Okay, so it wasn’t really a family reunion, but we still got a chance to hang out. See, tomorrow is my mother’s birthday, so she and my dad came into town this afternoon. Pearl (my mother) wanted to spend some time with my girls, so we met them at a local shopping center so she could spoil them a little bit.
After terrorizing some merchants and innocent shoppers, we made our way over to my brother’s church. Matt has been on staff there for almost five years, and he has been able to build a phenomenal student ministry. I know I am biased, but he is truly a gifted guy. Hearing him teach is always good, but I have to admit… that’s not my favorite part of the evening when I join Matt and his students for the occasional Wednesday night service.
You see, Matt is a truly gifted lead worshipper. I know for some the phrase has become cliche, but it is true… Matt is simply leading the way. He is talented enough as a musician and has great skills vocally and instrumentally… but his true gift is that he can take a group of people and lead them to the very presence of the Creator.
Tonight, he led some current songs. There were some Charlie Hall and Chris Tomlin tunes being sung with enthusiasm. I love the fact that so much great worship music is being produced by the church today. Sure, there is still a lot of fluff out there… a lot of “Jesus is my Boyfriend” garbage. At the same time, there are many writers producing great anthems of worship.
My one concern, though, is that perhaps in our rush to embrace the new, we have forsaken the old. Could it be that we have thrown the proverbial baby out with the bath water? Don’t get me wrong, I can find plenty of fluff in the old hymnals as well. (I am thinking right now of one song that appeared in the Baptist hymnals of my childhood… “God of Earth and Outer Space.”) At the same time, I recognize that not all of the songs from the church’s past are of such poor musical and questionable lyrical quality. I think it is important for the church of the 21st century to remember that we come from a very rich heritage.
I recently read that the road to the future runs through the past. The church of tomorrow is the child of the church from yesterday. I am so thankful for my brother and his passion for speaking into the lives of teenagers and for his willingness to include not only the incredible anthems of the moment, but also through some of the timeless classics. I am thankful that tonight, he not only led a group of over 150 teenagers to sing a re-vamped (dare I say pimped-out?) version of “How Great Thou Art,” but also in an incredibly prayerful “Come Thou, Fount of Every Blessing.”
Let us pray that God continues to bless His church with the talent to write incredible love songs to Him, but also with a passion for the heritage that we possess.
P.S. – Remind me later to share with you about how Matt is a living, walking, talking, singing answer to prayer. It’s a story that makes me smile.