There are some worship songs that I really get into. And there are some bands and writers that I especially get into. At the moment, one of the bands that I’m absolutely loving is Rend Collective. They have this funky, Irish-Bluegrass type feel to much of their recordings, and their songs are just great to sing along to.
I’ve used some of their Campfire Christmas versions of Christmas Carols at Christmas time, and their albums are on a high rotation in my iTunes playlists. And one of my favourite songs – and one that seems to be gaining more and more traction particularly within The Salvation Army here in Australia – is Build Your Kingdom Here.
I was putting together my lead for this Sunday’s meeting, and a thought came into my head that the song, “In Christ Alone” might be a song worth considering. If you don’t know it, here’s a version by Owl City (of Fireflies fame)
Now, this song has come under a bit of scrutiny in the past because of its lyrics. Last year, the Presbyterian Church of the USA wanted to include this song in their new hymnal, but decided not to because they were unable to change one of the lines of the song in verse 2. The original verse reads
’Til on that cross as Jesus died
the wrath of God was satisfied
Where as the altered version they wanted to use read
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
the love of God was magnified
And to be honest – the change isn’t a bad one. I think it fits doctrinally, biblically and personally I’m more than happy to focus in on the Love of God (which is very evident in the New Testament) as opposed to the Wrath of God (which is very evident in the Old Testament). However, the original lyrics also work, they are sound, and they also have powerful meaning. When the Getty’s decided not to allow the change, they were well within their right to do so, and for me this issue isn’t a deal breaker.
However, I’m uncertain as to whether to use this song or not. My doctrinal issue with the song comes in the last verse.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man
can ever pluck me from His hand
Now the issue here comes with the ninth Doctrine of The Salvation Army:
We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ.
Commonly known as the doctrine of backsliding, this means that as Salvationists, we believe that in order for you to remain in a state of salvation – that is saved by Jesus Christ – you need to continue to have obedient faith in Christ – that is, faith that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. The flipside of this is that if you stop having obedient faith in Christ, then you lose your state of salvation. There’s no “once saved, always saved” here in the Army. Once saved, you need to keep being faithful to God.
And that’s where the issue lies. For Salvationists, if you stop having faith, then you are effectively plucked from his hand, to use the imagery from the song. Where the song states that there is nothing on the earth or below it that can remove our state of salvation, our Doctrines state that there is in fact a situation where we can lose our salvation.
That being said, there is a different way of reading those lyrics. You could argue that in fact, the line is stating that because my faith is so strong, because I have my continued obedient faith, that there is now nothing that can remove my state of salvation. But it’s a bit ambiguous.
And my problem is that I love the song – the melody is fantastic, the rest of the lyrics are so incredibly powerful, and such a grand statement. But can I, as an officer who is to proclaim The Salvation Army doctrines as the defining articles of our faith, use a song that has one single line that speaks against one of our doctrines?
This is the beauty of our Songbook. When we choose songs from there, we are guaranteed that the lyrics are doctrinally sound to The Salvation Army Doctrines. There have been people – far smarter than myself – who have gone through and analysed, and worked out whether the song can be used or not. I’m certainly looking forward to the release of the new songbook, hoping that it might have a few more recent worship songs which will make planning a meeting easier. When we move away from the songbook – as many corps are doing in order to stay relevant – we need to give at least a bit of a thought as to whether the songs we choose meet the standards set by our doctrines. If not, we have an obligation not to use them in our meetings, because as officers we are to proclaim the Gospel and uphold our doctrines.
So until I am suitably convinced otherwise, unfortunately, I cannot use this hymn, as much as I love singing it. Now I best get back to choosing that final song for Sunday’s service.
What do you think? Does one line mean that we shouldn’t sing this song? Is there a strong argument that means that it can be used in a Salvation Army context? or am I just overthinking things?
I’ve practically finished my first week of orientation at the Training College. We’ve had a lot of different orientations – to uniform, to education, to prayer and more. Yesterday, we had a session called “Coping with Change”. We have all had to go through a big change in order to come to the Training College. At a very basic level, the shift from Perth to Melbourne was a big change. We were discussing yesterday the differences in language that we share – from Milk Bars and Delis, to Stobie Poles and Power Poles and even the way we pronounce Lego.
One thing we did was to create a well-being plan that focussed on some goals in four areas – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. By setting goals in these four areas, we can help take control of certain areas of our life so that we can deal with the change better, but also be in a better mental state. Part of the exercise was to write down some names that we would share the plan with so that we can be accountable with it. So I’m going to share my goals with you, and post regularly on how I’m going. Continue reading Well, I better have a Well-Being Plan
At the moment, I’m getting my head around being music director for an upcoming Chrysalis retreat. I did this last year, so a lot of my song choices have been able to be transferred, but it does mean that I can spend more time looking for other songs that might fit even better.
At my church, we’ve also started having the youth band on twice a month now, which means that I’m now choosing twice as many songs, so I can be choosing more songs. So I’m constantly on the look out for more songs that can be used. Here’s a selection of worship songs that I’m loving right now.
First off, a couple of songs from Hillsong Chapel, Saviour King, and Hosanna
I love the space in this version of Saviour King, that the instruments just get out of the way and you can just focus on the words. The chorus for me is incredibly powerful, and I think I’ll be able to use this (in some form) at Chrysalis.
As for Hosanna, I’m considering an “acoustic” set for the next Youth Meeting, and love the arrangement of this version.
Now for something a bit more uptempo – and a bit older too.
This song has been in my head for a while now, and I’m not sure where I’m going to use it, but I think that there will be something coming up that it will be just perfect for. I think I especially love the brass lines here, really makes it pop!
This is a new song by Aaron Keyes (co written by others such as Ben Smith and Graham Kendrick). It’s wonderful lyrics are backed up by a great easy to sing Hymn-esque tune. This is a wonderful praise song, and I can’t wait to use it somewhere.
So that’s what I’m listening to at the moment and what’s going through my head. What songs are getting you passionate for Christ at the moment?
I went to Church yesterday, and halfway through, Liesl comes up to me and says “I think they’re doing your song for the songsters message.” Indeed they were, the Songsters message was my arrangement of “Let the weak say, I am strong” by Rueben Morgan. Thanks to not being able to sing (would be too tough for me to get up there with my knee) I instead headed up to the sound desk at the back to record it on my phone.
This wasn’t exactly a complete performance, as there is actually a violin part at the beginning. However, I did write it so that if a corps didn’t have a violin player (which, to be honest, there would be more corps without any musicians than corps who have a violin player), it could still be performed and have the same effect.
I’m really pleased with this arrangement. I think that within it all, every part has beautiful lines that are just a pleasure to sing. Of course, the sopranos have most of the melody. But the lines that I’ve written, particularly the Tenor and Basses are just beautiful. It’s a bit hard to hear in the recording, but the Basses have this great line in the chorus which provides a fantastic grounding to the chorus, while the Tenors get this lovely moving part. I’m also really impressed by the dynamic change in the final couple of lines, which I think provides a real lift to that final line, “Jesus died, and rose again.”
Hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll hope to get a few more out soon.
Thought I’d share a little bit about the instruments that I play, and my journey on them.
Violin
The violin is my main instrument, and I’ve been learning it since I was seven. I’ve played in various orchestras over the time, played on stage with a band or two, and had a whole heap of fun doing it. The violin opened up the world of music for me, but it will always be my first love.
Viola
When I went to Uni, there were very few string players. There were only a couple of viola players. So, in order to help out with chamber music groupings, I taught myself the viola. I used my spare violin and converted it to a viola, learned how to read the alto clef, and started playing the viola. I didn’t play it for long, but I still count it as an instrument I can play.
Piano
My parents have a piano at their place, and over time I taught myself how to play it. I’m not great – and play the piano much in the same style as the guitar – I play the chords more than the melody line. However, I have taught myself to play a couple of easy pieces, so I’m not as bad as I was. I really enjoy playing the piano, but not having one at my place means I don’t get to play as often as I used to.
Guitar
A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to learn the guitar. So I bought one and an instructional book, and spent a couple of days learning chords and how to play. Within a couple of weeks I was playing at church in the worship team. I love the guitar now, and probably play it more than my violin these days, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t love my violin – I just love both.
Other Instruments
I can play a few other instruments, such as drums, ukulele, mandolin and recorder. I like having a go at various instruments, so there might be other instruments that get added to this list over time.
It may seem odd for a violinist to say this, but my favourite sound is that of the viola. It’s mellow, rich tones combined with the incredible soaring sound you get high on the A string, it blows me away. Don’t get me wrong, I love the violin, and given a choice, I’d much rather play the violin. But the viola has a richness that is impossible to achieve on the violin.
So that you can share in this blissful sound, here’s William Primrose – one of the great viola players – performing the Walton Viola Concerto.
In my bible study last night, we had a bit of a chat about those who were “lost” – and football players came up immediately. It came after West Coast Eagles star Ben Cousins was Suspended Indefinitely. We talked about how often football players, and others as well, turn to drugs to fill a void in their lives. Continue reading The Importance of Something Different
Acknowledgement of Country
I acknowledge that I live and work on land for which the Whadjuk Noongar people are the traditional owners and custodians. I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. I also respect any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples from other lands.
