1

So would Bill Hybels be the person to blame for the complete dumbing down of the hymnody, in many evangelical churches nowadays, to its current level of dreadfully insipid banality?

I was just wondering.

2

Indeed. He seems to be ONE of the culprits. I would add "seeker-friendly" is utterly foreign to the gospels.

3

This is a great and informative series.

One to add to your very thorough list is John Eldredge, author of Wild at Heart, who is working to recover the hearts of men and restore us to our full potential as God designed us to be.

4

I'm glad John Eldredge may have helped some men. But please don't consider him a reliable theologian. IMO, he's full of psycho-bible-babble.

5

Quite. If you look up "Open Theism" in the dictionary, you will get a picture of Eldredge.

6

I'll be one to sort of defend Hybels. I've been to Willow Creek for a few conferences and I was skeptical about the church before I went. Having been there, the staff and members are authentic followers of Jesus and have a heart for reaching their community. At that they excel.

Some think that they are lacking in the discipleship area, but their midweek services are very substantive - great teaching and worship for the believers in their body. They also encourage small groups, where the teaching is continued.

What's the shame is that so many other churches have sought to model themselves after Willow Creek and are missing some key points in why Willow works in that community and with that staff and membership.

7

I will also defend Hybels. Watching their baptism services are remarkable. They long to see people reached with the Gospel. The whole church is run by volunteers, which for a church and facility of that size and stature is remarkable. The problem is churches who try to be them and not the unique God-ordained local church they are called to be.

8

Well, if Hybels is preaching the Gospel, then all power to him.

But I am still trying to get to the bottom of why the hymnody in so many churches has become such mind-numbing, banalized dishwater.

9

I have also attended a few conferences at Willow Creek, and my impression is that Hybels and his fellow leaders sought to reach their community with the Gospel - becomming a megachurch was a byproduct. Personally, my spiritual needs are better ministered to by the community and shared struggle of a small church than by the programs of a large one. This is not the case for everyone.

I do wonder if huge churches like Willow Creek are aggressive enough in raising up leaders and sending them out to plant daughter churches. My current church has set a size limit, and once it's reached, we will begin the process of church planting. The advantage of this method is that it places the emphasis on helping people grow to spiritual maturity, rather than simply getting bigger.

Oengus, what on earth are you talking about?

10

Peter: "what on earth are you talking about?"

I've said, in so many words, that I decided I was barking up the wrong tree, and that I am going to look elsewhere for an answer (my apologies to Willow Church).

But, in case you were wondering, my original question is: Why has the hymnody (everywhere it seems) gotten so mind-numbingly insipid, banal, stupid, soporific, recycled-commercial-radio awful?

As I said, I'm looking for an answer; I just haven't found it here.

11

Peter, Willow Creek is spawning other "campuses" in the Chicago area - whether or not they are daughter churches is a good question. I do believe that they are staffed in those local areas and hold their own services and small groups, but they're still tied to the "mother church" in South Barrington.

12

Oengus, that's your opinion about the hymnody. Not all would agree with your assessment that it's banal and insipid. That's not to say that it's all wonderful either, but there is some quality contemporary worship music out there.

13

I'm an ex-"contemporary worship" musician. The secularization of worship services in order to "reach out" is dumbing down services and also removing very important things from the liturgy.
There are good reasons why the church fathers strucured things the way they did.
The modern world has become casual and irreverent and the churches are following suit to grab market share. Frustrating,at least for me.

14

Jet: "…Frustrating, at least for me"

Thanks, Jet. At least somebody is understanding what it was I was getting at.

Note to Jen: Of course, I realize there are some marvelously talented, commercially-circulated xtian musicians out there. Their lyrical, soloist music is often very beautiful when heard over the radio. Unfortunately, much of it is congregationally unsingable by us ordinary, musically untalented mortals. For example, very few of us can handle the often syncopated rock-n-roll beat of contemporary xtian music. When the music leadership tries to recycle some of it (having thrown out the hymnals long ago), I usually have to give up in frustration, and just keep silence. And this is not to mention some of the completely dumbed down lyrics of some of the music. I tell you, even the "fountain fill with blood" was far better than some of the overly-repetitive idiotic drivel I so often am hearing nowdays. Anyhow, to delve into this subject would require a lengthy essay of its own, and I'm trying to refrain from blogjacking the comment box.

15

I agree with Jen. I visited Willow Creek and thought their Sunday was too basic and recognized how it was targeting unbelievers or people on the verge of accepting Christ. Great vehicle for doing such works, but I thought there was no possible fit for me. Then I visited their weekday services on Wednesday and Thursday (now only Wednesdays) and discovered it was targeted towards more mature believers, and they have a great small group system. Solid and nourishing. If I didn't prefer smaller churches, I would definitely consider Willow Creek if I still was in Chicago.