[deacon blues]

The RCC didn't have much tolerance for "Culture Changers" like Martin Luther. Tyndale, Wycliffe, and a whole bunch of others balked established tradition and church culture and impacted the world. The problem is when we think we have the "whole truth" and we're unwilling to move forward as time and history progress. Change is inevitable. If its not altering what is clearly a scriptural edict, why worry?

The "when I was 22 in 1945" argument rings hollow. There was not that vast of a difference between the generation prior to his and his own. The landscape changes so fast now that one generation to the next can seem so far removed.

I'm an 80s generation product. If I tried to lead church with Amy Grant, the Allies, and Dallas Holm, the young people would wonder what was wrong with me. The songs we call hymns are in many cases songs written in the 30s, 40s and 50s. True hymns are HUNDREDS of years old. So essentially the songs he was singing when he got saved were contemporary to their times.

I say "sing unto the Lord a new song!" Elders don't need to be catered to, they should be mature enough that they are happy to see new people, young people, young couples and young families coming into the church. I don't necessarily like everything that modern worship produces, but neither have I ever liked Southern Gospel Quartet music, "The Great Speckled Bird", black gospel songs that use the same old "pick me up, turned me around, placed my feet on solid ground" lines.

The truth is most of these passionate reactions are because of taste, nostalgia and biases.