Blended Music Before
“Blending” Was Cool-Part 1
About 100 years before blended music for
worship became popular in public worship as part of the worship the worship
renewal movement, Elisha A. Hoffman wrote the words to “What a Wonderful Savior”. This
song may be defined as a gospel hymn. There are several definitions given for
the gospel hymn by various authors.
These definitions run from a “mixture song” which includes praise to God mixed with clear fundamentalist doctrine to
“simple songs with an elaborate chorus”.
Some of the definitions that I have found have been positive but others
are very negative considerations of this musical genre especially because they
stress adherence to the fundamental doctrines of the Bible.
Notably, the early gospel hymns were
developed first by George Root (1820-1895), William Howard Doane (1832-1915),
Robert Lowery (1826-1899), Philip Bliss (1838-1876), et al. There have been a host of writers who have
produced these mixture songs in the 20th century. Current writers are particularly negative
about gospel songs that exhibit clear fundamentalist doctrine and the fact that
these songs are quite simple harmonically.
Although there are numbers of these
songs that are anything but “classics”, time has already shown that they are
not the only religious songs that often rightfully fall into obscurity after a
short period of popularity. At this
point in time there is an emphasis on worship music that centers almost
entirely on God with little or no content about man’s relationship to God. The claims of the gospel are purposefully
omitted from the bulk of praise and worship choruses.
Certainly,
praise to God is not an option but rather a necessity for worship musicing. However, as I have said often, so are songs
of prayer, confession, contrition, the Trinity, Christ’s suffering, death, and
resurrection, the second coming, and a host of other doctrinal and creedal
content.
So, the gospel hymns written by the
hymnists listed above were an integral part of the Moody, Sankey worship and
evangelistic services. Louis F. Benson
notes that, “Their work [the gospel hymn] was appropriated in Dwight L. Moody’s
English campaign and his later call upon American churches to add evangelism to
worship.” The
Hymnody of the Christian Church, by Louis F. Benson, p.266 The concept of having an element of evangelism
and fundamental doctrines of the church as a part of public worship is not
popular in many churches today. My
philosophical question to those who oppose an element of evangelism in worship
is, “Just when are songs that teach fundamental doctrines and have an evangelistic
appeal appropriate for the modern audience?”
Many fundamentalist churches have shortened or
removed revivals, camp meetings and evangelistic campaigns from their schedule
of public services. These same churches
sing a repertoire of praise songs on Sunday morning and Sunday evening and at
the midweek service, with little or no songs that catechize the audience in the
cardinal doctrines of the church. When
should the church music present the claims of the gospel and give people an
opportunity to come to know Christ by a personal profession of faith? It seems that, if the modern fundamentalist
churches are attempting to be seeker sensitive, they need to add an element of
evangelism to their worship musicing in order for it to be a proper concomitant
to the preaching of Christ crucified. I
want to emphasize again that I believe praise and worship music must hold a
place of centrality in all the public services of the Assembly of
Believers. However, although praise
music is fundamental to Christian worship, so is the exposition of the other cardinal
doctrines of the church.
Thought for the day-Blending
Nutritionists
constantly stress the importance of a balanced diet. Good quality gospel hymns are, in my
estimation, some of the balanced catechism tom insure a balanced theological
diet.
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