I’d imagine most of my friends and Sacred Wrightings aficionados (there is at least one) know I struggle with what I regard at the banality of many worship songs we sing in our churches. But I’m prepared and even happy to admit I’m not struggling with the UK Blessing, which was uploaded onto YouTube yesterday and is plastered on my Facebook wall from top to bottom. There is something genuinely stirring, I think, about this one, and I’d be happy to sing it in my local church when the time comes.
That said, I do have some thoughts on it, and I’d be grateful
for conversation—though if any conversation happens, I suppose it will be on my
Facebook wall rather than on here! I should emphasise that these are rough thoughts
and not intended to be criticisms, except perhaps for the first one.
1. The original version of ‘The Blessing’ just doesn’t do it
for me: it’s too much like a concert for me. I’m waiting for Simon Cowell to
pop up at the end to give his verdict.
2. There are other versions out there, including ‘choir’
versions from the Pittsburgh Blessing, the Blessing South Africa, Worship Together, Azusa Pacific University, and so on, and these are much better, in my
view. I am especially impressed by the denominational representation in the UK
Blessing video: Church of England, Coptic Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Salvation
Army, RCCG, Pioneer, and a load of what I presume are independent evangelical
and/or charismatic churches. This leads to me think one of two things: either (a) that
through these videos, God is truly acting to bless and assure us that God has
not abandoned us; or (b) that this is just some kind of bandwagon gaining in
popularity and strength. I’m very much inclined towards the first view, but I
can’t shake off the latter completely. And I suppose the two are not mutually incompatible.
3. Even if, as I hope, the various ‘Blessings’ are an action
of God, some YouTube comments appear to suggest these are some kind of
prelude to revival. All I will say here is: It might not be.
4. How far does the song’s climax (especially the last
couple of minutes or so), including the way it is presented with so many faces,
affect our reception of it? Would the song be so inspiring were it just a
handful of people singing it, or if the instruments used were, say, an
accordion and a harpsichord? Music is powerful: I guess I’m just concerned that
the song was designed to take us to a particular place irrespective of the Holy
Spirit. The same could be said of any media, of course.
5. I cannot help but notice that the majority of people in
the UK Blessing appear young and (dare I say it?) photo/telegenic. Is this a
good thing?
As I say, these are rough thoughts that are not
intended to be criticisms.
The Lord bless
you
and keep you;
the Lord make
his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn
his face towards you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
Oh—and may the Force be with you, too. #starwarsday
Hey Terry, I like the video. I dont think it's a song you'd use in a Sunday service, more it's a song of encouragement to all those who are struggling to adjust to not being able to meet, and an advertisement to the general population that the church - Gods church is alive and well and still functioning should you need/want to reach out. I think the people featured are a good representation of people in Church in the uk. I think taking part and organising this song is in itself an act of worship to our God and I'm sure He will in turn use it for his Glory.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Unknown. Yes, I'd agree with much of this - though one of the things that's come out on my Facebook wall is that the UK Blessing is still too homogeneous.
DeleteI like the words, like you Terry I guess some of the presentation hits the wrong buttons in me, as does the name in many ways. Although most of the scars of the negative attributes of certain things marked "the ... Blessing" have now healed there are still negative connotations attached. I can't extract how much of that is down to me and how much of that is a genuine response to the hype I experienced in the past.
ReplyDeleteI hope, like I hope with many other "blessings" that God will be able to do many amazing things because or in spite of it. I do feel that revival could come, not through the sharing of a song but by the way the church responds to these current times, the song perhaps being a small part of that. Isolation provides a good amount of time for prayer, healthy instrospection amd seeking God. The hardships followed by people during this time also provide a great opportunity for the church to respond.
Yes, I'd agree with all that, Tim.
DeleteI place a lot of stock in timing: it's the timing of this song (in a 'moment in time' sense, not a tempo sense) that seems to make this work, as well as the interdenominational participation. I'm naturally inclined to think God is working through the song or using it in some way. But this relates to my comment 2(b) above as well. Is this just a 'thing' rather than a 'God thing'? Time will tell!