Numbers
I just don’t understand how we can codify such an entrenched position for a preferential way of singing based on 16.
Colossians 3:16 (NCV) Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Neither do I understand how we can be so mean and spiteful to those who choose or prefer one style of singing over another; one type of song over another. Whatever happened to 12-14?
Colossians 3:12-14 (NCV) God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Get along with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity.
Does it make sense to construct a doctrinal position from 16 and completely ignore 12-14? What about 15?
Colossians 3:15 (NCV) Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful.
Peace in the body of Christ is never achieved by everyone doing it my way. Talk about faulty math! To camp out in 16 and disregard 12-14 makes 15 impossible. Not to mention 17!
Colossians 3:17 (NCV) Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Being true to the spirit (and letter) of 16 requires me to approach singing (with or without an instrument) firmly grounded in 12-14 to experience 15 and fulfill 17. I’m not much of a math guy so my numbers may not add up.
10 Responses to “Numbers”
It’s very simple, Randy. We can codify our entrenched position because Noah built the ark out of gopher wood and not some other exotic wood! Don’t you see? Are you so blind? If you’ll put away that NCV and go back to the inspired KJV, you wouldn’t be so confused. Just tryin’ to hep ya!
In our tradition, we don’t look at context … we find the words (ignore the context) we need to back a position and off we go, running over anyone who stands in the way. When I first learned about context I was amazed at the things I’d been taught that were just down right wrong!
When I was a musician teenager in Abilene I was often asked to perform or backup worship at other (Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal) churches in town. I was glad to do it, but my parents had a long discussion about it and insisted that I get paid fot those gigs. That way, I wasn’t worshiping, it was a professional service.
That makes me wonder, are you ministers only in the biz for the ca$$$$h? I knew it, this whole church operation is a major religio-infotainment-financial conglomerate to indoctrinate and infiltrate the masses with masses.
Randy, Randy, my good friend Randy - As Greg would say, I’m not a “professional” but it all comes down to some stuff about “gopher wood” and Noah’s Ark.
Your post reminded me of a brother who told me he “hated error” while at the same time he was one of the most hateful people, in or out of the Body of Christ I’ve ever come across.
Oops, I should have read the comments first. Looks like Greg beat me to the gopher wood!
Rats! Looks like we’ve been found out by that wfma person! Anyone got any suggestions as to how preachers can find honest work?
my understanding of the gospels & epistles is there wasn’t a lot of codifying going on at all. Down through the centuries we’ve managed to do most of the codifying.
I like your approach. Now, take that approach - actually making an attempt to understand context - and apply it to all sorts of things we’ve codified: role of women, baptism, communion, worship style, etc. The list goes on.
Before you know it, we may actually be reflecting more 12-14 light all over the place, instead of a size 16 hammer. Who knows, it might actually start taking hold & spread. People might even be attracted to it & want to share in it.
Excellent! Good, sound reasoning. Keep sharing your thoughts.
btw, are you working for BP on the side? It sure looks like it, http://www.bp.com.
[Since, as WFMA has already pointed out we work strictly for CA$$H - it's my first foray into a corporate sponsorship]
Speaking the truth in love. Thank you, Dr. Wray.
(But the spinning flower still makes me dizzy.)
[Peggy, keep your eyes on the spinning flower . . . you are getting sleepy . . . very sleepy . . .]
Not sure why I took the time to register and comment on this particular entry (especially since I am so late since it was posted)… there have been so many other great entries to comment on (but I am such a lurker).
However, this one is near and dear to my heart because personal experience shows how painful it is to see folks wrestle with the issue, and then stray so far from the real issue as Randy pointed out. I love my tradition of singing without instruments, so many times I am disappointed in hearing the instruments drown the singers rather than enhance the music. But at least I recognize that is personal taste.
And I love to sing many of the newer songs that may not be in our “blue book”… but having moved to a new city where the congregation is much more traditional in their selection, I have been reminded of how much someone like Fanny Crosby can teach me.
And that’s one of the points isn’t it… it is not about style or instuments or being on key, it is about “Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” And the onus is always on me to participate and listen to what the song is teaching and to do so with thanksgiving to my God.
Whenever I think of this issue during worship, I try to ask myself, am I teaching or learning? If I am leading the song service, I do so with more seriousness than ever before… I’m teaching! Even harder to remember but so important to comprehend is that when I sing, it is not just to make melody… but to LEARN (and I leave to Randy to develop the sermon on what all we can learn through songs, hymmns and spiritual songs).
And Randy, no comment is needed on whether I ever achieved ‘making melody’ other than in my heart!
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