Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Losing my religion: an interview with David Bazan

Friday, February 5th, 2010

What’s it like to feel your faith slipping away? Christianity Today published an interview with David Bazan, a well-known musician and the former frontman for the indie rock band Pedro the Lion. Bazan is a former evangelical Christian who no longer counts himself as a believer, but he continues to speak (and sing) about God and the doubts that led him away from the Christian flock.

Bazan’s departure from Christianity was a sad and reluctant one, and his former faith continues to haunt him, as this quote illustrates:

Christian spirituality has played a huge part in your music. Will it continue to play a role?

In some ways, I hope not. But I can’t imagine that it won’t. It’s still the central question of my life. I read a lot about theology and church history. I’ll never get a vacation from this. I’m not kidding when I say that this is the central question of my life.

Bazan is certainly not the only person to abandon the Christian faith; but the circumstances of his departure make for an edifying read. Bazan didn’t reject his faith to become an angry, bitter atheist; nor did he simply drift away from Christianity due to apathy or a lack of commitment. Rather, his departure was prompted by, among other things, a sense that the Christianity he practiced was actually interfering with the ethics he wanted to pursue.

The interview doesn’t get too specific about those obstacles, but one obvious question that occurs to me is whether the hurdles that drove Bazan from the faith truly were fundamental elements of the Christian faith, or if they were human “additions” to the faith. It’s also interesting (and a little disturbing) to see the powerful role that fear played (and continues to play) in his spiritual life.

What’s your reaction to the interview? What might you ask or say to Bazan if you had the chance to talk to him about Christianity?

Today’s devotional: hymns that are “sermons unto themselves”

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

This morning’s devotional at Lifetime Guarantee Ministries is a bit different from the usual fare. In it, Bill Gillham simply suggests that we pay closer attention to the words of the hymns we sing each week at church—many of them are devotionals or sermons unto themselves!

Perhaps you will hear or sing one of these hymns on your next Easter Sunday. If you do, pay close attention to the words. So many of these hymns are a sermon unto themselves and more often than not, the theology is right on track.

From Rock of Ages by Augustus Montague Toplady, 1776

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

He cites two other Easter hymns, one of them familiar to me and the other not. Read the rest of the devotional at Lifetime Guarantee Ministries.

I think Gillham raises an interesting point. We’re obviously meant to meditate on the lyrics to the worship songs we sing; but it’s easy to simply sing along to the music without putting any effort into processing the words. What other hymns or worship songs do you think stand apart as being “sermons unto themselves”?

What’s your favorite Christmas song?

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Few things evoke the Christmas season like Christmas music. What other holiday has such a familiar soundtrack? Whether it’s the old classic carols and hymns or modern tunes by pop musicians, Christmas gets people singing like no other time of the year.

Do you have a favorite Christmas song—a particular tune that encapsulates the Christmas experience? A song that puts you in a worshipful spirit, or that simply lifts your spirit with good old-fashioned Christmas cheer?

Share your thoughts!

What Music Connects you to God?

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Musical preferences are complicated and personal things. One person loves rock music, another classical, a third folk and a fourth hip-hop. And all of them might be sitting in the same pew!

Given these differences in musical preference, how should we use music in worship? Should we just standardize on one style of music and expect everyone to take part, or incorporate different styles into worship to connect with as many people as possible?

Speaking as an avid lover of music, I think that when we join a community, we need to learn to worship in the way that community worships. We need to uphold the parts of the body of Christ that are responsible for worshiping God through music, even when the style of music isn’t to our personal taste.

What about you? How do you handle the tension between your personal weekday preferences in music and what you sing on Sunday? Is it even an issue for you?

More importantly, what is it about music that connects you with God? Is it a certain style of music? Is it the words? Something else entirely? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Celebrate the music of Easter!

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

What springs to mind when you think of Christmas? Chances are you think of Christmas trees, nicely-wrapped gifts, holiday parties… and Christmas music. In fact, one of the first signs that the holiday season is upon us each year is the sound of Christmas carols playing over the radio or over the speakers at stores.

Lent and Easter may not have the massive culture presence that Christmas does, but like Christmas, this is a season marked by memorable music. You might not hear it playing at the local mall, but the music of Easter includes some of the church’s most powerful and insightful songs. Easter has always been my personal favorite “musical season” in the church year; I’d like to build on Chris’ last post about music and worship by pointing out some Easter music resources:

Four Reflections on Psalm 22

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Just before Jesus died on the cross he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This chilling question is the first line of the first verse of Psalm 22, a song of tremendous torment and devoted hope.

Paul Lusher over at The Center for Church Music has four short reflections on how Psalm 22 relates to Lent, or what he calls The Season of the Cross. They’re excellent articles that speak of the power of music and importance of worship during this season.

From the introduction to the first article:

No believer can read this Psalm without being confronted with the reality of Christ’s crucifixion. It inspires adoration – and a desire to understand what we can learn from this astonishing text. While we’ll never know if our Lord actually sang these words while hanging form that accursed tree, its words are infused with a holy wonder that can only inspire reverence and awe.

Happy birthday, Mendelssohn!

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

The Christian church may not be the musical trendsetter that it has been in past centuries, but the church’s “cloud of witnesses” includes several of the greatest musicians who have ever lived. Today it’s appropriate to remember one of them in particular: Felix Mendelssohn, who was born 200 years ago.

Mendelssohn was a prolific composer; chances are you’d recognize several of his works today, even if you didn’t know Mendelssohn was the composer. He was an interesting character whose reputation was heavily attacked by anti-Semite critics. Here are a few places to read up on Mendelssohn and his contributions to the field of music:

Looking behind the lyrics of famous Christmas hymns

Friday, December 19th, 2008

We linked earlier this week to some Christmas music resources at Songs and Hymns. But if you’re still in the mood for more holiday music (and who isn’t?), there’s more at RBC Ministries. Here are a few links:

These devotionals are a reminder that there’s more to Christmas music than catchy tunes and familiar words—there are important stories and messages behind them. Your appreciation for these songs will only deepen if you take a moment this Christmas season to really ponder what they’re saying.

Classic Christmas Hymns

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

The church I grew up did a candlelight service every Christmas Eve. Upon entry into the building we would be handed unlit candles, and I would spend the rest of the service waiting for the moment when we’d start lighting things on fire during church.

After an interminable time, we’d start singing Christmas songs in the dimmed lights while two people would walk from the back with candles to start lighting our candles. I remember staring transfixed as the flames multiplied and cast strange shadows on the faces in the sanctuary.

It was in this setting that we would sing songs like “Silent Night” and soak in the peaceful feeling of Christmas eve. Despite the familiarity of the tunes and the words, Christmas music is still wonderful and worshipful.

If you’re looking for the music, history or for some of those classics (Silent Night included) check out the Songs and Hymns website.

How to choose worship songs for a church service

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

Have you ever wondered what kind of thought and planning goes into choosing the songs you sing (and sometimes play) in a worship service? If you’re a worship leader, do you have a solid, Biblical system for thinking through and choosing music pieces that fit each church service?

The process of selecting worship music will be different for each individual congregation and worship style, of course. But to help you think through your music choices, FarsiPraise has collected some thoughts on the matter from a variety of church and worship leaders (both are in PDF):

If you’re a church leader struggling to pick the right music, these thoughts from other leaders might help. And if you’re a congregation member who’s always wondered who chose the music and why, they might give you some insight into an important part of weekly worship planning!