I wrote two posts earlier this week titled:
Hold It!….Don’t Throw Out Those Hymn Books Just Yet
and
So What’s This “Hymn Book” Issue Really About?
I specifically invited the 20-30 year old age group to comment about what is driving this increased interest in church history, church tradition, hymn books, and traditional church architecture.
Following are comments I found quite thought provoking….and encouraging actually…. from 20-30 year old married couples:
From a late 20’s mother of two…..
I believe with all my heart that our generation has a deep longing to matter and to live lives that will have 
meant something to those who come after us. I think it’s this desire to make a dent in time that maybe is causing us to want to connect to the past and recognize the significance of the past.
I just heard Michael Card and Buddy Green talking on the radio Sunday night about how they grew up with the old hymns and that they were surprised that young people were now discovering them again and were drawn to them. I wasn’t surprised at all…I think that in some ways our generation has been underestimated in what we can “handle” spiritually or what God can use to move us. It’s often assumed that unless it comes in a repetitive one line song or if the presentation isn’t in the fast paced MTV style, we will not stay connected or be interested. I think maybe one reason we are being drawn again to the hymns is because it causes us to think deeply and to contemplate…that’s refreshing…its not just about emotion. It’s like the emotion and the intellect can meet each other.
I think our generation is tired of being stereotyped into an “ADHD Christian” generation. We want to be taken seriously and be used significantly…and maybe we are beginning to realize that we can learn from the men and women of our faith in the past who lived significantly.
From another late 20’s mother of three…..
I feel that scared feeling every now and then…when all of a sudden I realize my security is fragile. I sometimes long to see what the early church REALLY was, even though we have Paul’s writtings to shed some light on it. I wonder how my life would change if I understood what God really wanted from
worship…from service…from family. Do I really know, or am I assuming it all from how I was raised? What would happen if I questioned it? Should I and if I do, how do I do it respectfully and with a biblical basis?
From a 21 year old married woman studying Psychology and Communications…..
I think this is a very interesting phenomenon that we’re seeing, and one that is encouraging to me. It seems like a continuation of a cycle…one that began with a generation that was looking for something more or wanted to feel something more and finally started questioning and experimenting with new ways of thinking and new worship styles.This wasn’t all bad, but maybe now we’re seeing people realize that the answer doesn’t lie in how modern or emotional their church is. Our search is for something much deeper.
After all the questioning, maybe people have been floating so long that some good old traditions and stability is refreshing…we can now see the value in it like never before. We want to know that we have something that is more than just a warm fuzzie and will last long enough for our kids and their kids too.
Anyway, I think the issues are bigger than a church and go back to the depth of our own relationship with Jesus…and no matter how wonderful it is, no church is going to (or should) be able to replace that.
From a late 20’s father and medical student…..
It seems that those in the “younger” generation are realizing the futility of finding heritage in our current world and time and know that we must look back and hang on to these earlier times and traditions.
Some thought provoking insight here it seems. Insights that sure encourage my Faith and Hope in the future.
So….how do these thoughts leave you feeling?
Hey dad,
Coming from the perspective of a worship service that incorporates current songs with the older hymns maybe gives me a bit of a different perspective.
I had heard an older person state: these new songs just do not have the depth of the old hymns. With that in mind I have paid
attention to the words more to see if that is true.
I cannot find a consistent truth to that. I feel the same sense of praise with both. Of course I love the older hymns & do not want them to go away. We all have them more memorized & that seems to create a louder singing from the congregation, but the words are similar in my opinion.
Luke also has received a lot of strength from listening to Christian radio (def. contemporary) on the way to & from work. He also listens to it in our home. The joy & STRENGTH he is receiving from it during this time of immense stress lets me know that you can worship God through both. That is the point right? I appreciated the thoughts from everyone, but do not want to go extreme either way. Love, J
Hi Ed,
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog…it’s always thought provoking.
It was good to read each person’s comments…it’s always good to hear different people’s insights. Thanks for stopping by my blog
I still think about your presentation that you did for our minister’s group last spring and our conversation at family camp last year…thanks for opening up good discussion and helping me think!
your cous :),
bek
Good thoughts.
First off, I’d suggest that we should be careful that we don’t worship or denigrate the early church, but bring the same type of healthy respect to them that we should to our parents. We will argue and disagree with them to no end, but in the end, we’re still part of the same good thing.
Second off, we are (rightfully) skeptical of modern litanies to change or Progress (with a capital “P”) because we’ve seen what it creates. We’ve seen the wasteland, and we know there must be more to life than this.
Third, why do we want something old? The good answer is because new stuff doesn’t seem to get us very far, for the new heart is just as wicked as the old one. Once again, it’s part of recognizing that our trouble is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of Spiritual discipline. The cynical answer is that it’s just one more fad, one more way for us to feel good as we move from one trend to another.
Fourth, this is heading off in a slightly different direction, but I’ve very recently come to see more clearly that, at least in the ACCA, the hymns we sing are our primary places for theology. In this way, our theology is quite integrated into our worship (even if it’s sometimes hidden). And in some places (though ever fewer) that worship is part of the rhythms of peoples’ lives as well.
Fifth, the word rhythm is helpful…it’d take to long to make it clear, but I’ll settle noting that day to day life of Jewish tradition (at least around Second Temple period) revolved around praying certain prayers (ie Psalms) at certain times of the day, at certain times of the year, year after year after year. This is the life of the people of God, the lifeblood of the church.