Children’s Hymns Have More Depth Theologically Than Contemporary Worship Songs

Back on June 26, Dr. T. David Gordon, author of Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns: How Pop Culture Rewrote the Hymnal was on my favorite radio program Issues, Etc. Today’s Issues, Etc. Today's Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day is from that interview and has Dr. Gordon making the case that there are some children's hymns that have more depth theologically than contemporary worship songs.

The entire interview can be heard here.

Is False Teaching A Violation Of The Second Commandment?

I’m way behind in listening to my podcasts so today’s soundbite of the day comes from a segment that aired two weeks ago to the day on Issues, Etc. I hope the guys at IE don’t mind that it takes some of us a while to listen to all the shows…

Back on May 27 Pastors Henrickson and Woerth discussed on the Pastors’ Roundtable the fact that Dr. Luther’s viewed teaching falsely in the name of God was the most egregious violation of the Second Commandment. Is false teaching a violation of the second commandment? Absolutely!

The second commandment of course is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain” which was given, along with the other commandments, by Yahweh to Moses in Exodus 20:7. The Small Catechism explains the second commandment this way:

We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

The entire segment where Pastors Henrickson and Woerth discuss the second commandment can be heard here. It’s a great segment and well worth your time.

Are Old Hymns Outdated?

This soundbite is a quite a bit late as my windows based laptop that I had most of my files on had a pretty serious problem (hey, what windows based machine doesn’t haven’t problems…) and had to be carted off to be fixed. Well, the laptop is back and almost all my files are back where they are supposed to be. With that said…

Today’s soundbite is from the same segment that gave us the last soundbite of the day and gives us Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch of Emmaus Lutheran Church-South Bend, IN answering the question “are old hymns outdated and can they still be relevant in today’s church?”

What Makes Good Hymns Good And Bad Hymns Bad?

Today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day comes from Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch of Emmaus Lutheran Church-South Bend, IN talking about what the criteria should be for a core group of congregational hymns back on September 28, 2009's show.

For today’s soundbite Dr. Stuckwisch responds to hosts Todd Wilken’s questions concerning what makes good hymns good and then later what makes bad hymns bad.

It’s Bar Form Not Bar Tunes

Today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day is from an interview on July 17 with Dr. Paul Grime. Dr. Grime is an Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions and Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In today’s soundbite Dr. Grime debunks the myth that Luther brought in bar tunes into the church.

I’ve heard this urban legend being used on more than one occasion to justify the sneaking in of popular culture’s music through the portals of our sanctuaries. The thinking is this; that if we make church sound more like the culture we’ll attract more people and thereby grow Christ’s Church. I’ve even seen an evangelism “suggestion” saying if we just play a Randy Newman or John Fogerty song as “bumper music” the people will feel more comfortable and not scared away by too much of that scary church music.

The fact of the matter is; is that if we make our sacred places look and sound like the culture they cease to be sacred spaces. Christianity has always been countercultural and has never conformed to what was going on outside the walls of our sanctuaries.

Dr. Grime’s comments tearing down the falsehood that Luther would take songs sung in taverns and make hymns out of them by explaining what a bar form is just, well, it’s just music to my ears and is today’s Issues, Etc. soundbite of the day.

Just in case you missed it, here’s my inaugural pick for soundbite of the day.

New Feature: Issues, Etc. Soundbite Of The Day

Today marks the debut of something new here at Putting Out The Fire; the Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the Day. It’s not that I’m not a huge fan of the Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the Week, I am a huge fan of the Friday segment. I've even called in and voted myself a few times. It’s just that, every now and then, there is just a portion or two of an interview or segment that catches my attention in a big way that might not make it to the Friday show to be voted on as a possible soundbite of the week.

After I had the idea that it would be fun to do my own soundbite, I emailed the producer Jeff Schwarz and asked for permission (yes, I really asked for permission, no joke!) to have my own audio pick of the day and post it. My request was granted (it only took a day or so; I’m assuming it had to be run by all the big wigs and such) and all I needed to figure out is how to post my pick; whether it be strictly audio or was there going to be a visual component to my project. Today ya’ll get to see the results. It should be noted that this is still a work in progress and from time to time there may be changes as I make improvements.

My inaugural Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the day is from none other than the host of the program itself. I picked Pastor Todd Wilken wrapping up an interview back on June 23 with author Pastor Daniel Deutschlander on his The Theology of the Cross book for two reasons; first, Pastor Wilken has never had his own soundbite even though there is at least one listener who has suggested a comment or four for Soundbite of the Week. Second, and more importantly, Pastor Wilken makes an important point about the theology of the cross and the preaching that comes from the pulpit.

Congratulations Pastor Wilken on the high honor of being the inaugural pick of Putting Out The Fire’s Issues, Etc. Soundbite of the day!