Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Worship
Warning: Irreverence ahead.
Yesterday at church, not in the main service, but in our young adult group, I noticed a VERY BAD TYPO on one of the overheads. Here is where we discover why being correct is VERY important. I was appreciating the fact that we were singing a hymn, and then this line appeared: "See Him prostate in the Garden." My eyes went very wide. I managed to quell the laughter and channel it into coughing. But away went any hope of sincere worship from me for the rest of the morning. Prostrate. Not prostate. There is a second R, and it makes a BIG difference, people.
Also yesterday, this time in the main service, we sang "Better is One Day." I really like this song. But I cannot sing it without thinking of a comment we once received in the church office at Green Hills. After complaining about the song being too fast, the person claimed that "even Jesus couldn't have sung that fast." Far be it from me to comment on how fast Jesus can sing. But yesterday at PBC, as we sang a slower version of the song, I thought to myself, "I wonder if this is a better tempo for Jesus." I honestly think that God laughs with me when I think things like this.
Along these same lines, I've been following a blog entry and its subsequent comments on the topic of "Top Five Worst Worship Songs."
Favorite comment yet: "Isn't it ironic that if God really answered me when I sang "Trading My Sorrows," we would never sing that song again? Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes, Lord. Amen."
Indeed.
All of this started me thinking about worship songs that have been ruined for me by some association I have formed with the music or words.
Shout to the North: Melinda commented once that the rhythm of this song reminds her of a German drinking song. Now, whenever I hear the chorus: "Shout to the North and the South," I picture sweaty bearded German men sloshing their beer steins in time to the music. Thanks, Mel.
Let Everything that has Breath: When I was working in the church office at Green Hills, Jamie once told us a story about a pastor's mis-reading of Psalm 150. With a triumphant final line, the pastor shouted out, "Let everything that has breasts praise the Lord!" Call me juvenile, but I've only recently been able to get past the urge to giggle when we get to the chorus of this song.
We Want to See Jesus Lifted High: My first issue with this song was that it made me think of Alice, a blind lady at Green Hills. I'm not being cruel; she tells more blind jokes than the rest of us. But when it repeats, "We want to see, we want to see," well, I think of Alice and laugh to myself. And then, thanks to Eric's performance of Heather's VBS choreography on this song, I have a hard time keeping a straight face at "Strongholds come tumbling down and down and down and down." Unfortunately, the image of Eric shaking his butt on those lines is permanently burned into my memory. (ACH, MY EYES!!!!!!!!)
And a hymn:
He Touched Me: Ok, go ahead and tell me I have my mind in the gutter, but the title just sounds completely inappropriate. Either that, or it sounds like little kids fighting: "Mo-om!! He touched me!!"
Yesterday at church, not in the main service, but in our young adult group, I noticed a VERY BAD TYPO on one of the overheads. Here is where we discover why being correct is VERY important. I was appreciating the fact that we were singing a hymn, and then this line appeared: "See Him prostate in the Garden." My eyes went very wide. I managed to quell the laughter and channel it into coughing. But away went any hope of sincere worship from me for the rest of the morning. Prostrate. Not prostate. There is a second R, and it makes a BIG difference, people.
Also yesterday, this time in the main service, we sang "Better is One Day." I really like this song. But I cannot sing it without thinking of a comment we once received in the church office at Green Hills. After complaining about the song being too fast, the person claimed that "even Jesus couldn't have sung that fast." Far be it from me to comment on how fast Jesus can sing. But yesterday at PBC, as we sang a slower version of the song, I thought to myself, "I wonder if this is a better tempo for Jesus." I honestly think that God laughs with me when I think things like this.
Along these same lines, I've been following a blog entry and its subsequent comments on the topic of "Top Five Worst Worship Songs."
Favorite comment yet: "Isn't it ironic that if God really answered me when I sang "Trading My Sorrows," we would never sing that song again? Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes, Lord. Amen."
Indeed.
All of this started me thinking about worship songs that have been ruined for me by some association I have formed with the music or words.
Shout to the North: Melinda commented once that the rhythm of this song reminds her of a German drinking song. Now, whenever I hear the chorus: "Shout to the North and the South," I picture sweaty bearded German men sloshing their beer steins in time to the music. Thanks, Mel.
Let Everything that has Breath: When I was working in the church office at Green Hills, Jamie once told us a story about a pastor's mis-reading of Psalm 150. With a triumphant final line, the pastor shouted out, "Let everything that has breasts praise the Lord!" Call me juvenile, but I've only recently been able to get past the urge to giggle when we get to the chorus of this song.
We Want to See Jesus Lifted High: My first issue with this song was that it made me think of Alice, a blind lady at Green Hills. I'm not being cruel; she tells more blind jokes than the rest of us. But when it repeats, "We want to see, we want to see," well, I think of Alice and laugh to myself. And then, thanks to Eric's performance of Heather's VBS choreography on this song, I have a hard time keeping a straight face at "Strongholds come tumbling down and down and down and down." Unfortunately, the image of Eric shaking his butt on those lines is permanently burned into my memory. (ACH, MY EYES!!!!!!!!)
And a hymn:
He Touched Me: Ok, go ahead and tell me I have my mind in the gutter, but the title just sounds completely inappropriate. Either that, or it sounds like little kids fighting: "Mo-om!! He touched me!!"
| posted by Barbara | 12:24 AM