Worship Wars Research Articles

Worship Wars, Gospel Hymns, and Cultural Engagement in American Evangelicalism, 1890–1940

AbstractThis article argues that gospel hymnody was integral to the construction of modern evangelicalism. Through an analysis of the debate over worship music in three denominations, the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Christian Reformed Church, and the Reformed Church in America, from 1890–1940, I reveal how worship music was essential to the negotiation between churchly tradition and practical faith, between institutional authority and popular choice that characterized the twentieth-century “liberal/conservative” divide. While seemingly innocuous, debates over the legitimacy of gospel hymns in congregational worship were a significant aspect of the increasing theological, social, and cultural divisions within denominations as well as between evangelicals more broadly. Gospel hymnody became representative of a newly respectable, nonsectarian, and populist evangelicalism that stressed individualized salvation and personal choice, often putting it at odds with doctrinal orthodoxy and church tradition. These songs fostered an imagined community of conservative evangelicals, one whose formation rested on personal choice and whose authority revolved around a network of nondenominational organizations rather than an institutional body. At the same time, denominational debates about gospel hymnody reveal the fluid nature of the conservative/liberal binary and the complicated relationship between evangelicalism and modernism generally. While characterizations of “liberal” and “conservative” tend to emphasize biblical interpretation, the inclusion of worship music and style complicates this narrow focus. As is evident through the case studies, denominations typically categorized as theologically liberal or conservative also incorporated both traditional and modern elements of worship.

Style Matters: Contemporary Worship Music and the Meaning of Popular Musical Borrowings

In North American Protestantism’s so-called worship wars, the musical battle lines were drawn between traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs. Scholars and practitioners on both sides of t...

The Eruption of Worship Wars: The Coming of Conflict

Around 1993, American Protestants declared war on each other. And they did so over worship. Although the weapons used did not inflict physical harm on the combatants, there were wounds nonetheless....

Worship Wars over Liturgical Acts for Same-Sex Unions: A Narrative-Liturgical Perspective on a Controversial Subject

Worship Wars over Liturgical Acts for Same-Sex Unions: A Narrative-Liturgical Perspective on a Controversial Subject

Ancient Worship Wars: An Investigation of Conflict in Church Music History

The purpose of this research is to prove that conflict in church music is nothing new. Even in the time of the early church fathers, dissenting views on what were acceptable and unacceptable practices in church music were present. The music of the 2nd century through the 14th century is examined.

Beyond the Worship Wars, To John Wesley’s Liturgical Worship

Beyond the Worship Wars, To John Wesley’s Liturgical Worship

Letter Codes Relating to Pitch and Key for Chorale Melodies and Bach's Contributions to the Schemelli "Gesangbuch"

Letter Codes Relating to Pitch and Key for Chorale Melodies and Bach's Contributions TO THE SCHEMELLI GESANGBUCH Robin A. Leaver Text-onlyinterest.becauseHowever,ithymnalsisthoughtarethisfrequentlythatisnottheyverycontainoverlookeddifferentveryfrombylittleassumingmusicologistsofmusicalthat Text-only because it is thought that they contain very little of musical interest. However, this is not very different from assuming that opera libretti have little musical significance because they deal only with words, plots and narratives. These anthologies of congregational song may be comprised entirely of words, but they are thoughts and emotions expressed in rhymes, rhythms, and meters that have particular musical implications. A chorale melody must have the same number of lines as the poetic text, with or without repetition. A chorale melody must have the same number of poetic feet per line as the text. A chorale melody must have the same stress patterns as the text, be they iambic, trochaic, dactylic, or whatever. A chorale melody must express the same emotion as the text, be it mournful or joyful, reflective, or celebratory. This paper examines some of the ways in which musical matters are addressed in text-only German hymnals, especially the phenomenon of indicating pitch and key by letter codes, and Bach's knowledge and use of such coding in the Schemelli Gesangbuch (1736). I The long-standing German tradition in text-only hymnals has been to give, as a heading to the whole hymn, the textual incipit of the associated chorale melody to which the following text is to be sung. This is usually given in the form: "Mel. Nun freuet euch etc." If, however, the hymn text has its own melody, then the first line is not 15 16 Bach given before the te be identified with the place simply le church or town wa in the Gesangbuch compared with th and towns at the agreement only on often appears som by many differe multiple melodies in Adlung's commen Concerning the lac much that one mi territory is identic church in this city way as another. Eit are so greatly altere other organs outsi front of him a chor And when an hones often remain a mer But for the peopl from the common community every chorale incipits / Gesangbuch. 1 Jacob Adlung, Anleitung der musikalischen Gelahrheit (Erfurt: Jungnicol, 1758; facsimile, Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1953), 664: "Von der Uneingkeit in den Melodien war gleichfals viel zu erinnern. Kein Dorf des hiesigen [sie] Gebietes ist in allen Stücken dem andern gleich; ja keine Kirche dieser Stadt singt die Melodien wie die andere. Entweder sie haben ganz andere, oder sie sind doch so sehr geändert, daß kein Spieler im Stande ist auf andern Orgeln ausser seiner Kirche einen Choral mit spielen, wo man ihm nicht ein Melodienbuch vorlegt, welches allda eingeführt. Und wenn ein ehrliche Bürger in eine andere Kirche kommt, muß er sehr oft einen blossen Zuhörer abgeben." Trans, based on Joseph Herl, Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism : Choir, Congregaúon, and Three Centuries of Conflict (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 138. Letter Codes in the Schemelli Gesangbuch 17 II. Some text-only hymnals include what amounts to a metrical index of the melodies. A typical example is Neues Vollständiges Gesang-Buch, Für die Königlich-Preußische, auch Churförstlich- Brandenburgische und andere Lande .... Sechste verbesserte Auflage (Berlin: Kunst, 1757).2 Preceding the alphabetical index at the end of the volume there is an index of the 63 different meters of the associated melodies: Melodies Index Information on how one may sing a hymn to many melodies, as follows: All the hymn texts given under a number [in this index] can be sung to one melody. For example, under Number 1 the first hymn is named: Ach ein Wort von grosser Treue , etc. All the following hymns under this number can be sung to this melody [33 of them]; and the same applies to all the other [numbered] melodies and their first hymn. The significance of this information is that one need know only a minimum of melodies, thus: all the hymns listed under a given number can be sung to one known melody. But where many melodies are known, there is this advantage: for all the other...

Joseph Herl, . Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. xi+354 pp. $65.00 (cloth).

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewJoseph Herl, . Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. xi+354 pp. $65.00 (cloth).Christopher Boyd BrownChristopher Boyd BrownBoston University. Search for more articles by this author Boston University.PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Religion Volume 87, Number 1January 2007 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/511345 Views: 17Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict – Joseph Herl

Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict – Joseph Herl

:Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict

1. Luther and the liturgy in Wittenberg 2. Catholic liturgy: Lutheran liturgy 3. The church orders: an introduction 4. Choral and congregational singing in the church orders 5. Ecclesiastical visitations 6. Congregational hymnals 7. Choral music versus congregational singing 8. The organ and hymn singing 9. Performance practice

Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict (review)

Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries Conflict By Joseph Herl. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. [xi, 354 p. ISBN 0-19-5154398. $65.] Index, bibliography. Joseph Herl, assistant professor music at Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska, has done a masterful job assembling and analyzing sources that relate to choral and congregational singing in Lutheran churches sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries (with some coverage nineteenth century). Many us have longed for kind information this study supplies. (I wish, for example, it had been available before I finished book I just completed on hymn tunes.) After a preface that explains topic and dates it from 1523 to 1780, Worship Wars is divided into nine chapters and a conclusion. It begins with Luther and liturgy in Wittenberg, then backs up to Catholic liturgical practices before Reformation which are traced through sixteenth century as a backdrop for Luther's changes. Luther is pictured as a conservative liturgical reformer who picked up on congregational singing he inherited and was therefore so much an innovator as a popularizer of it (p. 35). Lutheran church orders are analyzed for prescriptions they give choral and congregational singing, but they are not left to stand alone. They are wisely contextualized in next chapter by reports ecclesiastical visitations in order to try to understand what actually happened. Hymnals and their rise are surveyed, debates choral versus congregational music are summarized, and organ's role is explained. Along with this comes performance practice hymn singing throughout these centuries. Appendices provide further supporting detail with sources German hymns, translations selected writings, tables choral versus congregational singing in Mass, and comparative liturgical tabulations which indicate how Mass was treated by Lutherans in various localities. Copious notes to chapters come at end book followed by a substantial bibliography and then an index. Conclusions summarize each chapter, and an overall conclusion summarizes whole book. Herl has searched both primary and secondary sources, read them with discrimination, brought together a wide array relevant detail, and analyzed it very carefully. He has made a welcome addition to literature, partially by giving so many sources, but also by pulling them together in a well-researched manner with clarity and context. In process some important matters arise. Though not central points, they are nonetheless critical to study and help our understanding hymn singing and music in Lutheran church more generally as well. One is relationship between Lutheran and Reformed practice, and between Lutheran and Catholic practice. This study, without explicidy trying to demonstrate it, makes clear that Lutherans have provided bridges on both fronts. Though sometimes embattled, influences that have ridden across bridges are not insignificant and often have moved quietly under batdements. A second is development music's role for arousing emotions in eighteenth century. Herl helpfully distinguishes this perspective from that sixteenth century when, as he explains, obvious point music was to convey a liturgical text or substitute for one (see, for example, p. 123). Without understanding this shift, our current circumstances are incomprehensible. A third is role organ in development hymn singing, a fourth its tempo, and a fifth move from rhythmic to isometric structures. As a whole book pits choral services against congregational ones and argues that, though it took about two hundred and fifty years (p. 175), the congregational conception service won out (p. 178). Protestant rhetoric Luther making a radical break with past by suddenly introducing hymn singing is shown to be false. …

Worship Wars

Worship Wars

Worship Wars or Worship Awakening?

Worship Wars or Worship Awakening?

Worship Wars in the Roman Catholic Church

Worship Wars in the Roman Catholic Church

Books Reviewed in this Issue

Books reviewed:Byars, Ronald P., The Future of Protestant Worship: Beyond the Worship WarsMartin, David, Christian Language and its Mutations: Essays in Sociological UnderstandingMay, William F., Beleaguered Rulers: The Public Obligation of the ProfessionalMcGuckin, John Anthony, Standing in God's Holy Fire: The Byzantine TraditionRay Jr., Stephen G., Do No Harm: Social Sin and Christian ResponsibilitySwinburne, Richard, The Resurrection of God Incarnate

Worship wars, blenders and “ancient‐future”; faith

Worship wars, blenders and “ancient‐future”; faith

Reaching out without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture

Why do churches fight Worship Wars? Why do discussions about how to conduct worship often split into two vitriolic polarities over traditional versus contemporary styles or into two opposing camps, such as organists/ guitarists, baby boomers/elders, returnees/loyalists or clergy/musicians? These worship wars prevent us from being the Church. In Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down, Marva Dawn writes to help local parishes and denominations think more thoroughly about worship and culture so that they can function effectively in contemporary society. She roots her discussion of worship issues in a careful assessment of significant aspects of the present technological, boomer, post-modern society and names criteria by which to judge the various cultural influences. She then sketches essential attributes of worship. Dawn recognizes that the vitality and faithfulness of our personal and corporate Christian lives and the effectiveness of our outreach to the world depend on the character that is formed in individuals and communities. How can churches best reach out to society without dumbing down this essential character formation? Dawn discusses music, preaching, and all the accouterments of worship and offers practical suggestions for choosing the best tools and forms to deepen worship life, nurture faith development, and increase believers outreach throughout the universal church and to the world.

Worship Wars and Rumours of Worship Wars

Worship Wars and Rumours of Worship Wars