I am fascinated by the growing trend in evangelical churches to have dedicated ‘contemporary services’. The main focus of the shift being the worship songs.
Firstly let me say, I am in my late(ish) twenties – I am not a student who craves the big band experience, neither am I a Hymn purist who loves all the ‘thee’s and thou’s’.
Praise Songs explained…
Not long ago a farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
“Well,” said the farmer, “It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns.”
“Praise choruses,” said his wife, “What are those?”
“Oh, they’re okay. They’re sort of like hymns, only different,” said the farmer.
“Well, what’s the difference?” asked his wife.
The farmer said, “Well it’s like this – If I were to say to you:
`Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well that would be a hymn.
If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:
`Martha Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows,
the white cows, the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN,’
Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus.”
Mr Average Christian 