Great talent
LORD OF EVERY HEART
CD by Stuart Townend
Kingsway Music. £15.99
Stuart Townend now rivals Graham Kendrick as the most gifted writer of modern Christian songs. Furthermore, Townend's lyrics do not seem so prone to the aberrations which have sometimes afflicted Kendrick's lesser works.
Already one of the songs on this album 'In Christ alone' (copyrighted in 2001) is a favourite with many congregations. The tune is stately and matches the profound joy and assurance of such works as 'No guilt in life, no fear in death/This is the power of Christ in me/ From life's first cry to final breath/Jesus commands my destiny'. It is so good you think the spirit of Charles Wesley must have had a hand in it! 'Image of the invisible God' and 'Love incarnate' give very moving and devotional portraits of the Lord Jesus. Cross-carrying discipleship is promoted in 'My delight' and the great theme of mission rings out clearly in 'Across the lands'. Most of the tunes are congregation-friendly, but don't be put off by the rather loud and exuberant first track.
The CD exhibits the writer's enormous God-given talent through which many Christians have been and will be encouraged. However, there is a point which needs to be made more generally about all modern songs. They are still very much tied to the church worship context. That is fine. But we have a desperate need to take our worship into daily life. When will today's gifted writers give us hymns about working life, family life (including funerals), civic life for Christ? Think about it, guvs?
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