Previous | Next 

EDITORIAL
Praise and worship II

Jim Coggins

In this, our second issue on the subject of worship, we turn from defining what worship is to dealing with some of the more practical aspects and to the disagreements and struggles that too often accompany worship. We are not so much interested in re-igniting the hymns-versus-choruses debate as in offering some ways to resolve it. It seems so appallingly wrong that, of all things, we should fight and break relationships over how we worship the God of forgiveness and love.

The lead article in this issue is by Elmer Thiessen, who for many years has been a thoughtful and provocative contributor to the Herald. I must confess that although, as editor, I made the decision to publish Elmer’s article, I don’t come out exactly where he does on some of these questions. I lean more toward the need for the church to use contemporary music styles than he does, and I think that some of his criticisms of contemporary Christian worship styles apply equally well to many traditional worship practices. However, I am absolutely convinced that Elmer is asking the right questions. In choosing what to sing in church, our focus should not be on “What do the young people want?” or “What do the old people want?” but “What does God want?” I understand his article not as an attack on contemporary worship culture but as a call to evaluate theologically all of our worship practices, traditional or contemporary. Whatever style of music we choose, we must subject that music to a theological test, asking, “Is this music faithful to who God is?” The music we sing in church is far too important to be decided by personal taste.

Readers who pay attention to such things may notice that the Herald issues this spring have deviated somewhat from the themes that we had previously announced. In the near future, we still plan to do issues on topics such as leadership and understanding the Bible. The Herald’s publishing plans have always been somewhat flexible, as we respond to unexpected questions, new needs, timely submissions and current MB Conference issues. With the budget restrictions we have faced this year, the reshuffling seems to me to have been a little more frequent than usual this spring. We appreciate our readers’ patience as we seek God’s guidance in producing a Herald that will glorify God and bless the readers.

Previous | Next 

Last modified June 13, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.