Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Hatchet Jobs on Hymns

Warning! Pet peeve alert!

One thing that really jerks my chain is the way hymns are treated. For example, this past Sunday one of the songs was "And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley. This lovely and powerful hymn has five verses. Our song leader reduced it to three. I was crushed. How would it be if Top 40 songs got treated the same way? Can you imagine singing only 60% of "American Pie?" And how do you cut out 40% of "Streets of El Paso?" If you are going to sing a song, sing the whole song.

For whatever reason, "worship leaders" think that they can cut out verses of hymns in a willy-nilly fashion as the mood fits. Not so. Hymns are constructed with a purpose in mind and a message to convey. Part of the story is being cut out when verses are omitted.

And do not get me started on tempo. A hymn is not a dirge, people.

1 comment:

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

OUTSTANDING post!!!!! I couldn't agree with you more.