Donnie Mcclurlin Songs leading a trend back to Hymns? He said, "I'm retiring from the commerciality of it, but I'll still be at church singing up a storm and recording my church choir's album." Verity is preparing McClurkin's new two-CD set, "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs," for an April 5, 2005 release. The album was recorded last June at the Rock Church in Virginia Beach, Va.
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A funny thing happened last summer at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall. A shipment of hymn books arrived, and not by mistake. Lake Pointe is a megachurch with contemporary-style worship. Years back, it dissolved its choir and got rid of its hymnals in favor of Christian "praise" music, played by a rock band,with lyrics flashed on big screens. That style still dominates at Lake Pointe. But in August, sensing demand, the church debuted its "Classic Service," an early Sunday morning alternative service with choir, piano, organ and lots of congregational singing – out of those shiny new hymnals.
The first Sunday, Pastor Steve Stroope and his staff prepared a room for 200. Nearly twice that many came, forcing a move the next week to the church gym. A second batch of hymnals was ordered. The service now regularly draws 300 to 350, with chairs covering the basketball court.
"We've scratched an itch," Mr. Stroope said.
Call it a counter-reformation, or a rear guard action in the worship wars. But more and more churches that cast their lot with contemporary worship are beginning to innovate through tradition, giving folks some old-time religion – especially hymns.
First Baptist Church of Fort Worth started an early Sunday morning traditional service in 2004, togo with its 11 a.m. contemporary service. Northeast Houston Baptist offers two Sunday contemporary services, but just had the first anniversary of an early morning service that's heavy on hymns and even includes some liturgy.
Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., founded by Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life, is famously and influentially contemporary in worship style. But last September it added a Sunday service called "Traditions," complete with hymnals, to its several worship style options.
"Although it is not one of our larger venues, it is extremely popular with those who attend," said Gerald Sharon, part of Saddleback's pastoral staff.
Across the country and across denominations, there are churches that feature contemporary worship but offer a traditional option. Quite a few, including Allentown Presbyterian in Allentown, N.J., and Spokane Valley United Methodist in Spokane Valley, Wash., use the term "classic" to describe the service.
"'Classic' makes me chuckle. It sounds like oldies rock for boomers!" said Mark Miller-McLemore, an assistant professor of the practice of ministry at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tenn. Others, including Mr. Stroope, said "Classic Service" reminded them of "Coca-Cola Classic," a term born of the New Coke fiasco.
No one can dispute that the contemporary-style worship has helped churches grow by pulling in "unchurched" young and middle-aged people, who tend to like the informality and rock-influenced music. It's still far more common to see a mainline church experimenting with a contemporary service than a contemporary-style church trying out tradition.
But some students of the contemporary style say that much of its music lacks the melodic sophistication of enduring hymns, or the poetry and doctrinal depth of lyrics penned by such writers as Charles Wesley ("Love Divine, All Loves Excelling"), Isaac Watts ("When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"), Fanny Crosby ("Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine") or Thomas Dorsey ("Precious Lord, Take My Hand").
And while traditional worship can be stiff and uninvolving, the contemporary experience – music, big screens, mood lighting – is often derided as "church lite."
"When done incorrectly, contemporary services are all foam and no root beer," said Nathan Lino, Northeast Houston Baptist's pastor. "They are entertaining, fun and high energy, but you leave with no sense of having had a meaningful time of worship. ... I do think churches are beginning to realize that there is a growing desire for a shift back toward a more traditional style."
Mr. Stroope, 52, describes himself as equally fond of contemporary Christian music and hymns. He signed on as Lake Pointe's pastor in 1980, a few months after it was founded by seven families in an abandoned bait shop. Now Lake Pointe has 10,000 members and a $12 million budget –and the contemporary worship style is clearly one of the reasons.
But as Mr. Stroope watched the church grow, he worried that a percentage of its loyal members were gritting their teeth through the electrified praise music.
"We just really felt led that there was agroup of people in our church that come out of the builder generation [pre-baby boomers] who very graciously, because they love everything else about our church, tolerated our style of music," Mr. Stroope said.
"I just realized that we had grown to such a size that we probably had a critical mass of those folks."
Trying new things is old hat for Lake Pointe, on Interstate 30 just east of Lake Ray Hubbard. Formal dress has been de-emphasized to the point that denim is prevalent, and Mr. Stroope doesn't wear a coat or tie when he preaches. The church is Southern Baptist, but changed its name from Dalrock Baptist to Lake Pointe Baptist and finally dropped "Baptist" because leaders felt it kept some people away.
Lake Pointe has a coffee shop, selling crumb muffins and espresso on Sunday mornings. Bible study and mission work get strong emphasis, but so do support groups for folks grieving or struggling with substance abuse. Lake Pointe has 12 worship services, with satellite campuses in Mesquite and Sulphur Springs, where members watch Mr. Stroope on video. Even when preaching live, he'll integrate video clips into the message.
To run the classic service, Mr. Stroope recruited the church's senior adult pastor, Lyn Cypert, and hired Don Blackley, a veteran Dallas-area Baptist minister of music. This was a little ironic, because when Lake Pointe sold off its choral library in pre-Classic Service days, Mr. Blackley bought 31 of its anthems and orchestrations for First Baptist in Garland, where he was interim music director.
"Now I'm building back a choral library I helped diminish," he said.
This being Lake Pointe, the traditional service Mr. Blackley runs has contemporary touches. The dress is still casual, and though Mr. Stroope sometimes comes in and preaches, more often his taped message is shown on a big screen.
But a real live choir – consisting of soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections – rehearses each Wednesday night to perform on Sunday mornings. Mr. Blackley has enrolled 60 singers, with usual attendance of 40 to 45.
"It is weighted toward seniors," he said. "But we have a 19-year-old alto, a 26-year-old tenor, a 28-year-old tenor and some young moms."
The regular accompaniment is by organ and grand piano. One Sunday, Mr. Blackley supplemented with a brass ensemble, another Sunday with a flute quartet, and this Sunday he'll have a 16-piece group, consisting mostly of winds but also a violinand cello.
The choir has done Southern gospel, various hymn arrangements and some fairly new pieces that have made their way into choral repertoire, including one by acclaimed British composer John Rutter.
"I'm challenging the heck out of this choir," Mr. Blackley, 64, said. "There'll come a point when we'll do something from Beethoven and Handel, but it'll be sprinkled in. We'll find ourselves more often doing gospel and hymns."
As for the worshippers at the Classic Service, they, too, skew senior. Jerry Walker, 66 of Rowlett, is among the regulars.
"What's incredible to me is, you've got the freedom and acceptance Lake Pointe offers, yet now you've got the traditional service, too," he said. "The music that's in the contemporary service – well, it's just harder for me to sing along with."
Quite a few middle-age folks attend the Classic Service, along with a sprinking of younger adults, such as Brad and Cindy Bianucci, who take their three small children. The music draws the Bianuccis, as it does Oria Mason, 50.
"If I was 20, I'd still be coming," he said. "I love to hear good ol' gospel. I was brought up with it. It sticks with you."
On a recent Sunday, the choir sang a hymn familiar to most Baptists – "I Surrender All." But the arrangement, by Mark Hayes, was different and arresting, beginning with a bluesy alto solo, moving to accompanied four-part singing, then to a brief a cappella section, then to a rousing finish by singers and instrumentalists alike.
And when it was over, some deep-voiced men in the congregation provided a classic response.
"Amen!"
Contemporary-style churches aren't alone in giving tradition a try. More than a few Christian recording artists who made their name with new material are recording familiar hymns these days, often with fresh tunes or arrangements. The Contemporary Christian music magazine CCM did a cover story on the subject last year.
The trend cheers Terry York, a hymn writer and an associate professorof Christian ministry and music at Baylor University in Waco. "There's something about the literary form and musical form called hymn," he said. "It carries more of the emotions and the responses that we want to give back to God in worship."
Some individual or group artists who have lately recorded hymns: Selah, Jars of Clay, Chris Tomlin, Out of Eden, Amy Grant, Ashley Cleveland.
Sam Hodges
Don Blackley is music leader for the "Classic Service" at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall. But he's a fan of all styles of sacred music. Here are some of his favorites in various categories. All are found in the Celebration Hymnal used at Lake Pointe.
Hymns
"Amazing Grace"
Text: John Newton; music: traditional melody
"Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
Text: Thomas Chisholm; music: William Runyan
"How Great Thou Art"
Text: Carl Boberg, Stuart Hine; music, Swedish folk melody
"All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"
Text: Edward Perronet; music: multiple tunes/settings
"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"
Text: Isaac Watts; music: Lowell Mason
Gospel Songs
"The Old Rugged Cross"
Text and music: George Bennard
"In the Garden"
Text and music: C. Austin Miles
"Because He Lives"
Text: Gloria Gaither, William Gaither; music: William Gaither
"To God Be the Glory"
Text: Fanny Crosby; music: William Doane
"Victory in Jesus"
Text and music: E.M. Bartlett
"The Solid Rock"
Text: Edward Mote; music: William Bradbury
Newer Hymns
"Amazing Love"
Text and music: Graham Kendrick
"Lamb of God"
Text and music: Twila Paris
Shine, Jesus, Shine
Text and music: Graham Kendrick
"As the Deer"
Text and music: Martin Nystrom
Contemporary Praise Choruses
(Mr. Blackley notes: "These are not cutting-edge choruses, but are several years old and have proved themselves enough to be in a mainline hymnal.")
"With All My Heart"
Text and music: Babbie Mason
"You Are My All in All"
Text and music: Dennis Jernigan
"I Love You, Lord"
Text and music: Laurie Klein
"Lord, I Lift Your Name on High"
Text and music: Rick Founds
"Holy Ground"
Text and music: Geron Davis
"Thy Word"
Text: Amy Grant; music: Michael W. S
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McClurkin Bowing Out Of Music Biz By Billboard Magazine
March 21, 2005, 10:50 AM ET
Deborah Evans Price, Nashville
Platinum-selling Verity Records artist Donnie McClurkin says he's retiring from the music business after he delivers the last album on his contract next year. "I'm on my way out," McClurkin tells Billboard.com. "2006 should be the end of me, by 2007, I should be history." He says the industry is in good hands with Kirk Franklin, CeCe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Fred Hammond and others, and he never intended to be in the music business for the long haul. "I'm done and I have to pastor the church that I'm pastoring. That's my focus now," he says of the Perfected Faith Church in Freeport, N.Y., that he founded four years ago. "I want to concentrate on building people and going further than most people think to go in church. I'm interested in people who are on the street, that are disenchanted with church and devising ways of reaching them. God's allowed me to use my notoriety so far as a platform, but now I have to learn how to expand it from here." McClurkin says he'll never completely abandon music, as he'll continue to sing at his church. "I'm retiring from the whole industry, but not from singing," he says. "I'm retiring from the commerciality of it, but I'll still be at church singing up a storm and recording my church choir's album." Verity is preparing McClurkin's new two-CD set, "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs," for an April 5 release. The album was recorded last June at the Rock Church in Virginia Beach, Va.
The biography "From Darkness to Light: The Donnie McClurkin Story" was released last fall on DVD and is airing this month on BET. A performance DVD of "Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs" is due May 24.
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