The Good News Choir!

I often have a very hard time with listening and memorizing lyrics. It’s usually because either I’m more interested in the musical notation rather than the text or because I just can’t understand what’s being said. When it comes to Christian music, however, I make sure to really try and listen to the lyrics because I believe that the lyrics are a way of theologizing! Christian music across the entire spectrum is making claims about God in different ways. Unlike other genres, the theology that is expressed in the lyrics informs my opinion of the song more so than the notation.

While this is true for most Christian music (especially “contemporary” music) I have found myself recently attracted to the music sung by LSTC’s gospel choir, so much so that I have actually joined up! We just finished our first concert of the semester and I have to say that I had a very good time. It was a wonderful experience filled with audience participation, clapping hands, and so many lovely high B's for the tenors (that is usually on the high end for an amateur tenor to try in full voice).

I had a lot of fun, but I also began to think about what I was singing. I realized that if I was in the audience I would have critiqued many of the lyrics on an intellectual level. I discovered that I outright don’t agree with some of the theology in our music. This said, it really feels like we are preaching good news about God, which is super appealing. This poses an interesting contrast for me. The academic screams “hold on a second!” while the gospel-centered Lutheran says “Amen!”

How might you respond to what seems like conflicting feelings on this subject? Perhaps I will develop a more complete answer/reflection next week…but think about it! I encourage any responses and suggestions either on the blog or through e-mail: jtigerman@lstc.net.
Until Next Friday!