On the first Sunday of this new year, we (my family & I) attended another church. For some, this would seem an unusual way to begin, but for me, the pastor of a church, it’s a very infrequent occurrence. Since I take the week off between Christmas and New Years, I always have opportunity to check out other churches on that first Sunday of a new year.
One of the choruses sung during the service was “Be The Center.” Michael Frye is the author; Vineyard is the publisher. Here are the lyrics:
Jesus, be the center, be the source, be my light, Jesus.
Chorus: Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in my sails, be the reason I live, Jesus, Jesus.
Jesus, be the center, be my hope, be my song, Jesus.
Jesus, be my vision, be my path, be my guide.
Chorus: Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in my sails, be the reason I live, Jesus, Jesus.
This song was new to me, so I simply listened while the worship team sang (I think the congregation of over 1,000 was singing, but the amplification was so loud in this auditorium you could not hear others singing, even those immediately behind me). The tune was nondescript, kind of a lilting melody that would never stick in one’s mind to find yourself humming unconsciously later on in the day.
Some of the phrases don’t bother me. I mean, Jesus Himself calls Himself the light of the world. However, I’m really wondering what was going on in the writer’s mind when he wrote, “be the wind in my sails”? I mean really! Where in Scripture would you ever find such a romanticized piece of pap? I was almost expecting Bette Midler to jump out from behind the curtain and sing, “You Are the Wind Beneath Me Wings.”
This particular church has two services: the early service has a full orchestra and features “traditional” music, while the second service is called a “celebration” service featuring contemporary worship music, a full-size praise band and all the trimmings. The thing I wonder about is this: if the second service’s intent is to reach out to the unchurched and the formerly churched, then how in the world are you going to help them see the real Jesus of Scripture with songs such as “Be The Center”? But wait, I think I just answered my own question: “…how in the world are they going to do this…?” In the world, it’s all possible: just name your target, claim a method and gain an audience.
How much better, and worthy, it would be to offer the world a more godly version of hymnody, such as I found on Slice of Laodicea (http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/) today:
Word of God the most high, our sole hope,
eternal day of the earth and heavens
as we break the silence of the peaceful night
divine saviour, look down upon us.
Imbue us with the fire of thy great mercy
so that hell itself will flee at the sound of your voice
disperse the sleep which leads our languishing souls
to stray from the path of righteousness.
O Christ show your favour to your faithful people
who have come together to worship you
receive the praises that they offer up to your immortal glory
and may they come back laden with the gift of your grace.
May God grant me the grace to worship Him in spirit and in truth this new year.