SHE HELD THAT NOTE!

On the other side of the worship spectrum, a relative of mine reported on worship at her church this past Christmas Eve. The contrast between what was sung at our traditional, liturgical service and what was sung at hers was striking. Here's a taste of what is going on out there in the world of "contemporary" worship, just in case you were wondering about what a "praise band" does on Christmas Eve:

"Don't get so busy that you miss Giving just a little kiss To the ones you love.

Don't even wait a little while To give them just a little smile. A little is enough.

See how many people are crying. Some people are dying.

Chorus: So don't save it all for Christmas Day.

Find a way to give a little love every day.

Find a way 'cause holidays have come and gone

But loves lives on if you give on love."

Etc.

So there you go. The theology of Celine Dion instead of the doctrines of Christ. No Gospel. Just an exhortation to be nice. All year. Not just on Christmas Day. Because it is up to us. "Love lives on IF. . . ". This is what more people hear in Church these days. Including many children. Lord, have mercy!

The performance of this music reinforced the man-centered lyrics. Here's the report:

"There's a girl in the band who usually sings backup, but they gave her this solo on Christmas Eve. The usual lead singer wasn't there, and so she was sort of getting her chance. Well, we all just couldn't believe how she nailed this long note toward the end of the song. It was just amazing. And as she held it we all just started to applaud. It was so awesome."

There are many who want to ignore the worship wars going on in Christendom today, and let everyone do what they think is right in their own eyes in the name of "freedom." Certainly our Lord gives us much freedom in how we are to worship Him, but I don't think this is what He has in mind for us.

I do know that not all churches dabbling in "contemporary worship" would have this song sung in the Divine Service. But this is the well they drink from, and I encounter things like this every time I go on the road and visit a church's "contemporary worship service."

C.S. Lewis used to say that "he who doesn't believe in God will believe in anything." I think it is fair to observe also that apparently he who doesn't sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs will sing anything.

NOEL!

So what's your choir singing for Christmas? We at Liturgy Solutions would love to hear from you. We hope your preparations have all gone well, and that you and your singers make the hearts of all in your sanctuaries glad.

Here at Bethany, we are looking forward to the following highlights:

5pm - Schola Canotrum (and flute trio)
*Quempas Carol
*Ding-Dong, Merrily, on High
*Verse for Christmas Eve (Hillert, from NPH series)
*Willcox descants on "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

7pm - Vocal Quartet (w/ Bethany Brass accompanying congregational song)
*Elise B. Calhoon sings "O Holy Night"
*Stanzas of various hymns sung in Liturgy Solutions' arrangements, including:
-Once in Royal David's City
-O Sing of Christ
-Of the Father's Love Begotten
-O Little Town of Bethlehem
*Dr. Jennifer Barnickel-Fitch sings "Gesu Bambino"

11pm - Proclaim
*What Sweeter Music (Rutter)
*Gradual for Christmas Day (Stephen R. Johnson, Liturgy Solutions)
*In the First Light (Glad studio chart)
*Some Children See Him (Burt)
*Willcox Descants (of course!)
*Elise B. Calhoon sings the Wexford Carol
*Choir sings stanza 1 of Stille Nacht (in German)

Christmas Morning - Elise graciously returns to sing Wexford again. (Thank you, Elise!) Many choir members were willing to sing Christmas AM as well, but I didn't plan voice parts accordingly and, with the divisi on the Rutter, Glad, and Burt, we decided not to have those for Christmas morning.

Which leads to my last question, besides what you are singing, WHEN are you singing? Does your choir do both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Do they do two services on Christmas Eve (like Bethany's Proclaim did last year)?

"Joy, O Joy, beyond all gladness,
Christ has done away with sadness!
Hence all sorrow and repining,
For the Sun of Grace is shining!" (LSB 897, refrain)

A Sinless Christianity

The hymnody of the Lutheran tradition serves a role of teaching or catechesis. For me, this was a very unfamiliar idea until a number of years ago when I listened to a lecture given by my now, very good friend, Leonard Payton. The idea was clear in his presentation, namely, that the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly is obtained through the appropriate teaching and admonishing of ourselves with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Col. 3: 16). He used the Levitical practice of the Old Testament to illustrate this and pointed to a memorized tradition as being the norm for ancient Israel. When we realize that the Psalms and many portions of the prophets were sung for memory and internalized by the people, we can begin to get a glimpse of what it means for the Word of Christ to dwell richly in us.

Our hymnody teaches on every imaginable doctrinal subject. It is vast and didactic – just like the Psalms. How anyone can use the Psalms to justify simplicity in our worship music remains for me, puzzling.

I was struck by a little tidbit of information regarding a hymn in our Lutheran tradition, All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall. A line from this hymn by Lazaraus Spengler is actually quoted in the first article of the Formula of Concord (Epitome), which states:

We believe teach and confess that original sin is not a slight corruption of human nature, but that it is so deep a corruption that nothing sound or uncorrupted has survived in man’s body or soul, in his inward or outward powers. It is as the church sings, “Through Adam’s fall man’s nature and essence are all corrupt.”

It is telling, by the way, that in the Formula of Concord, one of the most important confessional writings of the Lutheran Church, the first article is entitled “Original Sin.” Without sin as the preexisting condition, proper contemplation of the Gospel will be impossible. It is upon this dark canvas of original sin that the Gospel may be painted in all its gloriousness.

I like to listen to a contemporary Christian radio station in my area. I do not listen for the reasons that most people do. I listen to remain aware of the latest in that genre. I like to keep up with the new songs, new artists and what is contained therein so that I am knowledgeable when I speak with friends and colleagues in other denominations. Well, I have been made painfully aware that the music of this genre does not discuss sin. It does not show the depth of the fall. It does not illustrate that “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin…”

No, the concept that this musical genre communicates is that I am troubled and need assistance. Maybe I am depressed. Maybe I am hurting. Maybe I have a bad habit, or see a therapist, or have baggage from my dysfunctional upbringing. Maybe I have a low self-image. At any rate, the purpose for following Christ is that he then gives me the pathway to live victoriously over all these things. Eventually, if I do everything right and follow the “principles” Christ has given me in his Word, I may even be able to stop seeing that therapist, stop smoking, drinking, chewing, or whatever my problem may be.

If this is the essence of sin, we do not need a Savior. There is no original sin in this picture, and, therefore, nothing from which we need forgiveness. The contemporary Christian music genre speaks very little about confession and forgiveness. Christ is not a Savior in these songs as much as a helper and a buddy who’s always there for me in the hard times. Jesus helps me get over my problems, he encourages me, tells me everything is going to be OK and even “holds me in his arms” as some songs say, –– but he does not forgive me! So I can quit smoking, say bye-bye to the therapist, become a better, more positive person, and help lots of other people do the same, yet still die in my sins. Our sinless Christianity cultivates Christians who trust Christ for for comfort, help, and encouragement, but not for forgiveness. Is this the Christ of Scripture, who dies on the cross? For what? To be our life coach or buddy?

The contemporary radio station reflects the thinking of a great many mainstream Christians. Theirs’ is a Christianity without original sin. It is a faith that thinks our problem is far less serious than it is. And hymns like “All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall” are not sung in most Christian churches and has even fallen out of use, regrettably, in the Lutheran tradition, from whence it came. When hymns like this are jettisoned, we fallen men and women have very little to remind us of our biggest problem. This leads to our justifying ourselves, rationalizing and thinking that we are not so bad. There really is no true Christianity without the doctrine of original sin. We, as people of the Reformation, need to be aware of this flawed view, so prevalent in our day. To embrace a sinless Christianity is to embrace an impotent cross and an ineffective Christ. Bypassing original sin in our doctrine bypasses the work of Jesus to forgive that sin and leads to a tepid faith that seeks personal achievement and success, dare I say works righteousness, rather than the peace and comfort of sins forgiven.

I am grateful that God, in his grace, uses hymns like All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall, to remind me of the depth of my sin, and of God's lavish forgiveness of that sin in Christ.

All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall
One common sin infects us all
From sire to son the bane descends
And overall the curse impends.

From hearts depraved and evil prone
Flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone
God’s image lost, the darkened soul
Seeks not nor finds it heavenly goal.

As by one man all mankind fell
And, born in sin, was doomed to hell
So by one man who took our place
We all received the gift of grace.

A Baptismal Liturgy for Post-Modern Americans

THE RITE OF HOLY BAPTISM

P: We rejoice this day in the gift of new life which our heavenly Father bestows upon us in and through Baptism. We are pleased to share this celebration with many guests this day, and so begin by welcoming our visitors today.
C: We welcome you in the name of the Lord.
P: Yes, that's right, we are all glad you are here. And it is OK if you don't participate in the service. We know that the Lutheran service may be foreign to you. But don't worry:
C: We will sing the hymns for you.
P: And pray the prayers.
C: And confess the Christian faith.
P: You can just take it all in, and through the Word you will hear today, we trust that the Lord's will shall be done in your hearts.
C: That's how He works!
P: And if you feel so moved as to join us in worship, the bulletins you received on the way in have the order of service for this day.
C: And hymnals are in the pew racks in front of you.
P: Yes, this is a worship service.
C: We actually believe God will be present with today.
P: And so we consider this sanctuary to be "the Lord's house",
C: Not your house. Not our house. But God's house.
P: And so we do ask that you respect our customs, even though you may not understand or agree with them.
C: For this is where we worship our God. It is a holy place.
P: And so we ask that you not take flash pictures during the service.
C: Such distractions are offensive to us.
P: You may record the baptism with flash-free photography if you wish or wait until after the service, when I will be happy to re-enact any part of the Rite of Holy Baptism for your benefit. But during the service we want to keep the focus on what God is doing today through His Word.
C: For without God's Word, the water is plain water, and no baptism.
P: But with the Word of God, it is a baptism, that is a life-giving water, rich in grace,
C: And the washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.
P: So, please, let us turn off all cell phones and flash bulbs and put away everything that hinders us.
C: that we all may hear His Word, and gladly hear and learn it.

the service then continues according to the rite as it appears on page xxx in the hymnal...

---

Yes, the paparrazi were at Bethany again today. Two baptisms in one service. All flash all the time. Our pastors don't want to say anything; our ushers aren't comfortable with addressing this either - even though they have directions about this in the usher manual and it has been brought up the last two usher meetings. And the Elders have put a statement in the bulletin, but the kind of folks who flash away in the Divine Service don't look at the bulletin. They are just here to observe (and record) the Baptism.

So what does one do? I realize my ersatz 'Creative Worship' - style liturgy is over the top. And I hope you got some chuckles out of it. I find the satire theraputic. But the problems remains, and we have no "solutions" for it here at LS. Anyone have any ideas?

I have a feeling we are going to have to endure more and more of this kind of a thing as our national culture become more post-Christian.

IDEAS FOR ADVENT

We're updating the front page soon, but with Advent upon us I thought it best to go ahead and give everyone a few ideas about how Liturgy Solutions might be helpful to you this season:


For the Musician in Small Parish – Perhaps you've got your small choir working on an Advent anthem and are busy preparing a couple of pieces for Christmas Eve. But you'd like to involve your choir in the liturgy when they are scheduled to sing, and perhaps use a soloist for one of the other Sundays in Advent. SO -

Consider Jonathan Kohrs' setting of the first stanza of “Lo, He Comes, with Clouds Descending” for unison/optional 2-part choir and organ as a great way to introduce or reintroduce this hymn to your congregation, using the LSB tune HELMSLEY. The subtle quote of SINE NOMINE (“For All the Saints”) while the choir sings “Thousand, thousand saints attending” is a lot of fun – and meaningful text-painting, even though it is subtle.

Also consider Jeffrey Blersch's psalm refrain for Psalm 25:1-10, appointed for First Sunday in Advent in the Three-Year series this year, but very appropriate for Advent Vespers in any parish. Consider having a flautist play the descant on the repetitions of the refrain. For a Gradual, try “Out of Zion, the Perfection of Beauty” (Psalm 50:2-3a,5), by Phillip Magness, for unison choir (or soloist) and organ. This text is for the One-Year series, but could be used at Matins or Vespers at any Advent series. All four of the Magness Graduals quote the Hymn of the Day, with this one drawing inspiration from “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding”.

Three-Year Congregation? Try Dawn Sonntag's “Prepare the Way of the Lord”, the Verse of the Day for the Second Sunday in Advent, for Uni/2-part choir and keyboard. This works with piano as well as organ and is enjoyed by children's as well as adult choirs.

For the Musician in a Medium-Sized Parish – Your children's choir will love the Sonntag setting of the Verse for Second Sunday in Advent mentioned above, but will also embrace her setting of “Creator of the Stars of Night”, especially with the descant provided for the final stanzas. A great choice for the Office Hymn at Advent Vespers.

Speaking of hymnody, Jonathan Kohrs' setting of stanza 3 of “On Jordan's Bank” (SAB, a cappella) will be very accessible for your adult choir, with the melody given to the men while the Sopranos & Altos sing a creative, text-painting accompaniment. Your adult choir should also consider Stephen Johnson's setting of Psalm 85, “Surely His Salvation Is Near”, appointed for the Third Sunday in Advent in the Three-Year Lectionary but also appropriate in place of an Advent Gradual in the One-Year series or as a psalm in any parish for Advent Matins or Vespers. For the Fourth Sunday in Advent, consider Dawn Sonntag's setting of the Verse of the Day: “Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive”. This could be sung again as a Prelude or “Opening Sentences” to Vespers on Christmas Eve.

Speaking of Christmas Eve, did you know “Savior of the Nations, Come” was originally a Christmas hymn? Whether your sing it for Advent or Christmas, if you have a good balance of men in your choir, they will sparkle on Jonathan Kohrs' setting of the “Manger Stanza” (stanza 7), with the altos, tenors, and basses singing a haunting undulation underneath the intermittent superimposition of a the lyric melody in the soprano. This stanza provides a nice opportunity for a soloist as well as for your soprano section. Baritone soloist instead? Consider Dawn Sonntag's most excellent setting of the Verse for the First Sunday in Advent, “Lift Up Your Heads, O Gates” for baritone soloist, SAB choir, and organ.

For the Musician in a Large Parish - You've got a big program, and multiple services each week, and so you know that the recommendations for Small Parish provide possible “solutions” for your children's choir and soloists. And that setting of stanza 3 of “On Jordan's Bank” by Jonathan Kohrs is a perfect match for your junior high or high school choir. Your regular SATB choir is scheduled to sing several Advent works for Voluntaries, Preludes, and communion distribution this year – but you want to make time for them to contribute to the liturgy as well.

Consider Jeffrey Blersch's SATB refrain for psalm 66:1-12, “You Have Brought Us Out to A Place of Abundance”, for the Second Sunday in Advent or for Advent Vespers. The congregation could join in this refrain or the choir could sing it and then chant the verses of the psalm responsively with the assembly. For the Third Sunday in Advent, consider giving them the Verse of the Day, with Dawn Sonntag's “Behold, I Send a Messenger”. If they are up for a small challenge, give them her setting of stanza 3 of “Comfort, Comfort Ye, My People”, a free setting that cloaks the melody yet paints the text well.

For Graduals, consider Stephen Johnson's setting of the Gradual for the Second Sunday in Advent, “Out of Zion”, and Phillip Magness' short motet on Psalm 25:4, “Make Me to Know Your Ways, O Lord.” Finally, don't finish your planning until you've reviewed both options we have for stanza 3 of GABRIEL'S MESSAGE. For either the Fourth Sunday in Advent, Advent Matins or Vespers focusing on the Annunciation, or for Lessons & Carols, we've got two great picks here. The option by Jeffrey Blersch is more traditional, yet with fresh and compelling harmonies. Dawn Sonntag's setting includes a soprano solo and either a flute or violin obbligato.

WE HOPE THESE IDEAS HELP YOU TO NAVIGATE OUR SITE AND FIND THE "BEST PICKS" FOR YOUR FOLKS

Whether you are looking for a simple way to chant the Introits or for fresh settings of hymn stanzas that will motivate your choir and enrich your congregation's meditation, we humbly offer these many and various “solutions” for your choirs that they may magnify the Lord and rejoice in God our Savior by magnifying the Word His Spirit gives us to sing in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs.

Magness interviewed by Scripps-Howard

Our recent post about the use of the organ in Divine Worship shows how we at Liturgy Solutions view the use of instruments in the service of the Gospel. We have shown that we value traditional worship ideals as integral and seek to build upon them, but we also understand that worship can be fresh and unencumbered by tradition for tradition's sake. We believe in using the full palate of color and qualities that many instruments have to offer. We believe that any instrument can serve our hymn corpus and that congregations should be resourceful at all times, especially when challenged by the absence of regular organist serving their parishes. But we also are very concerned about trends that are taking place in our Synod where the Lutheran musical and worship heritage is being undermined or tossed out altogether. As I said before, our hymns and liturgy are our treasure, and to dismiss them is to dismiss one of the most valuable ways the gospel is communicated to the hearts of our parishioners.

Our own Phillip Magness, was interviewed by the Scripps-Howard News Service last week and really fleshed out what it means for churches to cultivate a confessional and liturgical identity in our worship what happens when that identity is compromised. The link to the interview is below. We welcome your comments.

http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/
mattingly-lutherans-and-worship-wars

Luxuriant Lutheranism - the organ on a pedestal

We Lutherans love our organ music, and rightly so. Hearing fine organ playing can be awe-inspiring. Parishes that have fine organs and organists to fully utilize them receive the great rewards that the instrument has to offer. The organ offers a panoply of colors, expressivity, and sensitivity in hymn accompanying, and of course, the great organ music of the Lutheran überkantor – J. S. Bach. Bach has always been my favorite composer, long predating my years as a Lutheran, extending all the way back to my childhood. The more Bach I hear, the better.

But recently we have encountered some problems in our American Lutheran Churches. There are many, probably even a majority who do not have the kind of organ or organist that would inspire such awe. Many a seminarian, after living in the beauty of the liturgical life at St. Louis or Fort Wayne, and hearing great organists like Henry Gerike, Richard Resch, Kevin Hildebrand and Paul Grime, have left that sublime atmosphere for a more mundane parish existence, where the organist struggles to keep an even tempo and who may have unpredictable, even contrary views on how things should be done. Other parishes, fewer, but still enough to rightly deserve our attention, do not have an organist at all. They have been looking for one, but cannot seem to find one. And the ones they do find are mediocre at best. What to do?

The organ is a great instrument, and it is always wonderful to have a good organist. But if we do not have either, we as Lutherans, may need to rethink our values. What makes Lutheran worship efficacious? Is it the organ, or is it the things that are played on the organ? Is it the chorale preludes of Bach? Or is it the chorales themselves, which place words and melodies on the lips and in the minds and hearts of parishioners for their spiritual nurturing? No chorale prelude can do that.

Is it possible that, without an organ at our disposal, we may need to be resourceful in finding ways to guide the congregation’s song? Perhaps the use of a combination of instruments, or one or two good singers from the congregation can accomplish this goal. Will it be as grandiose, as majestic? Probably not, but will it fulfill the admonition of Colossians 3:16 to “let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us?” Absolutely!

We Lutherans may be growing fat from the luxuries we have been afforded in this great country where our churches are not persecuted. Our “fatness” manifests itself in that we think it a travesty when we do not to have an organ in our church buildings. So, we have elevated this instrument to "king of instrument” status, placing it on some high pedestal in our worship life. We think the organ to be absolutely essential to our worship – that we cannot possibly worship without it.

But, how important has this instrument been in the history of the Christian faith? St. Paul never even knew of one, let alone the ancient Jews who were given the Psalms and encouraged to sing them. The early church never had one. Yet they sang canticles and hymns just as do we. All through the Medieval period, I understand that organ playing was not in full grand use. The Renaissance composers focused on a pervasively vocal art. No great chorale preludes were being produced at that time. However much the organ was used then, it was not until the Baroque period that we get a truly instrumental art that elevated the organ, through Buxthehude and then Bach (and others, of course). If I am a little inaccurate in my timeline, I think you get my point. Christian worship (and I include the faithful ancient Jews in this, who were saved by Christ's atonement) is 8,000 plus years old. Yet, the organ has played a really significant role for only about the past 400 years, and that’s a charitable estimate.

CPH has come out with a product called The Concordia Organist (TCO). This product provides prerecorded hymn accompaniments on the organ for congregations who do not have a real live organist. You can have an organ playing in your parish even without a person to play it. I view this product as elevating the organ to a level it does not merit. What’s communicated is that, if we do not have an organ, we must use this, because we cannot possibly worship without an organ. It is a symptom of our luxuriant Lutheranism. Well, I have good news. You can live without it! And if you are in this position, it might be a healthy exercise for you to live without it. You have the opportunity to look for the benefits that living without an organ can give! You can start by singing the hymns unison a cappella. One or two singers or a small vocal ensemble can assist the congregation in doing so. As you go, you might add a flute, simple chords on a guitar or a combination of instruments, even a keyboard. You might also begin to sing in parts.

Rather than neglect whatever musical talent lies dormant in your congregations, use them. They are your parishioners too and they need catechesis and pastoral care. Teach them what worship means as they learn to guide the congregation in song. Do not neglect them by employing a “sanctified” manifestation of Karaoke in your parishes. CTO is not altogether different than the canned music that soloists in evangelical protestant churches use to sing contemporary songs so they can sound a little more like Nashville. Think about it:

“You too can sound like the Fort Wayne Chapel! Just buy TCO.”

Is there not just a tinge of theology of glory at work here? Perhaps living life under the cross means, for some, getting over personal aesthetic preferences and considering the notion that unison a cappella singing can serve just as efficaciously in rendering a great hymn or Divine Service setting. But even more, it serves to catechize your congregation just as well, if not better than fancy hymn accompaniments. You do not need to be beholden to some aesthetic ideal that you experienced at seminary or a worship conference, all the while forgetting that the true treasure is in our sung hymns themselves and building a faith community that sings that treasure with great authenticity. Our hymns are an immensely valuable, meaningful, and profound treasure, no matter whether we sing them with an organ or not.

You do not need TCO. Sing your hymns. They are the true treasure. Do it with or without an organ. Use your pianist, your guitarist, your high school flutist, whatever. And when you do not have them, sing a cappella! Putting the organ on a pedestal is nothing more than style over substance. The hymns are our substance and sustenance with or without an organ. They are our true treasure.

Could TCO be helpful to some congregations? Sure. Is it expedient? Sure. But living without an organist and TCO may afford our congregations many hidden benefits as they strive to cultivate their singing voices and utilize other musical resources that may be of great value to their worshiping communities.