by Stan Mitchell

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19).

Listen to a conversation I overheard several years ago: One young man declared: "In five years time (this was ten years ago!), we will sing no songs in churches that are more than twenty years old." To which an older man declared: "We have seven hundred hymns in our hymn book. Why would we sing anything that's not in a hymn book?" So who was right?

Neither demonstrated a concern for the needs of others in the church. The second comment first: God inspired the scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16). I am not aware of any "inspired" hymn books. As a matter of fact, we're putting far too much faith in hymn books if we assume that editors do not succumb to petty politics when they compile them! The thoughtful song leader will know that there are many songs included in a hymn book that are not worth singing ... and many not in the hymn book that are.

Now to the first comment. I heard another speaker say: "Do you have anything in your house that is more than twenty years old? Then why would you sing anything that was?"

Guess he hasn't seen my house. Our house is furnished in Late Twentieth Century Yard Sale! Do I have any literature older than twenty years? Yes I do! Shakespeare and Dickens, Louis L'amour and Nevil Shute! Do I have any music older than twenty years? Can you imagine a world without Bach, Mozart and Sibelius? Now that I think about it, the music I thought was "cool" when I was young (we called it something that rhymes with "movie!") is older than twenty years!

Many modern "praise songs" are excellent ones and will become a part of what future generations sing; many will deservedly fade away into obscurity. But be assured of this: No song, whenever it is written, is worth hurting a brother for whom Christ died, or dividing His church! Remember, when we sing, we "speak to each other." Let's do so with compassion, consideration and in love!

by Stan Mitchell

"What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit and I will also sing with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15, NKJV).

I heard someone say recently that their congregation had reached a "compromise" over the kinds of hymns they sang in their congregation. They were seeking to "please everybody" by singing some new songs, some old ones, some "praise songs," and some classics. It made me think of a wedding -- "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue ..."

I understand the desire to keep the peace in a congregation, and I agree that when we choose songs, and a style of song, that we should always be mindful of the needs of others (Philippians 2:1-4). But we've got to do better than mechanically inserting one song that will please the teens, one that will please the elderly, and so on. Our hymns are important. It hurts me to see brethren whispering and conducting some sort of business, even church business, when they should be joining the rest of us in song.

A danger we face with this approach is that we fracture the church into special age, race, and cultural groups, each with its own musical "requirements." Music becomes a divisive force, Balkanizing the church, each group seeking what Michael Hamilton calls its own "stylistic national anthem" (Christianity Today, 43, 1999).

What is the answer? If a song's message is not Biblical, then it is not a hymn. Some songs miss the mark not because they teach false doctrine but because they don't teach much of anything. In our hymns we are to "teach and admonish one another" (Colossians 3:16; Ephesians 5:19). We worship a first class God; let's not offer him a second class offering of praise. He deserves the very best that we have!

by Stan Mitchell

In an excellent article, professor Michael R. Weed observes that the goal of forming "successful" churches, where everyone finds his emotional needs met is an "unchallenged" tenet of church growth advocates, and gives rise to the phenomenon of "church shoppers." "A constant monitoring of trends, tastes, and fashions through questionnaires, surveys and polls now rivals the study and teaching of scripture as the sign of a church's devotion to ministry and zeal for evangelism" (Christian Studies, Vol. 19 Spring 2003, page 14).

His remarks raise some good questions. How do we define a "successful" church? And who defines success? If people tend to go "church shopping," doesn't that also lead to church hopping? Who should be forming the church's agenda, man or God? And are we aware of the difference between human wants and divine requirements?

Of course visitors to our congregation should expect a warm and loving welcome. Make no mistake, Jesus Christ meets man's deepest longings. But like a patient visiting a doctor, the newcomer to church only knows that he hurts; it's for the Great Physician to diagnose the illness! "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners'" (Mark 2:17).

"They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 8:11). Humanity is indeed sick, and the illness is fatal. This is not a time for cosmetics and placebos. This is not a case of what the customer wants to hear, but of what God wants to say! If you want to go shopping, may I suggest the mall; if you want salvation, come to Jesus!

by Stan Mitchell

Do you remember that marvelous advertisement that had a bunch of cowboys herding cats? Thousands of cats ran helter skelter across the prairie, with those hapless men in chaps waving their hats and yelling, "Git along little kitties!"

The words "cats" and "orderly," do not usually appear in the same sentence! Cats are independent, unwilling to be trained, taught, or led. Did you ever see a cat bring in a pair of slippers? Have you ever heard of a "seeing eye cat," a "sheep cat" or a "watch cat," or one that would even acknowledges his name? A friend has the theory that all cats think their name is "Dinner time."

Our cat, as empty-headed a ball of fluff as any, would survive in the wild exactly six minutes. She is uncoachable, uncontrollable, yet dependent on us for nourishment, protection, and shelter. Not that she would acknowledge any of it, or express gratitude of any kind! I notice that every time it rains, though, our little bundle of indifference saunters in again, making herself at home on the most freshly laundered clothing!

There is a book on leading the church entitled, "Herding Cats." In churches, everyone wants to be nourished, pampered, and allowed to sleep for days on end. No one wants to be directed, corrected, or trained in righteousness. We expect and never thank, we wander all over the neighborhood yet expect attention on demand, and if the food in the old kitty dish is not the finest cuisine, we "walk" next door, or down the street requesting neighbors to give us what we want.

All of which is to say that as members of the church, we should expect more of ourselves than the average tabby. We should make the job of our elders easier, the success of our church more assured.

"Obey your leaders, and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work may be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you" (Hebrews 13:17).

by Stan Mitchell

"I love thy kingdom Lord, the house of thine abode; The church, our blessed redeemer saved, with his own precious blood; I love thy church O God! Her walls before thee stand, Dear as the apple of thine eye, and graven on thy hand" (Timothy Dwight, 1800).

I know that I will have to defend the church from Satan's attack, and I understand that I will have to shield her from the enemies of the cross. I know that the "flaming arrows of the Evil One" will be directed our way (Ephesians 6:16).

But I will never understand why I must defend the church of Jesus Christ from the attacks of her own members. They act as if churches of Christ have done nothing right in 200 years. "Many members," someone has said, "are on the critical list ... they criticize everything."

When did it stop being right to call ourselves by the name of Christ? And when did a search for Bible answers to all life's questions become outmoded? And when did our opinions, feelings, likes and dislikes become more authoritative than God's word?

All our heroes seem to come from other religious groups; all our methods from cross-town denominations.

But I am proud of our brotherhood. Was there ever a television preacher who was more loving, yet more Biblical, than Batsell Barrett Baxter? Was there ever a better church builder than Ira North? Was there ever a better scholar than J.W. Roberts? Was there a sweeter singer than our own L.O. Sanderson? Was there ever a better book written than Lottie Beth Hobbs' "Daughters of Eve"? Was there a more dedicated missionary since Paul than W.N. Short, who spent 60 years in southern Africa?

We're so hard on ourselves, we become so disconsolate about our failures. Perhaps we should remember our triumphs, won by God's grace, and for his glory.

"Show proper respect to everyone: love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king" (1 Peter 2:17).