Good Books: Criteria

I read this article today by Fred Sanders, a professor at Biola University. It's a pretty neat article, with some simple, but thought-provoking points on what makes a "good" book. I like reading articles like this from time to time, because they remind me why it's good and important to have a couple books going at any given time. Plus, the colder Fall/Winter weather makes for good book-reading time.

The article: "What makes a good book?"

Page CXVI

I love old hymns of the church, and I'm a big fan of learning and writing new arrangements to old hymns. I really believe, as C.S. Lewis talked about, that something is not better just because it's new. Many of the classic hymns express rich, sound Biblical truth in timeless ways, and I love that there is a recent trend in returning to some of our classic church music.

Page CXVI is a project by a group of musicians to rework some of the old hymns, infusing them into more contemporary arrangements. They give the hymns new, semi indie/rock and indi/folk sounds. Check them out - they do a pretty good job. They've also offered free downloads of their EPs a few different times. Good stuff.

Visit their website here to learn about the project, purchase their records, etc .

Part of the formula for good hymn writing:

I recently read this interview in Worship Leader Magazine (a publication I don't always agree with). This piece is particularly good, though; it's an interview with Keith Getty, co-writer (with Stuart Townend) of the modern hymn "In Christ Alone." It is funny to me that the article focuses on "In Christ Alone" (which I love, by the way), as if it's Getty's greatest achievement as a songwriter. He does, however, have several other very well-known works, written more recently than "In Christ Alone," and he has a pretty big body of really good work that almost totally goes unmentioned here. This makes the focus of some of the interview seem a bit dated if you're familiar with Getty's work at all. But Getty's comments are very timely and insightful, and transcend beyond the questions of Worship Leader Magazine.

The interview touches on Getty's mindset behind writing good, congregational worship music, and what continues to influences his creativity as a songwriter in this particular "genre" (if you can call hymns a genre). I found his thoughts really compelling and really encouraging. The following are three of my favorite quotes from the interview:

"My melodies tend to be heavily influenced by Irish music, and the Irish melodic style is essentially congregational. Although Irish music isn't particularly spectacular compared to say, African rhythm or to the unusual tones of Chinese music, or even the sophistication of much contemporary music, it has tremendous strength in its ability to be experienced and sung by large groups of people - whether in our homes, schools, or even at a sports match. It can be sung with or without instrumental accompaniment. I think the underlying sense of lilting pathos in Celtic melodies (which can also be heard in our speaking voices and is tied closely to our history) also helps the songs tell a story with all its raw emotion and passion. All Irish music centers on stories, whether of love or war or of people and places."

"I think it's of huge importance to us as worship leaders in preparation and in reviewing Sunday services to ask ourselves these two questions: What were the words we put into our congregations' mouths, minds, and memories? And how well did our congregation sing? Our role is simply to be an accompaniment to them as they sing."

"I also encourage lyricists to read beautiful poetry. Consider the fact that almost 20 percent of the story of Scripture is told through poetry. This speaks to the power of words. And to the enduring power of beauty. And perhaps most of all to the unending creative potential the story of the gospel releases in each of us."