Give Me That Old Time Hymn Book......

Modern Worship music is a very mixed bag . Many songs are so shallow and lack any depth theologically and in general ,when I sing them in Church it feels like I should be in a Sunday school for children. The use of guitars,drums and a more rock  style is not the issue at all. It is the content of the lyrics more than the style.

Often times you have very little in the way of the gospel , the cross, the atonement , the holiness of God , the grand themes of the scripture. Often the songs have a repetitive chorus of very simple phrases that are sung over and over . Plus if you replace Jesus with your love ie wife  in some songs, you would not know the difference.

Not all old hymns are gems either but a large group have survived the test of time . The writers tried to convey the deep truths of scripture , challenging their listeners to learn and at the same time glorify God. They were God centered and you would hear of your need of Christ . But we are dealing with a generation that think reading readers digest is actually reading. They have the attention span of a tv dinner. Plus it has to fast , uptempo with a lot of sound.

Now there are many solid and great contemporary hymn writers trying to instill content and at the same time make them very singable, made for corporate worship , with God's glory in mind. They can be done and new song like In Christ Alone ,is a prime example. Also the Sovereign Grace Music group is producing worship songs that are catchy , with both rocking numbers and more laid back styles but have solid content.

So what is needed is a grounded biblical and theologically grounded worship leader who has the mind to first say is this song worth singing based first on content.Is it Christ centered and God glorifying . Second will it edify the body and can it be sung corporately. It can be done by mixing the best of the new with the tried and true of the past. It would  be nice to not feel I'm in a Barney episode singing a sung that a 4 year old would enjoy.