Worship event to spotlight two generations of hymn writers
KANSAS CITY – Instead of a spring concert, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) is inviting Missouri churches to one of the grandest traditions in Baptist life: a hymn sing.
“We want to unite the generations and have our students see that hymns at the local church level really unite us corporately across all ages,” said Angela Swain, MBTS associate professor of music. “Regardless of style, they pass down that knowledge of who and what God is from generation to generation.”
The worship department will host the worship celebration April 8, at 7:30 p.m. at its chapel.
Admission is free, but attendees must register at MBTS.edu/hymnsing. The evening will feature the seminary’s North Oak Collective band, as well as the Voices of Midwestern Choir, but it’s the special guests that will emphasize the theme of the event: connecting the church of the past to the church of the present.
To that end, the featured guests are Matt Boswell, a modern hymnwriter who has penned hymns including “His Mercy is More,” “Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor,” “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery,” and A.L. “Pete” Butler, a retired Midwestern professor who wrote the tune to the famous Fanny Crosby hymn, “Redeemed.”
Attendees will get to join in on the worship, singing hymns from 500 years ago at the start of the Reformation all the way up to the 1970s like Butler’s “Redeemed” and Boswell’s current-day “His Mercy is More.”
A hymn is a simple and familiar idea that almost everyone in the pews can identify, but it’s not really about a style of music, or even traditional versus contemporary.
“It’s really a type of poetry written in stanzas that’s set to music,” said Matt Swain, who leads the MBTS worship department. “They can be sung any number of ways, but it’s about the stewardship of sound, rich doctrine, rooted in Scripture. That’s what makes it timeless. They’ve been carefully crafted to draw out some theological concept or to help us dwell on a theological topic. Whether the text to the hymn is new by Boswell, or was penned by Martin Luther, it’s those truths that endure. It’s really a sermon in song.”
There wasn’t even a distinction between hymnwriters and pastors until relatively recently. Some of the greatest hymnwriters like Luther, Isaac Watts and John Newton wrote “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and “Amazing Grace” to accompany their weekly sermons. In short, theology led to doxology.
Hymns have the added benefit of being easy to remember and repeat, which is why Christians may not be able to list all the points a sermon they paid attention to last week, but can easily rattle off three verses of the hymn they sang without trying.
There’s nothing wrong with other Christian songs, Angela Swain said, but they may not be the best fit for corporate worship within the church.
“I can turn on the radio and enjoy encouraging, edifying music, but those aren’t the things that last,” she said. “Usually, they’re testimonial and emotive in nature, and to me they don’t stick. There’s nothing wrong with artists being artists for God’s glory, but that doesn’t mean that they should be sung by the congregation and put those testimonies on the tongues of everyone, unless it’s as simple and profound as ‘I once was blind, but now I see.’
“When the dark night hits you, often it’s the truth and the beauty of Scripture on the wings of a beatutiful hymn that the Holy Spirit will use to minister to you.”