"Please sing me "Amazing Grace"," a sweet little voice speaks into the darkness. "Yes 'mam, my Julia-bug." "Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me..." "Keep singing it Aunt Jynne, please don't stop, sing all the verses." As I left the room that night, I was brought to tears. What a special moment, singing a hymn that has graced so many of life's toughest moments. I knew at 3 years old that my niece didn't truly understand the words, what 3 year old knows the definition to "wretch" or even "grace?" Nor did she understand the meaning, how much grace does a 3 year old need? (Well....on the other hand...she definitely knows what grace is!) But what brought me to tears was the power in the words she requested me to sing. Words that have been sung for generations upon generations. Words that one day she will sing not because she likes the tune, but because they are real and alive to her. Words that one day will bring her through life's valleys and shadows. What brought me to tears is that at 3 years old she is willing to sit at the feet of those who are older and listen to their anthems, hear their stories, and have them repeated to her over and over again. She could have chosen any song, she knows the likes of Laura Story, Shane and Shane, Hillsong, yet she chose a hymn, a song that her great-great-great grandparents once sung. She was, in her childlike way, showing me the importance of being a Titus 2 believer.
There is power in words sung and spoken for generations. And what I fear is that as many are passing on the traditional, we are raising a generation that will not understand nor know the words and faith of our forefathers. How Great Thou Art....Great Is Thy Faithfulness...Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing...Holy, Holy, Holy...A Mighty Fortress Is Our God....Crown Him with Many Crowns...Blessed Assurance...Praise Ye the Lord the Almighty...It Is Well...Take My Life and Let It Be...Faith of Our Fathers...They will not know the declaration of "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.." These and so many more have brought me through so many of life's ups and downs. How many times have I been a part of a worship experience that the room changes and the voices become louder when the worship leader begins singing the words to a hymn. How many times have I seen people start weeping as they struggle to utter the words "It is well...with my soul." How many times have I felt the power of the Spirit as His people declare out loud, in unison, what they believe.
I love modern hymns and anthems. I love the freedom of expression and freedom of worship that flows in those environments. I love music, drums, beats, words and anthems of my generation yet I struggle to forget the generations behind me. I feel some churches have so tried to step away from the traditional that they have almost forgotten there is a generation sitting in their seats who we can learn from, who we can sing their anthems right along with our own. There is a mighty generation of faith in this nation and in the world who are marching closer to their heavenly home and let's not forget them. Let's not forget to include them in our worship, let's not forget to sing together with them the words that they sang as children. Let us not forget the stories they have kept alive through their words and songs. Let's sit at their feet, listen to their wisdom. Let's remember not everyone hated church as a child, not everyone was hurt by the traditional, not everyone felt stifled and oppressed. Let's raise up a generation of children, of youth, who value their Christian forefathers, whether they were Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Methodist. Let's raise a generation who desires to sing the anthems, speak the declarations of faith that their grandparents sang and spoke. Let's raise a Titus 2 generation, a generation who values their elders, a generation who does not think they have it "all together," but knows that they need wisdom knowledge guidance discernment and experiences from generations who have gone before. And let us be a generation who passes on our anthems, our declarations of faith, our hymns and words of freedom and salvation to the generations that come behind us. Let us give the children and youth feet to sit at, shoulders to lean on, words to take with them into their futures. "Older men are to be...older women likewise are to be...so train young women....urge young men. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works and in your teaching show integrity, dignity and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us."
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