Worship Leaders Network | Worship Leader Forum | Worship Leader Resources & Jobs
Contemporized Hymns???
Hey group - I'm leading worship this Sunday in a new church as part of the interviewing process for interim Worship Pastor. This church throws 1 hymn into the mix every Sunday. My collection of contemporized hymn is on the light side....does anyone know where I can get more? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Tags: Contemporized, Hymns, Leading, Worship
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Mark Robins on -
"Prince of Peace" is on my album, "The broken", if you go to iTunes you'll be able to hear a sample of it, the words were written in the 1800's, and they are as true today as they were then :-)
-
Permalink Reply by Paul Fowler on -
I'll throw my thoughts in the mix. As a worship pastor in a church of approximately 600 with ages varying from cradle to 90's I can say that this is not likely a topic that will be settled in a blog. Each church must prayerfully consider who they are, why they gather, and where God is leading them. Singing hymns for the sake of tradition is just as wrong as singing new songs for the sake of stylistic preferences - the "relevance factor".
As one commented, our songs should be chosen based on the theme of the day, being careful to tie the songs with the pastor's message. Although this seems impossible at times, it is well worth the effort to communicate with the pastoral team in order to understand where they want to go and how they want to end the service.
To be transparent, we do sing at least one hymn per service so that our older members feel connected. This is not to say that many of them only like hymns. One couple who would come after the singing (because they didn't like the new songs) came to me recently to say how much they appreciated the new songs and have come to love them, with the reminder that we shouldn't forget the older songs. Changing is often difficult for some people, but that does not mean we should not change our methods. Our hymnals are full of songs that were once new songs and often times we not readily accepted. Frankly, we need to get over our pettiness and start to understand our calling as the body of Christ.
Most of the stylistic issues are because well meaning Christians have forgotten their purpose - to glorify God, not their traditions. So, even though this discussion will continue, my feeling is that we need to embrace the latest songs (that are theologically sound) while celebrating the best of the past, which might require updating the language, musicality, or even scoring a new tune. Something to chew on!
-
Permalink Reply by Stevo on -
As to your first point - it's not a foregone conclusion that we need to tie our songs to the message of the day. Some feel not, others yes. My pastor has decided not to link the two - the idea being that good praise songs are appropriate all the time. And even though we plan separately, on 2 out of 4 Sundays, one of the songs is right on target. But we never do it on purpose.
To your other point - it's wrong to sing songs for the relevance factor? I thought that's what we were supposed to do.
Pettiness? Are you referring to this thread, or something in general?
-
Permalink Reply by Paul Fowler on
-
You're right in that each church must decide whether the theme of the message is coupled with the songs and yes, there is never a bad time for praise songs, however, from my experience it is a good practice if preaching about the cross to tie songs that reinforce the message. I can only speak for our team and how we approach crafting a worship service.
As to the relevance factor, I'm not suggesting that we are not striving to be relevant to our culture, in fact that's the opposite of what I was getting at; just that striving to be culturally relevant without content is not the same as speaking the language of those we are trying to reach.
As to the pettiness - I'm not referring to this thread (this is an excellent discussion), rather to the pettiness that can be seen in many churches when it comes to old vs. new. My apologies if I was not being clear.
-
Permalink Reply by Stevo on
-
Nope, got it now. I agree, there seems to be a petty bickering that can happen - "no we must do only hymns, they're the only thing sanctioned by God." - "no way, they're boring and old. modern music is the only thing that speaks to my heart."
But content comes first, then the rest...
-
Permalink Reply by Gary Eaker on -
Have you heard Jars of Clay's album called Redemption Songs? They remade a lot of old hymns to different tunes -- some of them are pretty obscure, but I think the album was well done. Also Aaron Schust's song "My Savior Lives" is an old hymn with a new chorus added to it.
-
Permalink Reply by Greg Moore on -
Do you have "Here Is Love", a Robert Lowry hymn arranged by Matt Redman? It has a gorgeous melody, harmonies simple enough for any band, a new theme woven into the texture that jumps to the front in a dramatic chorus, "No love is higher, no love is deeper..." (the doxology from Romans).
Another suggestion: make your own! Start a hymn you like and jam with the worship band. That's how arrangements come into being -- they are jammed spontaneously, then the wonders that come out of improvisation that are worth keeping are written down. Bach and Beethoven fed themselves with the ideas of other musicians, then they sat down and made up music until the glory came out.
Find the core of the harmonies. Some, like "O Worship the King", or most anything written from 1700 to 1840 (e.g., Wesley, Great Awakening), will be harmonized vocally -- "parallel" voices moving constantly. Try to find those chords which make the most sense with the melody -- no easy task, sometimes, but well worth the effort. But if you're looking for more, every hymnbook has about 500 more.
-
Permalink Reply by Patrick Watts on
-
LifeWay Worship has 60+ contemporary versions of hymns that you probably haven't heard before... just click on the "Contemporary Hymn" button.
-
Permalink Reply by Mark Barlow on -
Robin Mark has been quite prolific in using hymns with subtle updating, Several of the more mature in my church like the CD's from the Mandate conferences which contain quite a few.
-
Permalink Reply by Michael Letus on -
"Several of the more mature in my church like the CD's from the Mandate conferences which contain quite a few"
By mature--do you mean older as in age or those perceived to be more spiritually mature?
Welcome to
Worship The Rock - Worship Leader Forum & Social Network
Providing worship leaders with a worship leader social networking community of worship pastors, worship leaders and team members. Worship leader resources on WTR include worship set lists, worship leader forum, worship groups, worship leader jobs, popular worship songs, worship blogs from worship pastors, worship events, festivals and conference listings, a place to chat about all things worship related, videos and photos. WTR aims to resource worship leaders in the best possible way - by providing free worship leader tips and training resources.
© 2013 Created by Phil Williams.
