Church Music

Pastor Hall has a post on his blog regarding church singing and hymns. I will agree with him to a point. It's not about what you want to sing. It's what about what should be sung. Old hymns, new hymns--it's not about singing to sing. It is about singing to each other the faith. There seem to be many people in churches who have not learned why we do liturgy and hymns.
Where is the glitch? Is it the pastors have not taught them, or they have not learned? If it it the latter, then the lesson needs to be taught again. (I know that students don't always get it the first time.) If it is the former, why aren't the pastors teaching the people? Is it because the pastors were absent that day at seminary and didn't learn it themselves, or because they are using up too much of their time teaching the people other things they haven't learned yet (like why it's wrong to shack up before getting married), or is it because they expect someone else to do it? Maybe it's because there are too many people who hold to the idea that we should always be forward-thinkers and throw out the liturgy and hymnody as the proverbial baby in the bathwater. I like Lost and Found's song Opener which has the following lyrics:
"EVERY SUNDAY IS JUST LIKE THE LAST, AS IF THE CHURCH HAS NO HISTORY AND THE PEOPLE HAVE NO PAST. WE JUST SING THE SONGS WE LIKE TO SING AND WE PREACH ABOUT THE NEWS AND WE THINK UP SOME NEW THING JUST TO FILL UP THE PEWS"
Sounds like many churches. It finishes up with the line, "LET'S STOP ALL THE FIGHTING OVER WORDS AND WAYS AND TELL ABOUT JESUS LIKE IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS." Yes, let's, and it seems to me that the liturgy is the best way to do it.