You Ought to be Ashamed of Yourselves! Baptist Hymns Only 2/3 Trinity
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Mon, November 10, 2008
- Viewed 245
- (16) comments so far
A quick glance at the recently released 2008 Baptist Hymnal reveals similar results, noted Lee Hinson, coordinator of church music studies at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla.
“It has not changed much,” Hinson said. “We struggle with singing Trinitarian doctrine. There are several categories of things we free-churchers don’t do well in worship. … Dealing with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is one of them.”
York agreed, noting lack of emphasis on the Holy Spirit may reveal—in part—lack of clarity among Baptists about the Spirit’s role and about the doctrine of the Trinity in general.
“Baptist churches divide themselves in worship according to which Person of the Trinity gets the most emphasis,” he noted. Baptists who say they want to “worship the Father in the beauty of holiness” generally favor more formal, liturgical worship. Baptist who want to “praise Jesus for who he is and what he has done” may tend toward a more revivalist and evangelistic worship style. Baptists who say they want “the Spirit to come down and bless us” often follow a less structured worship format.
“Generally, we are less than balanced,” York commented. “Few churches stand in the middle.”
Observers differ about whether the rising popularity of praise and worship music translates into increased attention directed toward the Holy Spirit.
Wright sees a shift toward greater “recognition of the work of the Holy Spirit” in praise music.
“So much of it in the last 15 to 20 years seems very pietistic, with a strong emphasis on personal worship,” he noted.
You can read more of this over at the Baptist Standard...
What do you think?
Hymns sung in most Baptist churches historically have been “More About Jesus” than about either God the Father or the Holy Spirit, several church music experts agree.
“From a Baptist perspective, I don’t think the hymnody has ever been Trinitarian,” said Clell Wright, director of choral activities and Logsdon professor of church music at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.
When it comes to Baptist understanding of the Godhead as reflected in congregational song, “Our Trinity is more two-point-something rather than three,” said Terry York, associate professor of Christian ministry and church music at Baylor University’s School of Music and Truett Theological Seminary in Waco. “One way to gauge that is by looking at the index in the back of the hymnal under ‘Holy Spirit.’ Looking at the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, for instance, there’s not much there. And I was on the committee that put that one together, for crying out loud.”
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Leonard on Mon, November 10, 2008
I know int he baptist church in which I grew, we would baptize people in the Name of the Father, in the Name of the Son and in the Name of the other Guy. http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/smile.gif
Lynn on Mon, November 10, 2008
This is not even newsworthy.
Adam George on Mon, November 10, 2008
The Baptist church in which I grew up in placed great emphasis on all three. The Independent Methodist Church in which I am now serving as the Worship Leader and Ministry Assistant does the same…we use “The Celebration Hymnal: Songs and Hymns for Worship” which has most of the same songs we used in the ‘91 Baptist Hymnal as well as the old ‘76er…anyone remember that one?
Ron Land on Mon, November 10, 2008
Yep, that’s the Baptist Church I remember… almost a fobia…..
kc on Mon, November 10, 2008
I would imagine that should someone study other denominational hymals, one would come to the same conclusion.
I learned a very long time ago from a dear friend and godly professor that the precious Holy Spirit does not want to draw attention to Himself. We do not find that characteristic in Him. In Scripture, we find that His passionate desire and purpose is to draw people to, and focus attention on, the Son of God, Jesus. To those who seem to have nothing else to do, this might explain why there aren’t a lot hymns about the Holy Spirit.
One other word: why do we have to calculate God down to percentages in a hymnal? Why do we look in an index and come up with some kind of “gauge” to determine percentages about singing to God?
God is one in three Persons and no man can, nor ever will, explain the deep and mysterious character, nature, and personhood of God. When we sing about, or to, any person of The Trinity, we sing about and to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We can’t separate God nor can we fully understand or explain “three persons” and one God.
I don’t think we need to worry about percentages, do we? Don’t we have anything else better to do? Like lost people dying and going to hell?
Wait…..I know: let’s study the Old Testament and the New Testament and come up with a “gauge” of percentages of how many references are given to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Since we don’t have anything else to do, that ought to occupy our time http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/grin.gif .
Craig Johnson on Mon, November 10, 2008
What is indicative in Baptist churches is true in almost every Protestant church! This is not much of news piece, but more like a slam piece. Very few churches sing a phethora of trinitarian based songs. Most contemporary music sings about a nebullis God that is out there and that we want to come and enter where we are. Guess what? He is already there! Also, do some research. Go look at the CCLI top 25 over the past ten years. Find more than three songs out those ten years that even mention the Trinity. I can name two off the top of my head - “How Great Is Our God” and “We Will Glorify”, but outside of that, there are not many. To say that Baptist are only ones that “fail” in this area is a gross reporting piece.
Why don’t you go research what the largest ten churches in America sing and see how many of songs they sing even mention the Trinity? Fair reporting is good reporting. Bias just makes people go elsewhere.
CJ
bishopdave on Mon, November 10, 2008
Let’s get really crazy and look at CCLI top 25 which mention the blood of Christ.
Larry Collins on Mon, November 10, 2008
It’s not that hymns and praise songs about the Holy Spirit are missing from Baptist Hymnals—it’s that there are few hymns in ANY hymnal about the Holy Spirit. There are several trinitarian hymns, such as Holy Holy Holy, with a verse about each person of the Trinity (of course most Baptist churches seldom sing all of the verses of ANY hymn.) But I thought the role of the Holy Spirit was to point people to Jesus - not to himself. Salvation isn’t through the HS - that’s the work of Christ. The HS convicts, but Jesus saves. We sing about our Redeemer - not about our Comforter / Paraclete / Intercessor. God is pleased when we honor his Son whom He sent to redeem mankind. I don’t think the Holy Spirit is jealous or feels slighted. This article is a tempest in a teapot.
kc on Mon, November 10, 2008
Larry: please quit being critical of Baptists. Give it a break. What is it with you, Todd, and others?
Adam George on Mon, November 10, 2008
WOW! Here I was thinking that this would be an article I only would respond to once. Guess I was wrong. As someone who is serving in the Independent Methodist Denomination (http://www.aim2020.com), I take great offense to “Baptist Slammers.”
Can we please come up with something new besides “Baptist don’t sing all the verses”?! The Baptist Church I was raised in and served in sang ALL verses…even if there were 5 or 6. Some of you people need to get over yourselves and your denomination…we’re here to serve the Savior, not the denomination!
Yes, I broke denominations but not because of doctrine or anything like that…I was called from one church to another…one that happened to be a different denomination. That being said, “LAY OFF THE BAPTISTS!”
Rich Smith on Mon, November 10, 2008
I have one question to ask. “Since when did the absence of pneumatology in the Baptist Hymnal have anything to do with faithfully following Christ?”
As believers, we are called to win people and not arguments!
gr guy on Mon, November 10, 2008
Yes, this article is very lame and there are good arguments here to counter.
I almost feel ashamed posting this, since the article really doesn’t deserve much of a response.
Larry Collins on Mon, November 10, 2008
kc & Adam,
I wasn’t being critical of Baptists - it was just an observation. I’ve been a Baptist for 50+ years.
lc
Jan on Mon, November 10, 2008
I’m in a Baptist Church as worship leader and we don’t even have a Baptist hymnal.
kc on Tue, November 11, 2008
Larry: I don’t care how you spin it, it came across as a criticism.
Jan: Just kidding but I guess according to the article above, I guess your church doesn’t believe in God since you don’t use a hymnal and a hymnal is what obviously determines whether you believe in the doctrine of God.
http://www.mondaymorninginsight.com/images/smileys/grin.gif (again, I’m just kidding)
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