I was disappointed that the Baptist Message would publish “Southern Baptist Pastors and Evangelicals backing McCain” (issue date). Polls change daily and I would hope voters would assemble facts for themselves and not depend on others.
Southern Baptists would have been better served by knowing the resolutions from the Southern Baptist Convention and the discussions over the proposals.
New Orleans
Writer prefers old hymns to new music
Why has the Baptist Hymnal slipped into antiquity? We used to be known as a singing religion, but now we seem to be a chanting congregation. We now sing repeated phrases praising the Lord or stating His worthiness to the sound of guitars and the beat of drums.
Does this serve the function that the “old” hymns did? Does it challenge us to visit the unsaved like “I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go?” Does it allow us to give thanks for our salvation like “Saved, Saved?” Does it make us want to dress like church is some place special like “Give of the Best to the Master?” There is nothing in this new music to comfort you when troubled or lift your spirit when downhearted. It does not ease the pain or carry you through the horrors of war as some of the old hymns.
I am told that is what the people want. It is what the Lord wants? I am told that it helps build congregations, but is it better to have 300 people working or 3,000 chanting? We are facing troubled times. We should relearn to sing through them like we have done so in the past. If not, will it be the Bible that will soon slip into antiquity?
New Orleans