In my last two blogs, I wrote about two hymns that spoke powerfully to our faith. This week, I want to address a general aspect of our singing. That aspect is unity.
As a Baby Boomer, I grew up in the 50s and 60s churches of Christ. Much (I believe too much) of our preaching at that time was about our distinctive place as the true church among the denominations. Week after week, we pleaded with “our denominational friends,” to be simple New Testament Christians and become part of the “Lord’s Church.”
While in preaching, teaching, and in the tracts on our walls, we stressed our exclusive and distinctive nature, we also sang hymns. As we grew up, we discovered that these were the very hymns our “denominational friends” sang and sang with equal fervor and devotion. For many of my generation, our common songs helped knit our hearts as common disciples of Jesus across sectarian lines. Obviously, Christian unity is more complicated than singing common songs. Yet, I’m suggesting here that the role our singing played, was far from insignificant.
In our teen camps, youth rallies, and devotionals, we continued singing common and new songs that were uniting. Here are two examples of songs that swept through these kinds of gatherings and later into our assemblies.
A Common Love
A common love for each other,
A common gift to the Savior,
A common bond holding us to the Lord;
A common strength when we’re weary,
A common hope for tomorrow,
A common joy in the truth of God’s Word.
Bind Us Together
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken
Bind us together, Lord
Bind us together
Bind us together in Love
There is only one God,
There is only one King
There is only one Body,
That is why we sing.
These aren’t exactly “fightin’ words!”
In our contemporary worship, the uniting effect of our singing continues. While, in some songs, the lyrics may be thin and repeated, the emotional power is strong. On the other hand, many, very many, are drawn from Scripture, and teach us about faith experienced together as united followers of our one Lord.
Yes, of course, doctrinal concerns remain, but nevertheless, I rejoice that our common songs, hymns, and spiritual songs can yet, “bind us together” and unite us in the bond of peace.
Tim Kelley