest hymns of the Lutheran (or any) tradition but it is simply not appropriate for the first Sunday of Advent or for Easter Day. Likewise, “Silent Night” would be out of place on Pentecost Sunday. Hymns well-chosen are chosen to augment and lift up the scripture for the day, especially the preaching text, the general theme of the liturgical season, and the specific theme of the liturgical day. For most services, the Hymn of the Day is the one that should be most closely tied to the scripture and preaching text. The opening and closing hymns can, and often should, be reflective of the theme in a more general application.
Finally, a hymn must be properly placed to be effective. In general, the opening processional hymn should be grand and majestic. Examples would be “The Church’s One Foundation,” “Praise to the Lord,” or “All Creatures of Our God and King.” The middle hymn can be more varied, as is necessary to be woven more intimately with the scripture. Often this is a good place for a hymn that is more meditative and reflective in nature. Finally, the closing hymn should sum up the themes of the service and send the worshiper out in a spirit of renewal, reaffirmation and recommitment. Hymns that are meandering or shallow placed at (especially) the beginning of the service or the end can do great damage to the energy and spirit of the worship. Consider these three wonderful hymns for the Feast of All Saints.
For All the Saints (LBW 174)
O God Our Help in Ages Past (LBW 320)
I Am the Bread of Life (WOV 702)
Obviously, “For All the Saints” is one of the most beloved hymns in the English speaking world...powerful, joyful... and it opens the worship with strength and a clear theme for the day. Though, from a purely thematic standpoint it could be placed in the middle of the service, to do so would strip it of its power while also denying the worship a grand source of majesty and energy at the outset of the celebration of Christ’s victory over death.
Likewise, “O God Our Help in Ages Past” can be used at the beginning of the service (as I have done during Lent) but it is not anywhere near as strong as “For All the Saints.” Plus, its themes of God continued providence well-fits all three gospel readings for All Saints Sunday.
Finally, in the church’s greatest affirmation of eternal life apart from Easter, there can be few worship elements more exalting and empowering than singing “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ... and all who believe in You shall live forever... And I will raise you up on the last day!” (Just typing the words in this note brings tears to my eyes in the sure and certain knowledge that I will one day be reunited with those from whom I have been parted by death.) Great hymnody should give such voice to the depth of the worshiping spirit.
Armed with rich heritage entrusted to us, and the urgent work set before us, the Church should accept nothing less than great hymnody, and should demand it without apology.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
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