Theological Music

When Anna walked into our room this afternoon she asked what I was doing. I told her that I was listening to Northern California's Christian music and seeing how long I could go before (a) realizing that a song was actually a Christian song and (b) hearing something so overtly theological in a song that I couldn't replace Jesus' name with any other boys name and have the song still seem perfectly normal. "It's a fun game," I said. Anna rolled her eyes at me.

Then later on this evening, I was reading this article, which has this quote:

There is, perhaps, no greater evidence of the theological illiteracy of this Christian generation than the songs we sing and write. Every song is a sermon, and it is critical that the God and the gospel that is proclaimed from the pulpit is the same God and the same gospel preached from the music team.

I've been pretty busy trying to find a music director for the church lately, and I pray that the person we have found will work out for God's will to be done. Even deeper than that, though, is the constant struggle I have in figuring out where to place our resources in order to best edify First Lutheran Church in Concord, California. Part of me wants to have a growing, vibrant church that sticks to a strictly liturgical heritage and style. Part of me believes that I can be musically progressive (read: rock out) while maintaining contact with traditional Lutheran hymnody because Martin Luther and Paul Gerhardt were amazing poets and prophets, and their hymns just need an update in tunes and style to speak to people today.

I don't think that we need to sell out the words we sing in our worship to neo-evangelical pop Christianity. I'm just trying to hold onto the doctrine on which we base our faith, to not let go of that, while figuring out the best way to build up people in that faith.

I keep on thinking of one of the good points made in Thom Rainer's "Breakout Churches,"
that the breakout churches weren't the cutting edge churches, they were the churches who only made changes as they were needed. I get equally annoyed with people from Lutheran Churches who say that we must stick to slowly playing isometric hymns on an organ as I do with people in Lutheran churches who have amazing music and yet they sound just like any non-denominational radio station.

It sure must be hard to get it all together, because I know next to nobody who does. That doesn't mean I can't, though...

Sermon Writing

This is basically a confession from my sermon for October 5th, a reflection on writing sermons...

It’s like this: if I’m not reading God’s word, I don’t want to preach. I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I don’t want to get up there and talk in front of people. I’m scared that I’m going to embarrass myself. I’m scared that I’m not going to be any good. But in nearly all of my sermons, as I’m preparing, there comes a point where as I’m reading God’s word, as I’m putting things together, a spark ignites and the fire gets going and all of a sudden my attitude changes…I go from dreading having to preach to having something that I can’t wait to share with anyone who will listen. If you ask Anna, she’ll tell you that some weeks I’ll tell her all about the sermon even before Sunday because I’m just so excited about God is saying to me!