THE CHURCH, THE CHRISTIAN, AND THEIR SONGS

By Curtis Dean[1]

A forward from the author:

The following article is quite different from the others we have had in this series. To some it may be controversial and some may disagree. Please believe me, that it is not my purpose to hurt anyone or any church, but to present what I believe is a Biblical viewpoint on a very important subject. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding, even if you do not agree with my position. – C. Dean

A forward from the editors of the Belgian AG magazine PUISSANCE (POWER):

Even though it presents a certain “dissonance” with the habitual content and style, we have agreed to publish this in its entirety, along with the preface which he, the author, furnished for the following article. Some will probably ask us, “Why this difference to our regular general conduct?” First of all, we reply, that to the knowledge of the editors, no one to this day has tackled this subject in this way and with such completeness. And, on the other hand, the position the author has taken on this subject, without being an official position of the Assemblies of God of Belgium, and which has not been discussed, will hold your attention to the end, and be received favorably by many pastors and friends. Here, as in all things, it is up to each one to examine what is said in the light of the Scripture. We thank you for your objectivity.  –The Editors

Part   I

When a missionary returns to the United States for itinerary, after having been absent for a few years, he never knows what to expect in the churches. There are always new styles, new methods, new fads that seem to be current among the churches.  When my wife and I returned in 1984, I was astonished to find that in many of the churches they had forgotten how to use the hymnal and could only sing "off the wall" or "off the screen". The hymn books were still in the pews but some were still in absolute new condition, seldom used!  I assumed that the people had watched so much television that they had forgotten how to read from books!  And it was evident that hymns and the Pentecostal songs were now taboo, only the little choruses could be sung!
 

There was one church which was out on the extreme of this charismatic trend.  The song leader had an entire list of choruses, which were all in the same key, and they sang through the entire repertoire without stopping between choruses.  The superficial excitement was so high it reminded me of a proverbial three-ring circus rather than a church service, and I said, "Dear God, how am I ever going to be able to preach after this?"   When it was finally my time to speak, I held up a song book and said, "You will find one of these in the book holder of your pew. It is called a 'hymnal'.  We will turn to a (specified) page and sing!" We sang two of the great missionary hymns and suddenly the entire attitude of the service changed!  The Spirit of God began moving through the congregation, and that service became one of the highlights of the entire series of meetings, and that church became one of our supporting churches!  What would have been an eminent disaster of a meeting became a convicting, challenging time of consecration, and the change came through two powerful, missionary hymns!  

By now, some are undoubtedly asking, "Doesn't Brother Dean believe in standing, and praising the Lord?"  Of course, I do! "Doesn't he know there must be adoration?"  Absolutely! "Doesn't he like choruses?"  Certainly! I've always used choruses but, at the same time, tried to keep them in proper balance and perspective with the other types of songs.  Others accuse me of being old-fashioned, out-of-style, or reactionary!  All I'm trying to do is be faithful to God's Word! 

PAUL COMMANDED A PROPER BALANCE.

Paul gave the same, identical command twice in two different books.  If we should have only adoration choruses, then why didn't Paul say so?  Instead in both Col. 3:16 and Eph. 5:19 Paul says: "...Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”  Now, there's been a lot of disagreement about what these verses mean, but here's what my studies and research have shown to be the accepted interpretations:

SINGING PSALMS:

This is the easiest part of the whole question.  The Psalms were the songs which the Israelites sang.  Likewise today, when we sing from the Psalms, or sing other portions of Scripture, we are fulfilling this part of the command "to sing Psalms". It is a vital part of our music, but must be kept in proper perspective.

SINGING SPIRITUAL SONGS:

Here there is much disagreement between pastors, but not necessarily between scholars.  Let's look at some of these possibilities: DOES "SPIRITUAL SONGS" REFER TO SINGING IN OTHER TONGUES? That depends on whether it is really the Holy Spirit singing through His people, or just some song leader saying, "We'll all sing the third verse in tongues!"  In this case the "singing in the spirit" (non-capitalized!) seems to be some electronic switch which can be turned off and on at will. But the Holy Spirit decides when He will sing through His people, and we cannot just arbitrarily turn it on and off!  I've seen the real and will not accept the artificial!  As described in a previous article, “Songs of the Spirit”,[2] many years ago we were in Bible School and in a time of revival.  Suddenly, we heard what seemed to be the noise of a great wind coming from outside the tabernacle. It was the wind of the Holy Spirit, and as the wind swept through that congregation, all 450 students began singing the same heavenly song, which we'd never heard before, all in perfect four-part harmony, and with the same  heavenly language which none of us knew or had ever heard before!  That was truly singing in the Spirit!  That same year, I was pastoring a small, pioneer church in Missouri, and had been ministering concerning God's desire to move upon the congregation unitedly and not .just individually.  Suddenly, while I was preaching, three women came up out of their seats as if someone had reached down and yanked them up simultaneously!  With hands raised in praise, they began singing another heavenly song, otherwise completely unknown, all with the same words of a Heavenly language and in perfect harmony!   This was followed by a marvelous time of worship and praise as the congregation realized they had just witnessed the miraculous singing in the Spirit!  Thus, I have seen and heard and experienced the real, and will not accept the artificial!

IS IT THE CHANTING OR CROONING OF PRAYERS?

It is becoming, in many places, the current fad to half chant and half croon prayers, and call it "singing in the spirit". I was raised in Pentecost and never heard of such until after the charismatic movement began in the 50's. Who has not heard the chanting of prayers or texts in a Catholic church?  It is completely common place!  Therefore, what would be more natural than for the Charismatic Catholics to carry this same thing over into their services?  Then, some Pentecostals thought: "Oh, isn't that nice, let's do it in our church!", and the fad got started.                  

In one service, my wife was playing the piano and, as is our custom, during the time of united prayer she was softly playing.  After the service, a man came to her and said, "Sister, please do not play the piano while we are praying, for the Holy Spirit can only sing in two chords!" Now, I don't know where that brother got such a strange doctrine, perhaps from Hezekiah chapter 2, since neither that doctrine nor that location exist in the Bible! But I have news for that dear brother: The Holy Spirit can sing in any key and on any chord He so desires, but it has to be Him, not us!

 

One of the best examples of Spirit-anointed music is that of George Frederick Handel. The story is told that his butler found Handel slumped on the floor. He ran to him, helped him up and asked, "What happened?" Handel replied, "I've heard the song of angels!" As a result, he gave to the world the great HALLELUIA CHORUS of the anthem, ‘The Messiah”! It was the song of angels, and when later the entire anthem was presented before the King of England, when the choir began singing "The Hallelujah Chorus", the King stood to his feet. To this day, people around the world stand when it is sung! It is my own conviction that we shall hear it in Heaven! But concerning our original topic is the chanting or crooning during prayer time a singing in the Spirit or spiritual songs?  No, I do not believe it, for again, I have heard and experienced the real, and will not accept the artificial!

THEN, WHAT ARE THE "SPIRITUAL SONGS "?

They are the anointed songs of our own dedicated spirit praising and thanking God for His salvation, expressing our joy for His help now and our hope of Heaven beyond.  They express our testimony, or others are songs of invitation, evangelistic songs. Certainly the great Pentecostal songs would come under this category. Once our Pentecostal singing was distinctive. Not anymore! In Belgium, I regularly listened to "Songs of Praise" on BBC-TV.[3]  Sometimes it is a Catholic group, and what choruses are they singing? Exactly the same as we are! Or the Anglicans, what do they sing?  Exactly the same!  Where are the great Pentecostal songs that express our specific belief in the Pentecostal experience and the filling of the Holy Spirit?  We shall have them once again, when we properly obey Paul's command to sing HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS!

Thus, we have examined two parts of Paul's command to sing in Psalms and   spiritual   songs.     In   the   second   part   of   this   study, we   will   examine   the   greatly   neglected   area   of   the   third   part: Singing of Hymns.  It's very possible that it will help you have a better understanding of: "What is a hymn, what is the purpose of hymns, and what is the necessity of hymns?"  It may be some information which you have not realized before, and it is the subject of Part II of this study.  

PART II

In Part I of this study, we began to examine Paul's command in Col. 3:16 and Eph. 5:19:   "Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing  with grace in your hearts to the Lord."  We learned that when we sing from the Psalms, or other portions of Scriptures, we are fulfilling this part of Paul's command.  Secondly, I explained why I do not believe that "singing spiritual songs" is singing a verse of a song in other tongues, nor is it the crooning or chanting of prayers. Rather, I distinctly believe that the spiritual songs "are the anointed songs of our own dedicated spirit praising and thanking God for his salvation, expressing our joy for His help now and our hope of Heaven. They express our testimony, or others are songs of invitation, evangelistic songs.  Certainly the great Pentecostal songs would come under this category."   Now, that leaves one part of Paul's command left to examine; a command so important that he repeated the same command two times in two different books! That command is to include:

SINGING  HYMNS!

Some people seem to have a terror of hymns, "They're so slow!" Some are, but certainly not all. Many are very dynamic! Others say, "But they're so old!"   So is the Bible, but we still read it, and if we're going to obey it, then we must sing hymns! The best definition I've found is this: “A hymn is more structured than a chorus and is either expressed directly to God, or contains a statement of doctrine." For example, "Thine Be the Glory" is expressed to God. It is dynamic, but it is a hymn. "There's power in the Blood expresses a doctrine, and is a hymn, though related to the spiritual songs as well. (There is not always a distinct separation, but sometimes the types overlap.)

 

Hymns are a distinctive part of the Christian heritage, and to deprive our people of them is to deprive of part of their heritage!  Furthermore, much of our doctrine is expressed in
songs, and people will often remember more easily what they are singing, rather than just what they hear in a message. That is why we must be very careful to properly choose songs which express proper, Biblical doctrine. Pastors, do you want your people to know the Word of God?  Then, add to your messages the hymns which properly reflect the theme of your message!  Never begin a service by saying, "What would you like to sing today?"  That is the lazy way out of a distinct responsibility!  The song service should be as carefully prepared as the message!  Years ago, when I was an assistant pastor, the senior pastor would inform me concerning his topic so that I could choose hymns and songs that would properly prepare the congregation for his message. It definitely contributed to the stability of the believers.

As I've visited churches and also received cassette recordings from various churches, it is evident that some of the larger, dynamic, and growing churches are those who are being obedient to Paul's command and using a proper balance in their songs, but especially using the hymns and spiritual songs! Hymns likewise often express a call for dedication, consecration, and missionary commitment. The current, popular series of choruses do not!   One American publisher has recently published a book of 145 choruses, all of which are currently in use. Only one of the 145 even vaguely has a missionary theme: "How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of him who brings good tidings". Hardly any can be construed to imply dedication or consecration.  Something is definitely wrong! 

OTHERS ARE SPEAKING CONCERNING THIS PROBLEM:

In 1990, in a Decade of Harvest Conference at Continental Bible College, a French pastor, Rev. H. Forschle, made the following declaration: "I don't know if you have noticed this as well, but in the time in which we're living the cross has almost disappeared. I've been able to think about the fact that of the choruses we sing, the great majority of these worship choruses speak very little, if ever, about the cross, the blood of Jesus, or sin, because often we have centered our activity in worship. But I think that in the ten years before us, we must be focused on the work of the cross. When the apostle Paul spoke to the Greek philosophers, he told them ‘The Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified...' (I Cor.1:22, 23) When he spoke to the Corinthians, he said this: 'For I am determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.'

(I Cor.2:2) And when he spoke to the Galatians, he told them: 'But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Gal.6:14) The devil will do all to turn us away from this vision, so that we will talk about everything except the cross, because it was at the cross that the demons were conquered, and it is at the cross that victory was won! If we do not give to the cross the place which it must have, in our message, in the church, in the Christian life, and in our country, we can do whatever we want to, but we will pass these ten years without results.  But if we give the cross its place, and if we proclaim it as it must be proclaimed, it will be the backbone of our work!"

In 1985, the Kansas Assemblies’ KANSAS CONCEPTS included these remarks by Rev. Ron Loy, former general presbyter in Orlando, Florida: “I’ve been struck by the relative absence of hymn singing in full gospel churches. It is so commonplace to have the worship services constituted by choruses that a very serious omission is being thrust upon our people. Choruses have their place, especially the singing of Scriptures. However, the superlative works of anointed men of prayer, whose lyrics and music outlast the centuries, have content that our children need to grow up hearing. Mark Buntain…made an interesting observation about some services he had attended in America. He said he had been in several places where people were ‘praising praise and worshipping worship.’ Perhaps it is time to educate our people that worship is not for them but for God…When the song makes a theological statement and showers accolades on the eternal God, the goal of the worship services is being aided.”[4]                  

Another writer is Tom Bisset, Chairman of the Board for the ministries of WRBS and SHINE radio stations in Baltimore, Maryland. He states: “Hymns are an integral part of the singing faith that believers of all ages hold in common. There is a suggestion of a grassroots hunger for the substantial spiritual fare that hymns have to offer. Surely our frantic, quick-fix, who cares world would find help and comfort in the sturdy, heartening lyrics that mark so many of the great hymns. The point is that Contemporary Christian Music need not be the only musical medium of communicating our faith to this generation. Hymns are a spiritually powerful, musically pleasing way of declaring the praises of our God. All we must do is get over the mistaken assumption that people today do not want to hear them.  Surely this issue is one that deserves serious thought and even debate among religious broadcasters and all who are part of Christian music today.”[5]

A POSITIVE EXAMPLE FROM BURKINA FASO:

When my wife and I first went to Koudougou, Upper Volta (now called Burkina Faso), in 1959, we were there one year without hearing any hymns.  There were plenty of choruses and spiritual songs, all at two speeds, fast and faster!  Nothing even resembled a hymn.  Some missionaries said, "Curtis, this is Africa, you will just have to adjust!"  But then came the day that we visited the large Assembly in Kumasi, Ghana, and what an astonish-ment to see and hear their two large choirs, one in English, the other singing in the local dialect.  It was a worship service from start to finish! Upon our return to Koudougou, I told the pastor and elders, "If they can do it there, you can do it here!"  They replied, "You are free to try anything you want to try!"  The young people had already begun to form a choir, and with the help of two of the singers, we began to translate hymns; not choruses or popular youth songs, but hymns! The first one was "My Faith Looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary". When the choir sang it, the congregation began to weep and cry, saying over and over, "It's so sweet, it's so sweet!"  The morning services were revolutionized!  Yes, we kept the choruses, yes, we kept the native Mossi-songs, but we brought about a proper balance, and from that time forward the services began to grow as never before!

Over the years, I translated dozens of hymns into the Moore language.  Then later, when the pattern of hymns was firmly established, I began translating more of the spiritual songs, and even some choruses. At first, we taught the youth to sing in two-part harmony, later in three.  In 1989, when I was back there for the dedication of their new Temple, I heard them singing in perfect four-part harmony, even on some difficult arrangements!  What began as a 26-voice youth choir for the church and radio broadcasts soon began to spread throughout the country. French and Swiss missionaries likewise trained their youth to sing in French. My wife and I, along with Jean Zida (now the Burkina representative for AMI in Europe)[6] traveled throughout the country working with the various groups, and finally bringing them together in a National Choir. 

By the time we left, it had grown to a 400-voice National Youth Choir singing hymns!  It's now so big they must have regional choirs, as there's no place big enough to hold a national one! Furthermore, the pastors told me that now almost every church has its own youth choir, and that it has been a blessing to both the youth and the church, because the youth know they will not be allowed to sing in the choir unless they live for the Lord!

CAN IT BE DONE HERE?

You may say, "But, that's Africa; we can't expect the same here!" Perhaps not in the same proportions, perhaps not with such dramatic results, but I also witnessed the blessing on a Belgian church that returned to a better diet in their worship service. Let's obey Paul's command. Something can be done; something must be done!  We do not have an option to obey or ignore!  Where are the songs of contrition and dedication?  Where are the great hymns of the church?  Where are the Pentecostal songs which used to bring forth a united response of "Amen"? We need the doctrine, too. We are depriving ourselves if we neglect them, and likewise being disobedient to the command Paul twice stated to sing with “hymns, Psalms, and spiritual songs”-a well-rounded balance! (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16, also see Neh. 12:27, 46)

APPENDIX

A highly recommended book: “WHY I LEFT THE CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC MOVEMENT—Confessions Of A Former Worship Leader” by Dan Lucarini; Evangelical Press, in cooperation with the Bible Broadcasting Network, www.bbnradio.org

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE WELL KNOWN HYMNS AND THE DOCTRINE EACH EMPHASIZES.

(Compiled by C. Dean)

HYMN	DOCTRINE
HE IS ABLE TO DELIVER THEE	Power of deliverance, salvation
AT THE CROSS	Relates story of crucifixion
OUR LORD’S RETURN	The 2nd coming of Christ
ONLY JESUS, ONLY HE CAN SATISFY	Salvation only through His Name
WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN	Our promise of Heaven
ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS’ NAME	Glory, honor of Christ
HOW GREAT THOU ART	Majesty of God
SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD LEAD US	He is the good Shepherd
TIS A GLORIOUS CHURCH	Holiness & victory: Church & members
THROW OUT THE LIFELINE	Necessity of missions & witnessing
ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS	Evangelism, witnessing, advance
TAKE UP THY CROSS	Necessity of willingness & obedience
TAKE MY LIFE & LET IT BE CONSECRATED, LORD, TO THEE	Necessity of consecration, dedication, guidance
SAVED BY HIS POWER DIVINE	Basis & reality of salvation
POWER IN THE BLOOD	Salvation through blood of Christ
I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE,	Question of what have we given Him
ROCK OF AGES	Stability, safety of our Rock
VICTORY IN JESUS	Source of our assurance
JESUS, SOMETHING ABOUT THAT NAME	Power of His Name
CHRIST RETURNETH	Assurance of His soon return

 

 

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[1] This is a condensation of two chapters of my series “THE CHURCH, THE CHRISIAN”  that were published in French, in September and November, 1990, in the Belgian AG’s magazine PUISSANCE [POWER]          © Curtis Dean, Aug. 1990   (May be copied for personal or class use.)

 

[2] Published in the Pentecostal Evangel, Sept. 8, 2013

[3] British Broadcasting Corp.

[4] By Rev. Ron Loy, sectional presbyter, Orlando, FL:  KANSAS CONCEPTS, Kansas District Council,  May 1985. Used by permission.

 

[5] RELIGIOUS BROADCASTING, SEPT 1988, P.43.  Tom Bisset, Chairman of the Board, WRBS and SHINE  radio stations Baltimore, Maryland.  Winner of the National Religious Broadcasters Award of Merit in 1983. Used by permission .

[6] Alliance Missionaire Internationale, in Lavigny, Switzerland.