If psalms are psalms, and hymns are also psalms, then spiritual songs are songs about spiritual things, right? According to the superficial reading of the Ephesians and Colossians passages, yes. This is what I thought until I read the passages in the Greek, and I found that the Greek word for "spiritual" refers to "of, or by the Spirit." This indicates that the songs the apostle commands us to sing are inspired songs, not songs about spiritual things merely.
This is huge. This really led me to embrace exclusive psalmody (even though I'm not arguing for such in these blogs). If we are to sing psalms, which are inspired by the Holy Spirit and songs inspired by the Holy Spirit, then whatever we believe hymns are we are to sing primarily inspired material. Since we know where to find psalms, where do we find spiritual songs (the commands assume that there are a bevy of spiritual songs ready to sing; this is not a commandment to compose them)? We find in them in the Holy Scriptures. A spiritual song is the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, Deborah's Song in Judges 5, and there are other inspired songs in the Holy Scriptures outside of the Book of Psalms. Habbakuk has a song, and there are songs throughout the prophecy of Jeremiah in addition to the Book of Lamentations. Could Paul have been pointing us back to those? I don't know. The bottom line, however, is that it is clear that the Church of Jesus Christ is to sing inspired songs in its praise. All of the above mentioned songs in Scripture came from inspired people.
I'm calling National Baptists back to the psalms! I have a nice collection of hymnals, and what I have found is that the Lutherans have a psalter section in the Lutheran hymnal, and the United Methodists have a psalter section in the 1989 hymnal. What do we Baptists have? Other than lots of psalms in the Baptist edition of Trinity Hymnal, Baptists are hard pressed to find plenty of psalms in their hymnals. National Baptists have a few psalm settings in their hymnals.
We need to sing the psalms! Are the songs of Andrae Crouch, Kirk Franklin, Lucie Campbell, Clevant Derricks, Charles A. Tindlay, Thomas A. Dorsey, and our slave forebears greater than those written by David, the sweet psalmist of Israel? Did not Jesus tell the Eleven that the psalms speak of him in Luke 24? Do we believe that there are Spirit-inspired "psalmists" today? Traditionally, National Baptists do not. Let's sing the psalms!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Hymnals for National Baptists
I know there are three extant hymnals published by National Baptists. There is the ever so popular New National Baptist Hymnal published by Boyd, there is the New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century also published by Boyd, and there is the Baptist Standard Hymnal published by the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. Out of the three I prefer the Baptist Standard Hymnal because it contains better hymns by better hymn writers like Watts, Toplady, and Bliss. The hymns mostly are Evangelical Protestant hymns that agree with Baptist doctrine.
Outside of these National Baptist hymnals, I would suggest others for National Baptists who are serious about reform. First, Trinity Hymnal (1961 or 1990). This hymnal is used by conservative Presbyterian churches such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America. There is a Baptist Edition of the 1961 Trinity Hymnal used by Reformed Baptist churches. The strenght of Trinity Hymnal is in the richness of its psalm settings and psalm paraphrases. For National Baptist churches that have never sung a psalm there are very good psalm settings here. There are also hymns that reflect that doctrines of Protestantism. This is a far cry from what is being sung in National Baptist churches today. The contemporary stuff is largely from a Charismatic-Pentecostal bend. National Baptists need to begin to sing the Bible from a Reformed Protestant perspective, which would be true to the New Hampshire Declaration of Faith. Second, I recommend the Psalter-Hymnal, which the Christian Reformed Church publishes. The strength of this Psalter-Hymnal is just that: it has 150 Psalms plus other psalm settings. The hymns reflect the teachings of Reformed Protestantism.
In the service of song, it is imperative to sing what is true of God, Christ, the Spirit, man, salvation, etc. First, the psalms do this in perfect truth; second, good scripture songs do it as well. We must sing the Bible!
Even though I believe in supporting Boyd Publishing and the Sunday School Publishing Board, National Baptists must support the Scriptural mandate to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Current hymnals lack the wherewithal to carry out the biblical commands. There is a gem published by Boyd. It is the National Baptist Hymnal originally published in 1905 (I believe); it is a words-only hymnal with great old, classic Evangelical hymns. There are plenty of Watts' hymns, which I would sing in a heartbeat compared to Contemporary stuff. If churches refuse to adopt the Trinity Hymnal, or the Psalter-Hymnal, the National Baptist Hymnal would be a better choice than sticking with the New National Baptist Hymnal.
Outside of these National Baptist hymnals, I would suggest others for National Baptists who are serious about reform. First, Trinity Hymnal (1961 or 1990). This hymnal is used by conservative Presbyterian churches such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America. There is a Baptist Edition of the 1961 Trinity Hymnal used by Reformed Baptist churches. The strenght of Trinity Hymnal is in the richness of its psalm settings and psalm paraphrases. For National Baptist churches that have never sung a psalm there are very good psalm settings here. There are also hymns that reflect that doctrines of Protestantism. This is a far cry from what is being sung in National Baptist churches today. The contemporary stuff is largely from a Charismatic-Pentecostal bend. National Baptists need to begin to sing the Bible from a Reformed Protestant perspective, which would be true to the New Hampshire Declaration of Faith. Second, I recommend the Psalter-Hymnal, which the Christian Reformed Church publishes. The strength of this Psalter-Hymnal is just that: it has 150 Psalms plus other psalm settings. The hymns reflect the teachings of Reformed Protestantism.
In the service of song, it is imperative to sing what is true of God, Christ, the Spirit, man, salvation, etc. First, the psalms do this in perfect truth; second, good scripture songs do it as well. We must sing the Bible!
Even though I believe in supporting Boyd Publishing and the Sunday School Publishing Board, National Baptists must support the Scriptural mandate to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Current hymnals lack the wherewithal to carry out the biblical commands. There is a gem published by Boyd. It is the National Baptist Hymnal originally published in 1905 (I believe); it is a words-only hymnal with great old, classic Evangelical hymns. There are plenty of Watts' hymns, which I would sing in a heartbeat compared to Contemporary stuff. If churches refuse to adopt the Trinity Hymnal, or the Psalter-Hymnal, the National Baptist Hymnal would be a better choice than sticking with the New National Baptist Hymnal.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Hymn in Acts 16:25
As I did some more bible reading and studying on the nature of a hymn, I found that I made a mistake regarding the rendering of Acts 16:25. In the previous blog, I mentioned that Luke used a verb form of hymn. Actually, Luke wrote the noun form. So Paul and Silas actually sang a hymn, or sang hymns. I went to Matthew Henry's commentary today and Henry argues that the hymns or hymn Paul and Silas sung were psalms. He, like other Puritan Reformed commentators of yesterday, believed that the use of the word hymn in Scripture was synonymous with the word psalm.
The great Baptist pastor and theologian, John Gill, also held that hymns (especially in Eph 5:19) were synonymous with psalms. His point is that the hymns listed by Paul were inspired just as the psalms were.
This poses a big problem for contemporary proponents of singing uninspired hymns. Anyway, I blogged today just to clear up one of my own mistakes.
The great Baptist pastor and theologian, John Gill, also held that hymns (especially in Eph 5:19) were synonymous with psalms. His point is that the hymns listed by Paul were inspired just as the psalms were.
This poses a big problem for contemporary proponents of singing uninspired hymns. Anyway, I blogged today just to clear up one of my own mistakes.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
What hymns?
I spent a lot of time dealing with psalm-singing because it is nearly universally neglected these days. I can also say that hymn-singing is neglected these days. Most Evangelical churches sing praise and worship songs, and African American Baptist churches sing a mix of praise and worship songs and Urban Contemporary Gospel. Hymns are infrequently sung. With the exception of one church, the African American Baptist churches I've been a member of sung the same few hymns over and over such as "Amazing Grace," "At the Cross," "Blessed Assurance," "Blessed Quietness," etc. I never sang "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" until I was in my early twenties, and I had been a baptized member of a church since I was six years old! As I lamented the absence of psalm-singing, I must also lament the absence of hymn-singing.
As I came to think of reformation in African American Baptist worship some years ago, I was eager to learn a definition of a hymn. I automatically assumed that a hymn was any song in a hymnal, and the only hymnal I was familiar with at the time (1999) was the New National Baptist Hymnal, which has a good number of traditional hymns such as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," and hymns by Newton, Wesley, and Watts. As I thought about the meaning of a hymn, I knew that the apostle Paul could not have meant those when he commanded the Church to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I asked a friend of mine who was Russian Orthodox and working on a Master's degree in music; she also directed a choir at a Methodist Church here in the Lansing area. She told me that a hymn was a biblical text set to music. With that, I knew that most hymns in hymn books are not hymns!
After this, I was done with my own assumptions. I finally went to the bible, and I found that the word "hymn" is used a few times in NT. Other than Paul's use in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, Matthew and Mark use the verb form of hymn in their accounts of the Lord's Supper. In Matthew 26:30 and Mark 13:26, the writers state that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn after the supper. Well, I knew that because at my home church we ended our Lord's Supper service with those words from the gospels. We sang "Glory to his Name." I learned from commentators that Jesus and the disciples sang from Psalms 113-118, the Hallel. No one disputes this. Here in the gospels to sing a hymn is to sing psalms. It is interesting that translators of the 1599 Geneva Bible translate hymn as psalm in Matthew 26:30. The only other use of the verb form of hymn is found in Acts 16:25, where Paul and Silas sing "praises" in the prison at midnight. Again, the translators of the Geneva Bible translate "praises" as "psalms," and most commentators agree that Paul and Silas sang psalms. If we use the Scriptures to interpret themselves, then, we have a good argument that hymns and psalms are interchangeable terms.
For those unconvinced with this argument, at least, you can agree that a hymn must be addressed to God, or Jesus Christ that is biblical; a hymn must express the true character of the Trinue God and his marvelous works. Where do we find such? I'll address this in the next blog.
As I came to think of reformation in African American Baptist worship some years ago, I was eager to learn a definition of a hymn. I automatically assumed that a hymn was any song in a hymnal, and the only hymnal I was familiar with at the time (1999) was the New National Baptist Hymnal, which has a good number of traditional hymns such as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," and hymns by Newton, Wesley, and Watts. As I thought about the meaning of a hymn, I knew that the apostle Paul could not have meant those when he commanded the Church to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I asked a friend of mine who was Russian Orthodox and working on a Master's degree in music; she also directed a choir at a Methodist Church here in the Lansing area. She told me that a hymn was a biblical text set to music. With that, I knew that most hymns in hymn books are not hymns!
After this, I was done with my own assumptions. I finally went to the bible, and I found that the word "hymn" is used a few times in NT. Other than Paul's use in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, Matthew and Mark use the verb form of hymn in their accounts of the Lord's Supper. In Matthew 26:30 and Mark 13:26, the writers state that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn after the supper. Well, I knew that because at my home church we ended our Lord's Supper service with those words from the gospels. We sang "Glory to his Name." I learned from commentators that Jesus and the disciples sang from Psalms 113-118, the Hallel. No one disputes this. Here in the gospels to sing a hymn is to sing psalms. It is interesting that translators of the 1599 Geneva Bible translate hymn as psalm in Matthew 26:30. The only other use of the verb form of hymn is found in Acts 16:25, where Paul and Silas sing "praises" in the prison at midnight. Again, the translators of the Geneva Bible translate "praises" as "psalms," and most commentators agree that Paul and Silas sang psalms. If we use the Scriptures to interpret themselves, then, we have a good argument that hymns and psalms are interchangeable terms.
For those unconvinced with this argument, at least, you can agree that a hymn must be addressed to God, or Jesus Christ that is biblical; a hymn must express the true character of the Trinue God and his marvelous works. Where do we find such? I'll address this in the next blog.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Helps for would be Psalm-Singing
It is clear that the Church of Jesus Christ must sing the Songs of Zion, which are the holy psalms. The Reformers were in agreement on this: Luther loved the psalms and retained psalm-singing in the German Mass; Calvin loved the psalms and he recruited a French poet named Clement Marot to put many of the psalms in meter for congregational singing; Anglicans loved the psalms and sang them exclusively well into the 18th century; and the Puritans loved the psalms and sang them exclusively. In fact, the first book published in Colonial America was the Bay Psalm Book.
When Baptists came on the scene in the 17th century, there was debate regarding the propriety of singing in the worship of God. General Baptists in England (and in America)believed that NT gave no warrant for singing in the public worship. Particular Baptists were the ones to begin singing, but there was disagreement regarding what to sing: were they to sing the biblical psalms, or was there warrant to compose their own hymns to sing? Some Baptists did sing the psalms, as reported by Terry Johnson in his marvelous essay, "Why the Psalms." So important was this issue of singing that the writers of the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of 1742 added an article called, "On the Singing of Psalms." Thank Calvinistic Baptists for recognizing that NT does warrant praise in the public worship of God.
As may be obvious, Baptists did include hymns of human composition in their service of praise. The 1689 London Confession actually differs from the Westminster Confession on this note. In chapter 22, article five, the Baptist writers stated "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" are to be sung. The Westminster divines, however, write in chapter 21, article that only "psalms" are to be sung. Also the Westminster Directory of Worship indicates that psalms are to be sung only. The Westminster Standards allow only psalms to be sung, but the Baptists theoretically allow humanly composed hymns and spiritual songs. (The meaning of hymns and spiritual songs are up for debate). It is interesting that hymns of human composition totally replaced the psalms within a few generations among Baptists.
Besides all of this, Baptists must sing psalms. How to get started? First, make psalm-singing a priority in the service of song. This means adding a Psalter for congregational singing. There are three psalters I suggest: one, Trinity Psalter, which published a words-only thin psalter that is good for churches used to singing hymns because the suggested tunes will be familiar; second, the Psalter-Hymnal of the Christian Reformed Church, which has all 150 psalms in the front of the book with good scripture songs that are mostly psalms; and third, The Psalter used by more conservative Dutch Reformed communions and published by Eerdmans.
I suggest singing one psalm per service (or portions of longer psalms) to begin with. Use a setting with a familiar tune. For example, in Trinity Psalter Psalm 3 is set to the tune of "Amazing Grace." Eventually, I suggest singing two psalms, or two portions of psalms during the service of song. Since the psalms are the inspired word of God, it makes sense to sing what is perfect, true, full of heavenly wisdom, and that reveals our God and his Christ more than the best uninspired words of man.
Can we improve upon what the Holy Spirit has given? Calvin, in his Preface to the Psalter, wrote:
When Baptists came on the scene in the 17th century, there was debate regarding the propriety of singing in the worship of God. General Baptists in England (and in America)believed that NT gave no warrant for singing in the public worship. Particular Baptists were the ones to begin singing, but there was disagreement regarding what to sing: were they to sing the biblical psalms, or was there warrant to compose their own hymns to sing? Some Baptists did sing the psalms, as reported by Terry Johnson in his marvelous essay, "Why the Psalms." So important was this issue of singing that the writers of the Philadelphia Baptist Confession of 1742 added an article called, "On the Singing of Psalms." Thank Calvinistic Baptists for recognizing that NT does warrant praise in the public worship of God.
As may be obvious, Baptists did include hymns of human composition in their service of praise. The 1689 London Confession actually differs from the Westminster Confession on this note. In chapter 22, article five, the Baptist writers stated "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" are to be sung. The Westminster divines, however, write in chapter 21, article that only "psalms" are to be sung. Also the Westminster Directory of Worship indicates that psalms are to be sung only. The Westminster Standards allow only psalms to be sung, but the Baptists theoretically allow humanly composed hymns and spiritual songs. (The meaning of hymns and spiritual songs are up for debate). It is interesting that hymns of human composition totally replaced the psalms within a few generations among Baptists.
Besides all of this, Baptists must sing psalms. How to get started? First, make psalm-singing a priority in the service of song. This means adding a Psalter for congregational singing. There are three psalters I suggest: one, Trinity Psalter, which published a words-only thin psalter that is good for churches used to singing hymns because the suggested tunes will be familiar; second, the Psalter-Hymnal of the Christian Reformed Church, which has all 150 psalms in the front of the book with good scripture songs that are mostly psalms; and third, The Psalter used by more conservative Dutch Reformed communions and published by Eerdmans.
I suggest singing one psalm per service (or portions of longer psalms) to begin with. Use a setting with a familiar tune. For example, in Trinity Psalter Psalm 3 is set to the tune of "Amazing Grace." Eventually, I suggest singing two psalms, or two portions of psalms during the service of song. Since the psalms are the inspired word of God, it makes sense to sing what is perfect, true, full of heavenly wisdom, and that reveals our God and his Christ more than the best uninspired words of man.
Can we improve upon what the Holy Spirit has given? Calvin, in his Preface to the Psalter, wrote:
What is there now to do? It is to have songs not only honest, but also holy, which will be like spurs to incite us to pray to and praise God, and to meditate upon his works in order to love, fear, honor and glorify him. Moreover, that which St. Augustine has said is true, that no one is able to sing things worthy of God except that which he has received from him. Therefore, when we have looked thoroughly, and searched here and there, we shall not find better songs nor more fitting for the purpose, than the Psalms of David, which the Holy Spirit spoke and made through him.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Why the Psalms?
According to Church history, Christians have always sung psalms. There are many who argue that the Church of Christ must sing the psalms exclusive to the singing of uninspired hymns. My intention in these blogs is not to argue for exclusive psalmody, though I believe the argument for exclusive psalmody is convincing. My intention is simply to posit a humble argument that the Church must sing the psalms in the worship of God.
Why the psalms? First, it is commanded. I've already given scriptural support for this. Second, the Holy Spirit has given the Church 150 psalms to sing. Third, the psalms are the Word of God that speak vividly about the Lord Jesus Christ (see Luke 24:44). Fourth, it is clear that NT churches sang the psalms (see 1 Cor 14:15, 26). Fifth, the Holy Catholic Church sang the psalms throughout its history as attested to by Church Fathers like Chrysostom and Augustine. Fifth, the 16th century Reformers restored both congregational singing and psalm-singing to their rightful place; and John Calvin is most responsible for this by helping to produce the Genevan Psalter. Psalm-sing became synonymous with Protestantism.
Protestants have forsaken a noble and spiritual heritage by neglecting the psalms. Since National Baptists hold to a confession of faith that upholds the inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy of the Scriptures, to sing uninspired hymns and other songs in place of the psalms is grave problem. Because our worship must be Word-based, I argue that psalm-singing must dominate the element of praise in Christian worship.
African American Baptists must never allow tradition to cloud our thinking regarding reforming our praise. More than Negro spirituals, Thomas Dorsey's gospel blues, and the songs of contemporary artists are the biblical psalms. How can we sing the words of man more than the words of God?
How to reform this element of worship? In the next blog, I'll offer some suggestions.
Why the psalms? First, it is commanded. I've already given scriptural support for this. Second, the Holy Spirit has given the Church 150 psalms to sing. Third, the psalms are the Word of God that speak vividly about the Lord Jesus Christ (see Luke 24:44). Fourth, it is clear that NT churches sang the psalms (see 1 Cor 14:15, 26). Fifth, the Holy Catholic Church sang the psalms throughout its history as attested to by Church Fathers like Chrysostom and Augustine. Fifth, the 16th century Reformers restored both congregational singing and psalm-singing to their rightful place; and John Calvin is most responsible for this by helping to produce the Genevan Psalter. Psalm-sing became synonymous with Protestantism.
Protestants have forsaken a noble and spiritual heritage by neglecting the psalms. Since National Baptists hold to a confession of faith that upholds the inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy of the Scriptures, to sing uninspired hymns and other songs in place of the psalms is grave problem. Because our worship must be Word-based, I argue that psalm-singing must dominate the element of praise in Christian worship.
African American Baptists must never allow tradition to cloud our thinking regarding reforming our praise. More than Negro spirituals, Thomas Dorsey's gospel blues, and the songs of contemporary artists are the biblical psalms. How can we sing the words of man more than the words of God?
How to reform this element of worship? In the next blog, I'll offer some suggestions.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Why NOT the Psalms?
I came into Reformed theology in late 1998. For me, the word of God began to make better sense, especially regarding the doctrine of election. Eventually, I learned that being Reformed, or Calvinistic had a great bearing on worship. In the Summer of 2002 I began to study worship song. Previously, I had come to hold seriously Paul's commands to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. My superficial understanding of those commands led me to believe that we should sing the biblical psalms in addition to hymns such as "A Mighty Fortress is our God," or "Amazing Grace," etc. I basically equated spiritual songs with good hymns that were doctrinally and theologically sound.
In 2002, I wanted to know more of the degree of prominence of psalm-singing in the contemporary church and historically. As I grew up in traditional African American Baptist churches, we never sang an entire psalm. I remember our choir at one church that sang a portion of Psalm 27 as a "prayer chant." That's it. As I thought about this, no one, I mean a pastor, ever looked in the Scriptures to state that we need to sing psalms. The first time I heard anyone even suggest psalm-singing was at a leadership meeting at a church where I served in the ministry; because of my ignorance, I blasted the idea calling it "High Church." I was wrong. The person that offered the suggestion was a musician who played at a Lutheran church and had been reared in African Methodism. I later learned that both of these traditions feature psalm singing or chanting.
When I did begin to study psalm-singing, I became convinced that not only should we sing psalms but we MUST sing psalms. How could I have missed this? I've referred already to Paul's commands in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3. James also commands psalm-singing: "Is any merry? let him sing psalms" (5:13b). We know that the Church at Corinth sang psalms (see I Corinthians 14:26). All of these NT commands support the commands in OT to sing psalms (see Psalm 95:2; 98:5). It is clear that the Church of God must sing psalms.
Since this is a clear command, why are there only two metrical psalms in The New National Baptist Hymnal(see Hymns 2, 7), one psalmodic refrain (Hymn 532), and four paraphrases of psalms (Hymns 19, 210, and 289). That's it. We know that few, if any, African American Baptist churches only sing from the hymnbook. Most of the singing is from whatever is contemporary in the gospel music industry. Because of such, psalm-singing is obsolete and forgotten.
To worship according to the word of God, African American Baptists must rediscover psalm-singing.
In 2002, I wanted to know more of the degree of prominence of psalm-singing in the contemporary church and historically. As I grew up in traditional African American Baptist churches, we never sang an entire psalm. I remember our choir at one church that sang a portion of Psalm 27 as a "prayer chant." That's it. As I thought about this, no one, I mean a pastor, ever looked in the Scriptures to state that we need to sing psalms. The first time I heard anyone even suggest psalm-singing was at a leadership meeting at a church where I served in the ministry; because of my ignorance, I blasted the idea calling it "High Church." I was wrong. The person that offered the suggestion was a musician who played at a Lutheran church and had been reared in African Methodism. I later learned that both of these traditions feature psalm singing or chanting.
When I did begin to study psalm-singing, I became convinced that not only should we sing psalms but we MUST sing psalms. How could I have missed this? I've referred already to Paul's commands in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3. James also commands psalm-singing: "Is any merry? let him sing psalms" (5:13b). We know that the Church at Corinth sang psalms (see I Corinthians 14:26). All of these NT commands support the commands in OT to sing psalms (see Psalm 95:2; 98:5). It is clear that the Church of God must sing psalms.
Since this is a clear command, why are there only two metrical psalms in The New National Baptist Hymnal(see Hymns 2, 7), one psalmodic refrain (Hymn 532), and four paraphrases of psalms (Hymns 19, 210, and 289). That's it. We know that few, if any, African American Baptist churches only sing from the hymnbook. Most of the singing is from whatever is contemporary in the gospel music industry. Because of such, psalm-singing is obsolete and forgotten.
To worship according to the word of God, African American Baptists must rediscover psalm-singing.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
And What Shall We Sing?
As mentioned in the previous blog, singing is an important portion of African American Baptist worship services. It is common, at least traditionally, for African American Baptist churches to have annual musicals. In these musicals, gospel music is the usual focus; though one of my former churches put on a portion of Handel's Messiah every December.
In the worship services I've attended over the years at African American Baptist churches, choirs usually sing up-to-date gospel and Urban Contemporary Christian music. Today, the writers are mostly Pentecostal/Charismatic and the lyrics often put forth false doctrines such as Word of Faith doctrines. Within the Pentecostal framework, there are many "Oneness" song writers and performers such as Marvin Sapp.
With this, if African American Baptist churches are to keep the commandments of biblical worship they must sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." Paul gave this commandment on two occasions (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16). This is it. The Church of Jesus Christ is to sing these only, but the question begs: what are psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs?
I intend to answer the question in subsequent blog entries. Have a blessed Lord's Day!
In the worship services I've attended over the years at African American Baptist churches, choirs usually sing up-to-date gospel and Urban Contemporary Christian music. Today, the writers are mostly Pentecostal/Charismatic and the lyrics often put forth false doctrines such as Word of Faith doctrines. Within the Pentecostal framework, there are many "Oneness" song writers and performers such as Marvin Sapp.
With this, if African American Baptist churches are to keep the commandments of biblical worship they must sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." Paul gave this commandment on two occasions (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16). This is it. The Church of Jesus Christ is to sing these only, but the question begs: what are psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs?
I intend to answer the question in subsequent blog entries. Have a blessed Lord's Day!
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