Traffic
Traffic...I love my car, but traffic makes me nervous. And now, I'm getting a little traffic on my blog. It is very frightening. I want to share my observations, but not offend. I want to write well, but I don't have much time to craft witty sentences, much less edit them...I've written some wonderful entries in my head away from the computer...lost to daily distractions. Maybe practice makes perfect...maybe...someday...
I will take the advice of a history prof at Michigan State and just write. After all, isn't that what a blog is? A log, a journal, a diary...who proofreads their diary anyway??? MLA or APA format??? Just write!!!!
I've been reading book reviews today and stumbled across one for a book called,
Worship wars in early Luterhanism: choir, congregation, and three centuries of conflict.
I think those wars are still going on and not just in the Lutheran church. Today's war is more on the type of music, but a worship war nonetheless. I was raised in the Lutheran church...I play the cello...I play Bach (Lutheran, too.) on the cello...I sing soprano in choral groups...I've chanted the Lutheran liturgy. If I ever thought I would never do those things again in church, I would feel cut off and not able to worship God in one of the ways He called me to worship Him.
However, I met my husband singing praise and worship music at a Presbyterian singles class (he plays guitar). Now we sometimes sing and play P&W music at our current Lutheran Church. I personally like both styles of worship music. However, I have my own worship wars...I really don't like all the old traditional evangelical standbys like "Just as I Am" or the "Old Rugged Cross". I don't hate them, I'd just rather sing hymns like, "Lift High the Cross", or "Crown Him With Many Crowns", which I guess are more European. I also don't like watered down, blended services, either. I want full-blown, praise and worship or reverent liturgical contemplation. I am so very blessed to find a Lutheran Church that offers options, including a blended service. (We attend Sunday School during that hour).
I really hate to see churches think they have to make a total switch away from liturgy and formal music. I believe this leaves a spiritual void in liturgically based congregations and many times, this is the only way kids get exposed to classical music at all. One of the reasons I think mega-churches succeed is they offer a variety of worship experiences and opportunities to serve musically. My home church is not a mega church. It is an average size church offering a traditional, blended, and contemporary service every Sunday. Not every service is a packed house, but there is a place for everyone to worship in his or her own way. Praise God for that freedom and Thank God for His music, all of his music!
I will take the advice of a history prof at Michigan State and just write. After all, isn't that what a blog is? A log, a journal, a diary...who proofreads their diary anyway??? MLA or APA format??? Just write!!!!
I've been reading book reviews today and stumbled across one for a book called,
Worship wars in early Luterhanism: choir, congregation, and three centuries of conflict.
I think those wars are still going on and not just in the Lutheran church. Today's war is more on the type of music, but a worship war nonetheless. I was raised in the Lutheran church...I play the cello...I play Bach (Lutheran, too.) on the cello...I sing soprano in choral groups...I've chanted the Lutheran liturgy. If I ever thought I would never do those things again in church, I would feel cut off and not able to worship God in one of the ways He called me to worship Him.
However, I met my husband singing praise and worship music at a Presbyterian singles class (he plays guitar). Now we sometimes sing and play P&W music at our current Lutheran Church. I personally like both styles of worship music. However, I have my own worship wars...I really don't like all the old traditional evangelical standbys like "Just as I Am" or the "Old Rugged Cross". I don't hate them, I'd just rather sing hymns like, "Lift High the Cross", or "Crown Him With Many Crowns", which I guess are more European. I also don't like watered down, blended services, either. I want full-blown, praise and worship or reverent liturgical contemplation. I am so very blessed to find a Lutheran Church that offers options, including a blended service. (We attend Sunday School during that hour).
I really hate to see churches think they have to make a total switch away from liturgy and formal music. I believe this leaves a spiritual void in liturgically based congregations and many times, this is the only way kids get exposed to classical music at all. One of the reasons I think mega-churches succeed is they offer a variety of worship experiences and opportunities to serve musically. My home church is not a mega church. It is an average size church offering a traditional, blended, and contemporary service every Sunday. Not every service is a packed house, but there is a place for everyone to worship in his or her own way. Praise God for that freedom and Thank God for His music, all of his music!
posted by Susan at 4:47 PM
2 Comments:
Mustang, may I call you MM?
Ok, Susan.
I worry about offending, but then I thought about it...I can't. Because I spend the majority of my life censoring myself, conservative and librarian...I'm sure you understand. Norma, will be psyched another conservative, Lutheran librarian. Write what you want, it's people's unique opinions an dvoices that make blogs interesting.
I wish everyone had your attitude about church music. It's hard to believe that its still causing division in Christ's Body, but that's precisely what's happening in my small church, where we now have (!) a drummer.
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