I'm a pastor, so my world is unique. The people I meet, the conversations I have, the routine of my job - all unique. And one part of the uniqueness of my calling is that from time-to-time, I will encounter people who still want to fight a war that's already been lost. Ultimately, in the larger American Christian culture, this issue is settled. The worship wars were waged and the "contemporary side" gained the most ground and is the most favored form of worship music in (American) Christendom. The traditional side still staunchly continues and those of us who prefer a blended approach still hold pockets here and there. But contemporary worship that involves bands and soft-rock music and lights and visual presentations has won the day.
They will lob snarky criticism at contemporary worship, creating straw-man arguments and generalizations about how nobody writes with any theological depth anymore. All the new music is simply sensual love songs repackaged and rewritten with "God", "Jesus", and "the Lord" edited in. The classic hymns passed down throughout history, resplendent with all of their progressive verses and rousing choruses are far superior than the repetitive and shallow songs of this generation. And I understand their comments and to an extent they have a point. However they are completely fixated on the mediocre while ignoring the large quantity of evidence that contradicts their assertions. Well, let's add more to the growing list of modern worship songs that reflect the popular cultural styles but include strong biblical theology:
I'm sure some curmudgeonly nit-picker will find fault with a word or phrase or other detail. But wow is this creative and comprehensive. And the best part in my opinion is that it's not merely a feel-good song, but a song of commitment. It enlarges our vision of God and pledges to faithfully follow Him. So Will I, indeed.
Reg. E. Cathey died last week. He was a distinguished supporting actor in a variety of notable TV shows and movies. I always recognized him from a treasured PBS show from my childhood - Square One. Square One was a educational show typically broadcast right after school. It was a sort of "Saturday Night Live" sketch show that taught kids stuff. And Cathey was one of it's featured actors. My particular favorite was always the episode-concluding "Mathnet" mystery stories - think "Dragnet" where they solve crimes through good ol' fashioned arithmetic. Cathey wasn't part of that part of the show from what I remember, but he was in most everything else. I think back nostalgically and am amazed how creative that show was. Beyond the "Mathnet" features, all of the skits and songs they came up with were equally memorable. So this week, in honor of Mr. Cathey, I give you one of his "big hits" The video quality isn't great, but I'd bet my house this song will get stuck in your head.
Rend Collective's newest album was my latest purchase on iTunes this winter. It's probably my first purchase in a year and a half actually. It's a complicated story, but needless to say, my Windows had a corruption that, of all things, prevented me from signing into the iTunes store and purchasing any new music. Weird, but I was thankful to get it fixed recently when my laptop required professional attention because the issue began affecting it's WiFi receptivity. You could accurately say, I was counting my blessings when it was fixed and I discovered my iTunes was working properly. That's kind of a lame lead-in, but this week's song is in fact "Counting Every Blessing" by Rend Collective. So far it's my favorite track off their excellent album. Enjoy:
