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  1. rhwoodman
    19 November 2012 @ 12:01 am

    Hi, Robert.

    1. It is tradition in our Baptist church to have everybody sing the invitation/commitment hymn. I don’t particularly like that idea, but it is what the congregation wants, and people do come forward to make decisions for Christ. I think that the hymn should be sung quietly by the music leader or choir while everyone else bows their head and prays for decisions to be made.

    2. “I Surrender All” and “Just As I Am” (the original version) are, in my opinion, the two best invitation/commitment hymns ever written.

    I learned something valuable in this post. I never realized (or considered) that the descending notes emphasized bowing in submission while the ascending notes emphasized offering something up. Very cleverly done, and kudos for making that point!

    Robert

    • rcottrill
      19 November 2012 @ 8:08 am

      Blessings on you! I needed your words of encouragement today. Heavy day yesterday. (Nothing bad, just extra work that left me so totally exhausted I slept most of the evening in my chair, as well as overnight.)

      On the subject of what we might call forced hypocrisy (H-m-m!) in hymn singing, it’s something that’s often troubled me–for a couple of reasons.

      First, I wonder how many folks sing hymns simply as a matter of form, or because they like the music, without particularly considering the meaning of what they’re singing. The music of a hymn is intended as a setting for the effective delivery of its message. But does experiencing the music take too prominent a place? And what is the message of the words? Is it something I truly want to say to God or, (in the case of gospel songs) to another person?

      Once a month or so, I try to ask for some requests. And one way the service leader can help members of the congregation to zero in on the text is to ask such questions as: Why is this hymn a favourite of yours? What is there about God in this hymn for which we can praise Him? Which is your favourite verse of the hymn? (And why?) Etc.

      Second, there’s the concern that we’re asking people to sing words they don’t mean. But I do think it’s helpful to see the corporate expression of faith and purpose as an entity unto itself. We’re not only singing as individuals, but as a body. Compare an election. Not everyone will have voted for the eventual winner, but the election overall expresses the national will. In a similar way, the singing of a hymn can be seen as an expression of what that local church stands for.

      This doesn’t remove the responsibility of the individual to sing with sincerity of course, but the ministry of the body as a whole is a factor. The same thing happens when the offering is received. Not everyone who puts money on the offering plate is doing so for the right reasons, but the funds provided support the work of the church as a whole and express the desire of the congregation that it continue to do so.

      There would seem to be a parallel to the hymn-singing of Israel. “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the LORD!” (Ps. 106:48). That phrase, “all the people” is used many, many times in the Old Testament. Does it represent every single person? I doubt it. Rather, it identifies a corporate expression of the nation as a whole, or at least of those present on a particular occasion. When the Law was given through Moses, “all the people” said they would obey it (Exod. 19:8; 24:3), but not long after “all the people” were involved in making a golden idol (Exod. 32:3)!

      Well! Not sure this all makes sense. 🙂 It’s not 6:00 a.m. yet, so I need to get, in Poirot’s phrase, “the little grey cells” in gear. Maybe food for thought, anyway. God bless.