“Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by thy great help I’ve come”, is a line from an old hymn, Come Thou Fount, that eluded my understanding for many years.(I understand it now and love this hymn.) From childhood I wanted to sing words in church that meant something to me. And in my lifespan I have seen my desire fulfilled. 

It began with the Jesus Movement when I was a young teenager and it was exactly what I craved. It was created in a controversial church in California that was reaching out to hippies with rock-and-roll worship music. Many evangelists claimed it to be devil music until Billy Graham stepped up and endorsed this new Jesus music. This was the ember that started a fire burning, breathing life back into church worship services.

Later, when I went to college, I chose a college that was promoting new Christian music with understandable lyrics and a strong beat. Wayland University had their own radio station that played new Christian music and even allowed new Christian artists a stage. I joined their symphonic band that was led by a free-thinker who taught us to play our instruments and sing loudly in worship. One time we performed at the stodgy Baptist Convention and watched old men in suits lifting their heads and loudly singing praises to God along with us. This was an answer to my heart’s desire. 

Then college was over and church service returned to some old lady quietly playing the organ while we sang along with our faces buried in the hymnal, wishing the song leader would skip verses two and three to put us out of our misery. In my heart I knew this was not worship. Then…

The new Baptist hymnal was in and there it was, right beside Fanny Crosby and Charles Wesley: Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. Oh my joy! A breath of fresh air was breathed into ancient songs in archaic language that I had sung three times a week for my entire 31 years of life. It was only one song but it was a major breakthrough. 

Twenty years later, worship was transformed by lyrics being printed on the screen, someone on the guitar and piano, accompanied by bass and drums as well as an orchestra and choir. My cup runs over! I still have an appreciation for old hymns. In fact, I dearly love them. I just love them loud and proud and skillfully arranged. All I wanted was for my praises to be powerful enough to reach from my heart to the heavens. 

Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150