Shannon Lewis posted a great question yesterday that I thought would be worth weighing in on. You can check out the full extent of the question at his blog, but here’s a quick summary:
My question is this: is there a Biblical balance, and if so, where is it to be found? Is worship ever to be “seeker friendly”? Even if not “seeker friendly”, is there ever a proper time to use songs because they are comfortable or familiar?
I think there’s definite Biblical support for both sides, which would lead me to believe that “pastoring” includes using both new and familiar songs.
For instance, looking at Deuteronomy 6 where the people are commanded to “teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise…you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” – speaking of the law that God gave to the people through Moses. These things they were supposed to remember would be familiar to them, even to the point of them dangerously becoming too familiar as we see through how the Israelites acted (and how we act!), but they were still commanded to dwell on and remember those things.
Contrast that with the multiple times in the Psalms where the writers urge us to “sing a new song.” I also think of how Paul exhorts us to both “think on these things,” speaking of whatever is good, excellent, noble, etc., AND move from milk to solid food.
In the case of music I think all of the above can, and should, be applied. Familiar songs remind us of truth in an easy-to-remember way. They also make it easy for us to meditate upon those truths. New songs, as long as they truly are filled with truths that stretch us, move us from milk to meat.
