24 September 2015 A.D. Keith Getty Criticizes Contemporary Worship
24
September 2015 A.D. Keith Getty Criticizes Contemporary
Worship
Hensch,
Mark. “Q&A: Keith Getty Criticizes Contemporary Worship Music.” Christian Post. 19 Dec 2011. http://www.christianpost.com/news/qa-keith-getty-criticizes-contemporary-worship-music-65191/.
Accessed 24 Sept 2015.
Keith Getty says
modern churches should stop mimicking mainstream trends with their praise
music.
The
Irish songwriter has inspired audiences worldwide since debuting in 2001 with New Irish Hymns. Since then,
Keith and his wife, Kristyn, have championed hymns that adore God and amass the
genre's rich congregational history in equal measures. In keeping with that
mission, the duo recently dropped Joy – An
Irish Christmas, a holiday praise album that pulls from Celtic
lore to produce a new collection of hymns, carols and jigs.
In
an interview with The Christian Post, Getty provides insight on his Gaelic
heritage, musical history and married life. More importantly, the man behind
the modern hymn movement makes clear that we should sing God's praises with our
most somber songs.
CP: You
were born in Northern Ireland and now live in the U.S. How would you describe
the similarities and differences between the two?
Getty:
Ireland as a whole is a very small and beautiful country. Everything is green.
All of its art, religion and culture have had much influence on me. I go back
about twice a year.
America
has a faster pace of life here and it's a newer world. There are also more
opportunities for musicians here. We enjoy it very much.
CP: You
play music with your wife Kristyn. How do you like performing with your spouse,
and how important is she to you?
Getty:
Kristyn is the most important person in my life. That rises far above music.
She's my biggest priority every morning I wake up. We've been together every
night since we were married seven and a half years ago.
Performing
together is brilliant too. Both performing and practicing with her is very
professional.
CP: Your
music is renowned for its goal of bringing back hymns to modern church life.
How do you think that mission is going?
Getty:
I think it's been going well. I think the modern worship music movement has
been driving the church down a dangerous and sinister path. I think it’s
because of the move away from theology and the fact the music itself isn't congregational.
It doesn't bring people together anymore and the art form itself has been
degraded completely.
Alternatively,
I'm encouraged by churches that still emphasize the Gospel in what they sing.
I've seen changes, but artistically and congregationally we have a long ways to
go. It's not converting people to a hymn but confirming them to rich
theological truth. That affects music, art and everything beyond it.
CP: What
would you define as a "modern" hymn?
Getty:
Everyone defines hymns differently. We try to write things that are
theologically rich but bring congregations together. We also strive for the
highest possible standard.
It's
not that hymns are always good and other songs bad. A great song always
communicates to people. People will always sing a well-written song and it will
cross over many different boundaries.
CP:
Where do you find the most inspiration for your songs? Is it after Bible study,
church or your personal faith?
Getty:
There's nothing new under the sun. We constantly strive to create. I learn a
lot from historical church music and its incredible liturgies. The Gospel is of
course a wealth of inspiration.
To
be relevant to the future we have to know our history. Part of the reason the
entire modern church music movement is so vacuous is that it ignores the
entirety of church history. We can be naïve and we don’t always know what to do
with music. Today it's become a way of getting the most people into church for
the short term. It's almost a PR and marketing tool to grow numbers as fast as
possible.
CP: You
recently released a collection of holiday standards titled Joy – An Irish Christmas. How do you celebrate
Christmas in Ireland?
Getty:
It isn't incredibly different to be honest. There is a much broader, wider and
longer tradition of carol singing there than there is here. It gave us a chance
to explore our country's musical history. Irish music is much happier than most
happy music and much sadder than most sad music when it's sad.
CP: What
do you consider the true meaning of Christmas?
Getty:
The story of Christmas is about God coming to Earth as a child to save mankind
and to bring them to a new life. The truth is we should remember that all year
round.
In
one sense, Christmas isn't that different. I believe that the Church has historically
tried to remind people of all the stages of Christ's life across the calendar
year through various festivals and holidays. Christmas is merely the most
important as it celebrates Christ's birth.
CP: How
has Christ made a difference in your life?
Getty:
I'd say the forgiveness of my sins is above all else. I never want to lose the
joy of that. Beyond that, it goes against every human inclination to live for
something greater than ourselves. Conversely, it's the only way to be fully
human. We can know love and community and art on our own, but we love it more
deeply in Christ.
CP:
What's next for the Gettys?
Getty:
In 2012 we'll be doing a new collection of hymns on the aspects of Christian
life. We're going to record it in the style of bluegrass music. We're going to
look at the character of God and how he teaches us. A major focus will be the
apostle's creed and we've drawn a lot from liturgical history.
We're
switching from the style of our home of Ireland to that of our current home in
Nashville. The band we have is a unique blend of Irish and bluegrass musicians,
so at the end of the day we just like keeping things fresh.
Comments
Post a Comment