Thus Sings the Church-Thus Goes the Church

Thus Sings the Church Catholic-Thus Goes the Church Catholic We are instructed to sing to each other in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual songs.  The CCLI report ("The 25 Most Sung Worship Songs in American Churches") Click here: MondayMorningInsight.com is limited at best. Some Worship Songs are limited to the culture, denomination, and generation that have embraced the "praise and worship" format. The 25 Most Sung Worship Songs in American may not be the 25 Most Sung Worship Songs in church across America. They may not reflect the diverse styles, denominations, cultures, and generations in America. The church is catholic. Catholic adj. Of broad or liberal scope; comprehensive. The Worship Music of the church catholic is eclectic in style. We can not say that these are the Worship Songs of the church catholic. ' We can not say the church catholic accepted them and sings them just as though the church catholic had written them and as though they were the church's songs. '  Thus Sings the Church-Thus Goes the Church? The church catholic is not monolithic. Historical, restrained and careful reflection will help us conclude that all Worship songs are not dance songs (Sa2 6:14).  Posted by Sid Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 8:04 AM Now Bishop James don’t leave us hanging here. Help this white boy out with your list of the top twenty-five songs that move your people in worship. I won’t promise you that I’ll be able to dance to them, but I’ll sure be willing to give them a try in worship. Historical, restrained and careful reflection will help us conclude that all Worship Songs are not Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual songs. Asian, African-American, European, Hispanic, Hymns are,  'sui generis'--the products of an art having its own qualities and requirements.  'Sui generis' Latin expression, literally meaning of its own kind/genus or unique in its characteristics. The character of the music is not the main issue. The excellence and integrity of the art may be an important consideration.  God judges the heart of the music gift and giver. The message, season, style and usefulness measures the gifts expediency in worship. Carl F. Price, 'What Is a Hymn' [Paper of the Hymn Society of America, 1937] A Christian hymn is a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshipper's attitude toward God, or God's purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it. [Used by permission.] 1. a metrical poem 2. reverent and devotional in nature 3. poetic and literary in style 4. spiritual in quality 5. expresses the worshipper's attitude toward God 6. unites the congregation who SINGS it. Carl Schalk stated for Luther there were five pivotal understandings, five "paradigms of praise": (1) music as God's creation and gift; (2) music as proclamation and praise; (3) music as liturgical song; (4) music as the song of royal priests; and (5) music as a sign of continuity with the whole church. Martin Luther "How strange and wonderful it is that one voice sings a simple unpretentious tune . . . while three, four, or five other voices are also sung; these voices play and sway in joyful exuberance around the tune and with ever-varying art and tuneful sound wondrously adorn and beautify it, and in a celestial roundelay meet in friendly caress and lovely embrace; so that anyone, having a little understanding, must be moved and greatly wonder, and come to the conclusion that there is nothing rarer in the whole world than a song adorned by so many voices."