The church I attend now sings a few songs that are amalgamations of popular songs and worship songs. For example, this past week we interspersed the chorus from Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” (“Everything’s gonna be alright” x8) into one of the worship songs. It’s interesting how those simple lines take on an entirely different meaning when put in the context of a Christian worship service.

Does your church ever use “secular” songs during worship?

Share your thoughts!

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?

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”?

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!

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.

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:

• Songsandhymns.org has mp3s and sheet music for eight of the most famous Easter songs (see the Lent/Easter section on that page). Particularly noteworthy are Ah, Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended and Christ the Lord is Risen Today. The latter song is a popular one at Easter Sunday services; it’s quite something to hear it sung by an enthusiastic congregation.
• HymnTime.com has a monster list of Easter songs (but beware the auto-playing MIDI music).
• Two years ago, the Vatican released mp3s of several beautiful Lent arrangements by the Musical Chorus of the Sistine Chapel and the Institute of Sacred Music. Despite theological differences between Protestant and Catholic churches, the music can be appreciated by any Christian.
• A reflection about the famous hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today at Christianity Today. There’s a bit more historical information at the hymn’s Wikipedia entry.
• An interesting essay about ancient Easter songs, many of which inspired the modern Easter hymns we know and love today.

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.

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:

• An overview of his life at Songs and Hymns, along with an MP3 of the famous hymn “Now Thank We All Our God.”
• The NPR website has a number of excellent features on Mendelssohn and his music.
• The Mendelssohn Project aims to restore Mendelssohn’s reputation and bring many of his lost works back into the public spotlight.
• The Christian History Institute relates Mendelssohn’s efforts to revive the music of Bach, another famous Christian composer.
• And lastly, an essay about the Mendelssohn family’s Jewish heritage, and the anti-Semitic efforts to erase Mendelssohn’s music from the public square during the Nazi era in Germany.

• Did you know that “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was written about a family tragedy during the Civil War?
• Chances are you know the first stanza of the famous Christmas carol “What Child is This”—but as with many holiday songs, the second verse brings out a whole new meaning to the carol. Give those often-overlooked second, third, and fourth stanzas a read next time you’ve got a hymnal at hand!
• Read about the powerful social commentary lurking between the lines of “Angels, From the Realms of Glory.”
• You might not even recognize the original version of perhaps the most famous Christmas carol of all.

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.

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.