It is a question that churches usually ask when they are starting a new style of service with the intent of reaching out to a younger demographic. They realize that having a new service with poorly executed music might have the opposite effect. There might be a few instrumentalists or vocalists willing to form a band, but rarely are there enough volunteers to fill out a full band (especially in smaller churches). Something is usually missing: maybe a keyboardist, electric guitarist, or drummer. Someone will usually suggest that the musical vitality of the service is worth investing in. On the flip side, mega-churches routinely hire out full ensembles of studio musicians to make sure the musical quality of their services lives up to the hype.

I’ll share a couple of stories from personal experience:

• A church had music in worship led by a pianist who was employed by the church part-time. A person joined the church and volunteered his keyboarding skills for the service. After a couple of months of both the staff pianist and volunteer keyboardist leading music together, the volunteer keyboardist approached the church leadership about being compensated for his part in worship. The keyboardist felt that it was unfair for two people to be serving in the same capacity but only one be compensated. The church leadership disagreed. The keyboardist became angry and moved on. Awkwardness abounded.
• Another church had three Sunday morning worship services. The first service was accompanied by a small volunteer orchestral ensemble and two part-time employees, a pianist and an organist. The second and third services were led by a band entirely made up of volunteer musicians. One of the volunteer musicians happened to play in all three Sunday morning services. It became evident to the church leadership that perhaps it was unfair that the organist and pianist were being compensated (for a rehearsal and one service), while the volunteer was not being compensated (for two rehearsals and three services). The church leadership decided that having some church musicians compensated and others not was unfair. The pianist and organist stopped being compensated for their musical contributions, but remained active as volunteer musicians.

What if church is the place we go precisely to escape worship music, instead singing songs that invite us to turn our backs on some ultimate solution and affirm the life we find ourselves in? A place where the art encourages us to find meaning, beauty and goodness in our world rather than in something beyond it?

This is a video I recorded on March 4, 2010 while touring Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We were very fortunate to hear the cantor and chorus rehearsing the deggua or “church song” in the cathedral. The video also shows the beautiful stained glass windows and the tomb of Haile Selassie.

The sacred music of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is very old. The hymnary is attributed to Saint Yared, a scholar who lived in Aksum in the 6th century. This is perhaps the most astonishing thing about our journey toward adoption because Deacon’s “finding place” was in front of Saint Yared Music School in Addis Ababa in 2006. I don’t think it was a coincidence that my profession/livelihood/calling happens to be church music and that is where Deacon was found! That news was an epiphany for me. Just as God had used music in my life to bring me into the faith and into a relationship with Him as an adopted son, God used a music school to make me a father and teach me about faith, love, and hope.

Learn more about Trinity Cathedral HERE. Learn more about Ethiopian Orthodox Liturgy HERE.

Floyd & I had an enjoyable time playing at Warehouse Live on Sunday. Here are a few of the songs:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uH8b0_kmnI

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj1sZk-gNWM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7qS2PReAAc

I’ve got a short set with my friend Floyd Morris at Warehouse Live (Studio Room) on 1/30/11. Come out for a fun night and good music. Get your tickets here: http://tinyurl.com/7j8eks4

Save $3 with this PROMO CODE: CLAYTON883

This is the third post in a three-part series on why singing hymns (defined as “sacred poems intended to be sung to God”) in church is valuable.

First, a note about the definition above. Notice that it says nothing about style. It says nothing about how many stanzas it contains, or meter, or how fast, or how slow. Basically, in defending the singing of hymns, we are not saying anything about the style of the hymn or how it gets labeled.

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Hymns are tools that we can encourage each other with. The hymns we sing should lift the heart of the congregation up toward God. What makes this challenging? Well, different people are encouraged by different hymns. So singing hymns is not only an opportunity to encourage one another in Christian community, but it’s also an opportunity to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. In doing this we show humility, honor God, and allow everyone to receive encouragement.

Hymns are tools that allow the word of Christ to dwell in us richly. The best hymns are the ones with text quoted directly from Scripture, or closely paraphrased. In singing these hymns, we allow God’s unfiltered Word to saturate our thoughts and enter our hearts when coupled with melody and harmony. Singing hymns is the richest way to ponder the Bible.

Hymns are tools that teach us the truths about our faith. When God’s Word sits with us through the singing of a hymn, we are receiving Biblical instruction. Some of the best sermons and messages are sung, not preached. I often point out that when people are at the end of their life and ready to pass forward to the next, it’s not the words of sermons and messages that they are quoting. It’s the hymns of the faith that have served to instruct and teach us that we cling to in the twilight of life.

Hymns are tools that allow our hearts to connect to God. The point of a hymn is not the hymn. The point of a hymn is the God it’s directed towards. If we sing hymns and fail to connect with God through them, we miss the point. I believe the same way about grace. Grace is a wonderful gift, but if we fail to connect with God through grace, we miss the point, and God. We sing hymns to enter into the Garden again, where God dwells with his people and walks with them in the cool of the day.

Agnus Dei

Jesus, Lamb of God,
You take away
The sins of the world.
Jesus, Lamb of God,
You take away
The sins of the world.
Have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us.
Grant us your peace.
Grant us your peace.
Amen.