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Thread: What Happened to Upbeat Praise Songs? Michael Brown

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    What Happened to Upbeat Praise Songs? Michael Brown

    As I write these words, I'm listening to some beautiful, slow worship music. How wonderful! How glorious! How many times I have encountered thface in tears of adoration and awe. What a Savior! What a God! I will never tire of singing these Jesus-exalting Spirit-empowered songs.

    But I've noticed something missing in the midst of my ministry travels. In some of the meetings, every song is slow. Every song seems like the last, with little variety. And as much as I've enjoyed beautiful times of worship in meetings like this, I've also found myself asking, "Where is the joy and celebration? Where are the songs you can dance to and jump to? Where's the time for breaking out and breaking free?"

    Contagious Joy
    I'm not talking about working things up. I hate hype and emotionalism. Even more, I hate manipulation.

    I'm talking about a contagious joy that is captured in the lyrics and the music. I'm talking about something that transcends happiness, that transcends a lively beat. I'm talking about what Peter calls an inexpressible and glorious joy (1 Peter 1:8).

    And while we can find that joy in slow worship songs (or even without music at all), we can find it in a unique way in upbeat praise.

    It lifts us out of ourselves into another realm. A realm of celebration. A realm of freedom. A realm of liberation.

    Sometimes our worship can be so somber (not just reverential, but somber). The songs almost drone on. And I wonder, "Are these a reflection of our emotional state? Perhaps we need a change? Perhaps a change in music would help?"

    Encountering the Love of God
    Before I came to faith in 1971 as a heroin-shooting, LSD-using hippie rock drummer, music was front and center in my life. Hard rock music. Heavy and loud music. Cream and Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

    I saw The Who perform the rock opera Tommy. I saw Zeppelin four times. I saw Hendrix twice. I saw the Doors and Janis Joplin. I saw Jethro Tull four times and Ten Years After four times. And almost every day of the week, our little rock band would practice and jam, fueled by drugs as we did.

    What a change it was for me to start attending a little, Italian Pentecostal church in Queens, New York. The men wore jackets and ties and the women wore dresses. And instead of an ear-shattering rock band, there was the pastor's wife, playing hymns on the piano.

    And it was singing those little hymns with their silly rhymes that I encountered the love of God and the joy of the Spirit. As a result of that, in one moment of time, on December 17, 1971, I was set free. No more needles! No more drugs! I was a new man.

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    As a follower of Jesus, music has remained important to me, to the point that I wrote a book about it last year. It was titled The Power of Music: God's Call to Change the World One Song at a Time.

    In the book, I look at the impact music has had on the world, for better or for worse, encouraging the church to use music to its full potential for the Lord.

    Breaking Out in Praise
    And that's why I write this article: I'm burdened to see the fullness of joy in our worship and praise. I'm especially burdened to see it break out in the midst of the younger generation where joy can be a precious commodity.

    To be sure, there is something unspeakably profound about singing contemporary, slow worship songs like "Revelation Song" or "You Won't Relent" or "What a Beautiful Name" or "Way Maker." It is especially wonderful to do this with thousands of other believers. What a taste of heaven it brings!

    It is the same with the classic hymns of old, like Charles Wesley's "And Can It Be" or John Newton's "Amazing Grace." The words remain transcendent.

    But what about those cut-loose, explode-out, joy-filled songs of praise? They too take us into unique places in the Lord.

    In the old days, in that first church, it was hymns like "Power in the Blood" or "When We All Get to Heaven." (Yes, I went from Zeppelin and Hendrix to songs like these.)

    In more recent decades, I think of songs like "So Good to Me"(this still gets me dancing and shouting and leaping and spinning) or "This Is How We Overcome" (this really does help us overcome) or "Shouts of Joy"(try listening to this without tapping along).

    The music itself changes the atmosphere, and when it is joined to powerful lyrics, our innermost beings can be changed.

    That's why people rise to their feet spontaneously when Handel's Messiah culminates in the Hallelujah Chorus. The combination of the lyrics and the music and the Spirit is compelling. It is the same with joy-filled praise.

    Of course, some of you reading this article have no idea what I'm talking about, having never encountered the Lord in worship. I earnestly pray that you will.

    Others are asking yourself as you read, "I wonder what churches he's attending? We've got plenty of joyful celebration in our midst."

    Still others, who come from a more liturgical background, are having difficulty relating to the types of services I'm describing.

    But others know exactly what I mean, and as you're reading, the light has gone on.

    It's time to bring back the joyful songs!

    What Happened to Upbeat Praise Songs? | The Stream

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    This is actually a pet peeve of mine. Especially starting the service off with a slow worship song. Most believers have been out in the world all week in their jobs, etc, and could use some upbeat joyful music to break the hell off them before moving into the Holy of Holies in worship. Let me praise and dance and shout a little first. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!

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  5. #3
    I'm thankful for youtube so I can enjoy the songs of joy from the hymnals. Every time I tune in to Hillsong they are singing the slow songs with the hard to follow tunes. Some times the lyrics are just phrases strung together. I just move on through to another channel.

    There are still many joyful hymns in the AG hymnal whose messages aren't outdated. Younger folks just don't like the style.

    Well, that's my .02.

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    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    People's taste in music varies alot but I agree with the article - Some of the newer worship songs are bland and similar

    I have noticed if a popular song writing group release a song (can be fast or worship) it will be sung regularly even if its mediocre and at times even poor
    Some of it is for marketing and selling the album

    Just last week in my devotions I was singing ...'This is the day' and it felt good

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  9. #5
    Upbeat also in the percussion sense. As a drummer I fail miserably with what we call "upbeat", that immediately uplifting beat that brought celebration. I could live in that. This is why I go to church, praise in inhabited by God.

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  11. #6
    (1) THE MOST UPBEAT OLD HYMN OF ALL TIME:
    "Dwelling in Beulah Land" was the first new old hymn I introduced to my 2-church UMC charge in western New York. One of these churches had a jazz pianist like this guy. The effect was electrifying!

    dwelling beulah land youtube - Bing video

    (2) If you want to know what upbeat Gospel songs my last UMC church sung, here is one I introduced there because my church secretary said it was her favorite old hymn, "Railway to Heaven:"

    Statler's Mountain Railway - YouTube

    (3) And if your church has a male quartet, you should ask them to sing the incredibly upbeat song "Jesus is Coming Soon." After the applause, make sure you listen for the encore verse:

    Oak Ridge Boys - Jesus Is Coming Soon - YouTube

  12. #7
    I thought it was just me. I've noticed this too. So many of the worship songs are indeed "somber." I miss "This is the Day," "Spring Up O Well," "Victory in Jesus," and so many others. Hope some worship leaders listen. My problem is that if I repost this on FB, our worship leader will think I'm criticizing him and I really don't mean to do that.

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  14. #8
    Break out some dancing music and Go man go.....

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  16. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Bookman View Post
    I thought it was just me. I've noticed this too. So many of the worship songs are indeed "somber." I miss "This is the Day," "Spring Up O Well," "Victory in Jesus," and so many others. Hope some worship leaders listen. My problem is that if I repost this on FB, our worship leader will think I'm criticizing him and I really don't mean to do that.
    Those worship leaders tend to be a sensitive lot.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    ... Most believers have been out in the world all week in their jobs, etc, and could use some upbeat joyful music to break the hell off them before moving into the Holy of Holies in worship. Let me praise and dance and shout a little first. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!
    Exactly! - That's why (when I was leading P & W), I always started off with a few upbeat songs, so we could "Shake the Devil Off" and then enter the "Holy Place" through worship.

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