Towards New Hymns

With TIA coming to a vote soon, and my own increasing immersion in Atlanta's transportation... I've been overly concerned with transit lately.  So, instead, I'm going to write about something I know almost nothing about.  I'm going to write about christian worship music.

Perhaps you've noticed how traditional hymns have a very parallel structure.  Usually they're about 4 verses, maybe with a chorus that repeats after every verse.  They reuse the same melody even though they have slightly different ideas in each verse.  I'm not quite sure why this is.  Was there some pre-defined structure for hymn writing?  Or did it just make sense to people then that you need to have 3+ unique things to say to make a complete song?  I'm sure others have studied and characterized the structure of hymns and could write volumes on it.  From my own observation, I would guess that the verses typically follow a structure something like this:

1. Some personal experience related to God
2. Personal commitment to God
3. Enduring earthly suffering
4. Overwhelming heavenly reward

The effect of this hymn structure can be very powerful.  While, at first hearing the melody may seem awkward and repetitive, and at first singing the many new lyrics are difficult and tiring, the long-term result is rewarding.  Singing it over and over, you have time to appreciate all of those words.  That simple melody begins to create a rich experience, as it brings to memory the ideas of each of the verses simultaneously.  Unlike newer worship songs, which express one or two emotions, hymns have the power to evoke many at once, telling of not just one ideas or experience, but a narrative which encompasses the whole christian experience.

Moreover, hymns have long been useful vehicles for expressing christian teachings.  Because they are verbose, they are able to fit in theological messages.  And, like Jesus's parables, they are able to lay these teachings parallel alongside other ideas.  While contemporary "choruses" are also useful to exposing worshipers to theological ideas, they certainly do lend themselves to the depth of study that hymns do.

But how many hymns are being written these days?  From what I've experienced in church, it seems like 2 verses and a chorus is a big song.  Somehow, the traditional hymn structure seems to have lost its usefulness to contemporary christian song writers.  Why is this?

First, I think it has to do with the difficulty of being general vs. being specific.  A song - particularly a christian song, and even so for a worship song - must speak to a broad audience and convey a theme/ message that each person could relate to.  In our post-modern society, where everybody is into their own unique thing, that is very difficult.  It may be particularly difficult to write songs that could be received by "seekers" who were raised without religion and still be edifying to believers who were raised in the church.  Clearly, this division would force contemporary song writers to be more general and vague in their lyrics in order to say something to everyone.  Those who want to convey a strong message either play-down their churchiness in attempts to reach non-believers, or else focus on "gospel" or "christian" label and performances for churches and youth rallies.

Second, I think that there are theological challenges to using the traditional hymn structure.  The theology of the old hymns are not wrong.  However, we have some newer explanations which have been found to be more useful to the questions people today are facing.  I'll enumerate:

1.  Nowadays, it's better not to classify an experience as "spiritual" or "non-spiritual", because that's kind of a subjective judgement call... all things are "spiritual" to some degree.  In so much that a personal experience is substantial to the human experience, the song writer can use it.

2.  We've begun to re-define faith as a continuous relationship of trust in the person of Jesus, rather than a one time act of commitment to a religious institution.  It's a matter of WWJD, in this situation.

3.  While we still accept suffering as an essential part of the human condition, we emphasize that God does not cause suffering.  Instead of being saved through enduring evil, we are saved from enduring evil.  Painful circumstances are our beginning point, not the climax of our song.

4.  Rather than focus on Heaven as a rewarding escape from this world, we now prefer to focus on the Kingdom of God as an order that is overcoming the world. Eternal life is not an afterlife, but a vitality we can begin experiencing immediately.

So, if we were to address each of these amendments, what would that look like?  Let me suggest an alternative structure that one could use to add depth their song when composing for christian worship:
1. Identifies brokenness through a personal experience
2. Describes concrete ways one must trust God in order to face the brokenness
3. Shows how trusting God provides glimpses of the Kingdom of God
A chorus could describe the overarching spiritual truth grappled with in the verses of the song.

For example, one could write a song about...
1. I can't seem to get a job - the world sucks, and so do I.
2. I have to pray to overcome anxiety, I have to trust that God creates opportunities.
3. The way You calm me - you're the Father.  I'm got excited by this opportunity - just like angels rejoice in heaven.
To tie it all together, you could have some chorus about eternal hope, to juxtapose with the need for hope here and now.

You get the idea.

Not that I'm telling any musicians how to do their job.  I can't ask creative people to conform to some arbitrary structure.  It's just, if you're looking for inspiration, I hope this helps.