I stood at the front of the church and watched as the congregation was led in a full slate of old hymns and familiar gospel songs. Nothing rising from us that morning had been composed since the 1950s. My grandparents would have been right at home there.
It was the menu we are told grey-haired people (like myself) say they want from a worship leader.
Personally, I thought it was one boring service.
I grew up on those hymns, and like most veteran church-goers in that church, knew them “by heart.” I sang as lustily as I could manage while endeavoring to save voice enough to preach. But in no way did I find that song service meaningful, worshipful, or enjoyable.
The problem was the familiarity of it all. I could sing those hymns in my sleep (and probably have). My mind went on vacation while my mouth sang them. And that is precisely why singing them regularly is a bad idea.
“O, sing unto the Lord a new song!”
Anyone who has read his Bible much has run across that line before. To make sure we could not miss it, the Lord sprinkled throughout His Word. It can be found in Psalms 33:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1, and in Isaiah 42:10.
In Psalm 40:3, David testifies that after the Lord lifted him from the miry clay and gave him firm footing, “He put a new song in my mouth.”
We’re told in the last book of the Bible, that in Heaven “they sang a new song” (Revelation 5:9 and 14:3).
Anyone see a pattern here?
I stand before you today with a bit of news that worship leaders across the land should take to heart: not every senior member of your church is addicted to “The Old Rugged Cross.” Some of us like “O, the Wonderful Cross.”
We like it because it’s fresh, it forces us to think about what we are singing, and the tune is a good one. It’s singable, worshipful, thought-provoking.
And the second bit of news is that the rest of the congregation can learn to love well-written recent hymns, gospel songs, and choruses.
But give us a steady diet of anything and within a few weeks, we’ll be begging for mercy.
I once heard Rick Warren say that at Saddleback, they had found that after the 17th time a song was used, it ceased to be meaningful to those singing it. (Pretty sure 17 was his number; I’m going by memory here.)
New songs are good, but the old hymns are not bad. The ancient hymns should be taught to the youngsters (hey, they’re new to them!) and used sparingly with the old-timers. And all of us should be introduced to new hymns, gospel songs, and choruses our worship leaders have discovered and like.
There should be no more worship wars. We’re all friends here.
Joe McKeever has been preaching the Gospel since 1961. He pastored for 42 years in various Southern Baptist Churches. He has also served as director of missions for the SBC churches of metro New Orleans. Joe has a BA from Birmingham-Southern College, and a masters & doctorate from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. For over 20 years, Joe has drawn a daily cartoon for the Baptist Press (www.bpnews.net/comics). He writes columns for a variety of publications. He and his wife, Bertha, have published numerous books including, “Help! I’m a Deacon” (2015) and “Sixty and Better: Making the Most of Our Golden Years” (2017). As a blended family, Joe and Bertha share fourteen grandchildren. They live in Ridgeland, MS and enjoy telling friends they are “living happily ever after.” Joe’s life verse is Job 4:4, “Your words have stood men on their feet.” To discover more about Joe, visit his website.
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