Music And Dance

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The kind of protective military bullet proof vests that are worn by soldiers and law enforcement officers commonly, are now also being purchased for use by ordinary citizens. Contrary to what you might think, this is not some kind of “just for fun” fad. People everywhere are looking to military body armor to keep them safe in an unpredictable world.

You can get military body armor in a selection of colors, but the shapes are all basically the same, from brand to brand. Although they all look similar, these vests all come with a specific purpose, and it’s not always the same. You can get flotation vests, impact resistant, stab resistant, and even ballistic vests.

These last two can come as a combined property, or you can find either configured with one of the first two configurations according to needs. This body armor comes graded according to effectiveness. The lowest is I and the highest is IV. At least a II is recommended for military purposes, but a III or a IIIa is better.

OK, real confessions… I am a up to date worship leader and I Fancy Hymns! Hymns are great. They are regal, and many contain more theology than the run of the mill sermon these days! Old folk love them, traditional folk love them, but the majority of younger ones have thrown them out (along with everything before 2000) when they are worship leading. Gee, they even believe the Beatles are uncool (such lack of knowledge!).

Someplace in the midpoint cries the voice of good sense. Now granted, some hymns are funeral marches, time-consuming, slow, tedious and brain-deadening. Some contain rubbish theology and some are just plain irrelevant in both use of language and subject matter. Some are virtually unsingable, except to 13th century monks! However, in the middle of these types of hymns are some of the greatest songs ever written, and some of the most magnificent songs you could ever sing when worship leading!

Now, if you are young, and don’t consider me, test a couple of them out. Hymns like, “And Can It Be,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “How Great Thou Art” are awesome. As worship leaders, we need to be thinking about these songs for inclusion in our worship services, because there is an marvelous level of worship and instruction in the songs.

My inclination, both personal and of my church, is that we sing at least one hymn every Sunday church service. If you are resourceful and musical you can play it in such a way that it is thrilling and remarkable, and you can venture into the very presence of God using these old songs. On top of that, the old folk in the congregation will be excited. Consequently you win either way. Believe me, guys; there are some great songs you cannot live without in the hymns portion!

But if you are intending to do a hymn, don’t manufacture it into a funeral march! The older folks will love hymns done in a new and a innovative way, therefore pray and ask God for some inventive tips to make the hymn into a contemporary work of art. Then look at God unite all ages as they worship Him using this old but new song!

Caution!

One word of caution, principally to the conservative evangelical denominations. There is a mammoth inclination to have the worship songs, with the modern beat and instruments, and then insert the token hymn for the oldies, doing this with simply an organ or a piano, played in a traditional yet boring style. I strongly caution you against this, because this merely promotes the “us verses them” scenario, the “your music verses our music” polarizing we see in lots of churches.