Sometimes we are so driven to do what’s new that we forget what’s old.
We’ve all experienced being a little behind on the latest trend. It’s that look of some type of disgust when you try to show a friend a “new” band that they’ve already known about for…I don’t know, like…six months. It’s the feeling you get when everyone around you is talking about the newest (and might I add) BEST movie they’ve ever seen. It’s almost as if we get a rush out of being the first to something. Like being on that edge of “the first…” is what drives us. Our drive to what’s new almost makes us look at what once was comically. How many times have you looked at an old picture of yourself and thought, “Wow. What was I thinking!?”
With that said, I’m a huge advocate for change. However, I’m so thankful that some of the looks of the 80’s have stayed there. I’m so thankful that social websites have progressed from Xanga. I’m so thankful that cell phones have improved from bag phones. In so many aspects of our lives change is healthy, exciting and fun. Art has progressed, and rightfully so. If art never progressed it would die.
While change is good…it’s forgetting where we’ve been that bothers me.
One place I see this is in the church. If a church is still distributing communion instead of giving people the freedom to go get it throughout a worship set, then in some of us that is an instant negative 5 points. If every song the church sings in a particular Sunday is a hymn it’s negative 10. Now, don’t misunderstand me. Again, I’m an advocate for continued change in the methods of how we communicate Jesus to His world. It’s when we make judgments and decisions of WHAT we preach or sing based on HOW we get to do that that I don’t feel quite right about. For example, it would be me not picking to sing a song that goes exactly with what the message is about because it’s an old hymn that “not everyone would like.” Does it fit? Yes. Does it speak truth? Yes. Is it culturally relevant in it’s original artistic interpretation? No. Do I do that song? No.
This is where we see the problem.
I don’t believe that an old hymn is less usable because of its age. Sure, the “thees” and “thous” are a bit of a disconnect, but the raw truth of some of those old songs are right on point. Sure, the augmented chords are a bit outdated, but the melodies of some are easy to sing. And it’s not just hymns. This is also proven in songs that are 10-15 years old. They’re right at that point where some churches that are behind are just getting to them and the churches stuck in the past have been doing them for 10-15 years. Is it a bad song? No. Are some of those songs stellar, if not dang near perfect? Yes. Do we do them? No…or at least not without a fight. Why? They’re not “cool.” The question then becomes what are we looking at when we decide if they’re usable? Is it the way in which the song is sung (chord structure, melody) or what the song is saying?
I guess what I’m trying to get at is this. We need to stop using words like “relevant” and “new” in picking songs to sing on a Sunday or Wednesday night. Those descriptions are great when selecting an iPhone, but maybe not so much with a song that could bring a person closer to their Creator. In other words, if you’re a worship leader and you’re having trouble finding material that is “new” and “relevant” maybe you should suck it up and look back instead of forward for material in your sets.
Here’s a bit of wisdom I’ve recently received. The younger people (12-50’s) in the congregation where you worship are more apt to change than the older people (50’s-80’s). Some of the younger people have never heard the older hymns and the older hymns are what the older people (those who were a part of the church) worshipped to years ago. It’s a win win. You teach the younger people a new song and are edifying the older people by bringing them back to a song they know and love.
This is a lesson I’m learning even now. I hear so many worship leaders kind of laugh about doing an older Tomlin song or Maranatha Praise song because they’re a bit dated. But some of these songs are GOOD! If the only reason we’re not picking older songs is because we’re not creative enough to give them a little kick, then that’s our fault. We started doing O Praise Him again a year ago. When I was tracking it I was thinking, “Here we go. Either it’s going to win or people are going to look at me like, ‘really?! This is all you got?’” When we did the song the first service I was quickly reminded that people don’t care as much about the age as much as the familiarity. They knew O Praise Him and they SANG O Praise Him.
This past Sunday I had the opportunity to lead a hymn that I grew up singing in a country church in Phillipsburg, MO. I honestly haven’t sung the song in at least 7 years. I forgot about it. But the congregation didn’t. Some knew it and sang it out and some were learning it for the first time. But there was a feeling of respect as the song was sung. A breath of fresh air from something written so long ago. You can hear and download the version of Old Rugged Cross we sang this Sunday here.
There’s a fine line between living in the past and going back to visit it.
I’m a believer in going back to visit and not living there. There are new songs that are written and are dymanite! There are also new songs that simply don’t hold up.
As followers of Jesus let’s not let a worldly standard dictate whether or not we present a Godly truth. Let’s do our jobs and creatively tweak those things that are old to become refreshingly new for a generation that needs it.
