They are looking to expand their repertoire of hymns to be used in Saturday services. Be warned though, DO NOT submit a song that has feelings to them! God forbid if anyone showed any emotion in church!
This was one of the weirdest reasons HWA eventually dumped so-called Protestant hymns from the old gray hymnal. They had too much feeling.
Most COG leaders are a little too dense to remember that all the hymns they sing were songs written by David and others about the feelings in their hearts. feelings of joy, of lament, of doubt, and so much more.
It is much more comforting to sings songs about bashing babies and people's heads against the rocks, armies marching into war, men dominating women, or something supposedly written by Moses. Please do NOT write any syrupy things about grace, justification, or mercy. Those are things that so-called Christians sing about and that is just plain nasty!
Hymns for Living Church of God Services
One way we honor God is by praising Him in song. In the Scriptures, we have the benefit of the words of many songs composed by David and his musicians, as well as Moses and others. We have also been blessed with a recent legacy of a musical version of these songs, primarily through the work of Mr. Dwight Armstrong. More recent additions to our compilation of hymns were made by others during the latter years of Mr. Herbert Armstrong’s life. We sing many of these hymns every week in our congregations around the world.
With our recent reliance on streaming technology, including our musical praise of God, it seems appropriate to revisit our recorded versions of our hymns, and consider updating the audio using the most recent recording technology. As part of this effort, Mr. Weston has approved including additional hymns that have been written by talented musicians in the Living Church of God. As we read in Psalm 98:1, it gives glory to God to “sing to the Lord a new song!”
If you would like to submit a hymn for possible inclusion in our updated collection, please bear the following guidelines in mind.
- Submitted hymns should be based closely upon scriptural passages.
- Much “Christian music” today expresses religious feeling but does not reflect the words of the Bible.
- Submissions should be in the traditional format that we use for congregational singing, typically with two to four verses in a four-stanza framework.
- A song written for congregational singing is arranged differently than a song performed for special music. For example, some of the songs in our current hymnal were initially written for special music and later modified for congregational hymns.
- Melodies should be clear, simple and singable, able to be quickly learned and easily remembered.
- Lyrics should be well-formed and pleasing to the ear, maintaining the clear, powerful style of the written word of God.
- Complete arrangement of a hymn is not required for consideration.
- Complete compositions are certainly acceptable. However, simply submitting lyrics and melody together would be adequate for initial consideration.
If you are interested, stay tuned for upcoming announcements for more information on submitting a composition.—Jonathan McNair
