What We Sing
Dan Dick is a colleague. Reflecting on our United Methodist General Conference, the official decision-making body of our denomination currently meeting in Portland, he wrote (and again, the highlights are mine)—
Do United Methodists listen to the words they sing in worship? We have some incredible hymns, sacred songs, praise songs, and spirituals. They paint a picture of true paradise. Songs of love, songs of hope, songs of kindness and mercy. Hymns of adoration and praise. Hymns of reconciliation and unity. Amazing inspirational, educational, visionary and healing messages. If we would simply try to live our hymns, we would be a much better church.
Yet, what comes out of our mouths in praise seem to depart our hearts. Few if any “will know we are Christians by our love.” The beauty of our singing gives way to the ugliness of our actions. We are given to a confusing hypocrisy as our active engagement with one another belies our true sentiments. We are not living what we are singing. We are truly out of sync.
— I’ll see you back here tomorrow with the corrective prescription for this diagnosis.
