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In a worship service, is there an ideal mix between contemporary worship, modern hymns, and classic hymns?

Keith: I don't think there's an answer. You choose great songs that have great words and sing well. Every word you give people on a Sunday has to count for something. The same thing applies to what is sung—in fact, in some ways even more so.

Paul told persecuted churches to get together and teach and admonish one another and sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. There's no intellectual reason to do that; there's no church- growth reason to do that. It's a command, because that is the radical thing.

If members of a congregation aren't singing, serious questions must be asked, no matter how good the show is at the front.

We also need to remember the importance of learning from the pastor. A lot of people go into Christian music with the Bible in one hand and Coldplay in the other: "I'm going to slap something from the Bible onto whatever the contemporary style is, and that's the way to relate to contemporary culture, because that's what pastors do—they've got the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, and they apply this one to this one."

But that's not what pastors do. I don't know any pastor who doesn't read commentaries by people who came before. There is an unusual arrogance sometimes in music, where one side is disparaging of contemporary music as if the new generation has nothing to say. But then the flip side of that is the new generation has no interest in what's been said before.

There are 20 centuries of Christian music history and a glorious history of sound traditions from before that. There's so much we can learn. Even if we detest the musical styles or we feel they're an irrelevancy to our particular gifting, there's a rich legacy to be learned from.

Kristyn: Even to learn from mistakes.

Keith: Yes. Whether it's the Salvation Army or music in the cathedrals in Rome or from the early saints, there's such a rich history.

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Russ Breimeier reviewed their most recent album, In Christ Alone.

The Gettys' website has lyrics and short samples from the album.

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February 2008, Vol. 52, No. 2