There are many reasons that churches split, but the single most rampant reason in recent decades has been over the infamous Worship War. The older generation wants to keep things “the way we’ve always done them” while the younger generation desires a more hip, relevant worship style.

As the church pianist in all the congregations I find myself in, I try to stay on the outskirts of this debate as I believe that the two opposing parties are usually asking and debating the wrong question. The debate should not be about choruses versus hymns, but rather, about man-centered versus God-centered worship. Anything less is dealing with the subject superficially. Furthermore, there is an aspect of yielding my preferences to yours that can not go overlooked. For a good resource on the subject, pick up Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for This Urgent Time by Marva Dawn.

Hymns: they have rich history and doctrine in their favor. The reason to embrace them is not for their sentimental value, but for their content. Without a doubt, today’s choruses contain a lot of fluff—with a few notable exceptions– and lack the maturity of many of the old hymns, the bad ones notwithstanding. Why? Because the current culture lacks the mature faith of the old hymn writers, and immature faith translates into immature music. Could I pen the following? “Let sorrow do it’s work/ Send grief and pain/ Sweet are Thy messengers/ Sweet their refrain.” It does me well to read, sing, and meditate on those whose faith is beyond my own–contemporary and traditional.

But that doesn’t answer the question of where to fit in God-centered, God-exalting choruses. Scripture commands us to sing a new song unto the Lord. And herein lies the rub with singing choruses. In short, if within the congregation there is not the ability to lead the worshippers in a manner that is not distracting, then a church should embrace the form that brings the most attention to God, not man. It is extremely rare to attend a contemporary, hymns-banned church where the words on the wall actually match what you are supposed to be singing, the worship leader isn’t wearing shades and a Hawaiian shirt, the worship team doesn’t have a lady flaunting a miniskirt, and all the microphones actually work and are in balance.

In order to touche’ myself, it is also important that the traditional pianist pay attention to how many verses are in a hymn. But I don’t want to talk about that anymore.

In the same vain, anyone who thinks hymns are the only way to worship has not visited another culture or another time in history, pre-Puritan. The Church should uphold that music which is mature, aesthetic, and God-centered, no matter the era it was written.

Just in case you think I’m out of touch, the very first time I sang a hymn other than Amazing Grace was when I went away to a fundamental, no-leaving-your-dorm-on-Wednesday-night-because-someone-might-think-you-skipped-church, KJV college at the age of 17. Before then, I grew up in various charismatic churches, some of them were cults by definition. If you are a psychologist, you might surmise that my rejection of a lot of modern worship is due to the influences of my childhood and my resulting dismissal of the doctrine, lifestyle, and hypocrisy that went along with it. But is important not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and so, I like to think that I am looking at the situation critically and deliberately—embracing the good, rejecting the bad. I don’t always succeed.

And so now, when I find myself in a Hawaiian-shirt worship service, I worship sincerely along with them. These are my brothers and sisters in Christ, and while I have my preferences, I know that the right way to worship God is not with (often misplaced) high standards, but with my love for the brethren.

hymns for a kid s heart 01Book Review: Hymns for a Kid’s Heart
It is only fitting that I take the chance here to review Hymns for a Kid’s Heart. The Diet of Bookworms program sent this to me a couple months ago, and we’ve enjoyed wearing out the book and the CD that came along with it. I’m writing this post in response to an earlier question regarding how to teach our children hymns and what to do when you attend a church that doesn’t sing hymns.

The reason our children know many hymns by heart is not because we attend a church that sings them, but rather, because they live in a home that uses them for daily worship (along with solid choruses). There are many children in our church who do not know any hymns, but that is because of the failure of the parents, not the church. Deuteronomy 6 delegates the nurture and training of His children to parents, and while corporate worship is a part of that training, the primary responsibility rests on the parents alone.

Beside a traditional hymnbook, books such as Hymns for a Kid’s Heart are helpful in teaching the history and circumstances of hymns. With colorful illustrations, easy chord charts for guitar players (and lazy pianists), and engaging stories, Hymns for a Kid’s Heart is a delightful read. I appreciate that they included all the verses, as much kiddie media usually only utilizes the first verse. This is a mistake most publishers make, but thankfully, not this time. People underestimate the ability of a three-year-old to sing all the verses of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. They can do it!

Common hymns are included (like Holy, Holy, Holy and How Firm a Foundation) and a couple not-so-common hymns (Eternal Father, Strong to Save and The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want). The only selection I disagree with—in order that I might be consistent with my above-stated philosophy—is the inclusion of America, the Beautiful. It is not God-centered, God-focused, and therefore, not a good choice among the collection. Nevertheless, Hymns for a Kid’s Heart is a good selection if you’re looking to teach your children a few good hymns from start to finish.