"Membership in the family of God is neither inconsequential or something to be casually ignored. The church is God's agenda for the world. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it." The church is indestructable and will exist for eternity. It will outlive this universe, and so will your role in it."
- Rick Warren
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Do you ever wonder which (if any) of the contemporary songs we sing today in church may end up being the "hymns" of later generations? Some will have to, I believe; every song we place in the category of hymn today was at one time a contemporary worship song.
I can think of three modern worship songs that I believe will be included in the church's hymnody in fifty years:
Revelation Song by Jennie Lee Riddle - straight from Scripture, this song has a lot of the characteristics of a hymn, including a very simple structure (four chords, repeated over and over). This is a powerful song. Below is Kari Jobe's arrangement of it:
How Deep The Father's Love For Us by Stuart Townend - A hymn of praise to God for His great love, beautifully set to music, drenched in scripture. The use of a 5/4 time signature adds, in my opinion, to this song's sense of timelessness.
In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty - Christ-centered, as all good hymns should be. I love this song.
Which songs of our time do you think we'll still be singing in church in fifty years? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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Comments on "Modern Hymns":
2. Bill
- 10/24/2010 9:54 pm CDT
Yeah, I agree. Such a fabulous song.
Even more so, How Deep is a song that I thought was at least a hundred years old.
6. III
- 10/24/2010 11:29 pm CDT
Well, today at my church we sang Fellowship So Deep by Caedmons, and I know it's not exactly well known, but it's got all the qualities to last as a congregational worship song.
7. the sentinel
- 10/25/2010 8:57 am CDT
We sang this one by Sovereign Grace yesterday. Love it, and hope that it stands the test of time. It warms my heart to think that my grandchildren and great grandchildren will be singing this glorious song of praise, should the Lord tarry and should He be pleased to save them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsp-WuZR40g
8. Kenny
- 10/25/2010 9:04 am CDT
We've taken to singing "Behold the Lamb(Communion Hymn)" frequently after we take communion on Sundays. Yesterday we were having a conversation about the song and someone mentioned that we may look back and say that Stuart Townend was the prominent "hymn-writer" of our generation.
9. nhe
- 10/25/2010 9:42 am CDT
Can any of you think of an old "Maranatha Singers" worship song (from the 70's and 80's) that we still sing?
At the time, those songs were the cutting edge of what was "Modern Worship", but the only song that I still hear (maybe) is "As the Deer Pants".
I think Rich Mullins actually has two that will stand the test of time - Step by Step and Awesome God - those two are still sung (and covered) all the time and they have been around for probably over 20 years.
10. Bill
- 10/25/2010 12:34 pm CDT
nhe, great question. I think that there are a few. He Is Exalted by Twila Paris is one that I still hear.
Shout To The Lord by Hillsongs is nearly 20 years old and I wonder if it may hang on for decades.
I know there are more . . . let me think :-)
11. Bill
- 10/25/2010 12:35 pm CDT
I Sould Sing Of Your Love Forever by Delirious is a maybe. As is Heart of Worship by Matt Redman.
12. nhe
- 10/25/2010 12:57 pm CDT
Heart of Worship - that would be the one I'd vote not to become a standard.....I never connected with it..........do you really still sing "He is Exalted"? - I may hear it on Christian radio occasionally - but its been a while since I have heard it in church.........How about "Better is One Day"? - we still sing that occasionally.
13. Daniel Ross
- 10/25/2010 2:56 pm CDT
I just "retired" a batch of songs for when we lead at our church. Among those were songs like "Step by Step" and "Shout To The Lord." We still do "How Deep The Father's Love For Us" and "In Christ Alone" (though we have significantly changed the dynamics for a rock band). We also still do "Shout To The North" and occasionally "As The Deer."
I think some songs from the Tomlin/Hughes genre will stand up, but just a few ("How Great Is Our God," "Here I Am To Worship"). I think it's important, however, that we keep writing new songs. I doubt any that I've written will be sung 50 years from now, but they will be sung now. :-)
14. Bill
- 10/25/2010 4:16 pm CDT
nhe, you're probably right on HOW. For some reason it just seems like something of Matt Redman's should end up becoming a hymn.
Shane and Shane have covered He Is Exalted and we did sing it recently. Maybe that's why that one was on my mind.
Better is One Day is one that I've never connected with, but it could be one that has staying power.
Daniel - heh, for some reason Shout To The North is ruined for me :-) - I cannot sing it without picturing guys with pirate accents sitting in a bar, swinging their mugs as they sing it.
SHOUT. TO. THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH!! Arrrr! Matey!
15. Bill
- 10/25/2010 4:18 pm CDT
Oh, and How Great is our God is ruined for me too, because of how Tomlin sings it. We call it How Gray is our Gah.
17. Bill
- 10/25/2010 7:35 pm CDT
Well, a lot of our hymns were based upon bar music, so I think that's already covered.
And no fair pulling the Inklings card on me! I'm pretty sure Tollers and Jack would hate that song.
19. Bill
- 10/25/2010 8:34 pm CDT
Well, they both fought the Germans in WWI and lived through WWII so somehow the whole swinging a stein and singing in a German bar thing doesn't work.
Also, rather than a cigar, Tolkien would have wielded a pipe full of Old Tobey and a pint o' Guinness, and no self-respecting English bloke is going to drink Guinness from a stein.
Lewis would have also eschewed the cigar (he probably would have had a pipe just like Ronald, plus another pipe he forgot about burning a hole in his tweed jacket pocket and a couple of ciggies going at the same time too).
On every single level, your "Shout To The North is a Hymn" case is unraveling . . .
21. Bill
- 10/25/2010 9:47 pm CDT
Melinda
Is "You Are My King" the same song as "Amazing Love, How Can It Be?"
24. the sentinel
- 10/26/2010 12:32 pm CDT
This morning, challies posted a link to Owl City's cover of In Christ Alone. It was quite good. He has an unusual style, but this had a more traditional feel with just a hint of his trademark sound.
As much as I enjoyed his rendition of the song, I enjoyed more reading the accompanying blog post. It is encouraging to know that a popular mainstream artist is so unabashedly Christian. Let's pray he stays that way in an industry that has made many shipwreck.
26. Manders
- 10/27/2010 10:24 pm CDT
Keith and Kristen Getty write some pretty fantastic stuff. "The Power of the Cross" is a favorite at my church and has a good bit of staying power.
27. Bobbi
- 10/29/2010 11:04 am CDT
This is what my 30 something, musician son said:I actually thought “How Deep The Father's Love For Us” was a real hymn. I just think that is just a much better, timeless song than a lot of songs out there. I guess also if a song doesn’t need to have bass and drums to sound good that helps in my view.
The In Christ Alone song is pretty good – it always sounds very Irish to me.
There may actually be some songs that survive, but I also would hope that some of those really good hymns also survive.
Leave a Comment:
"In Christ Alone" is probably my favorite. When I first heard it, I actually thought it was an old hymn. Surprised and pleased me to learn it was a new song.