‘I want mystery; I want weirdness; I want strangeness.’ This is what British Christianity’s favourite historian Tom Holland looks for in a church. Holland claims no Christian faith of his own, but there are many in the church who (with some genuine warrant) reckon he’s onto something.
At this point, enter stage left the countless church musicians of our land. Perhaps with the exception of pastors, you will find no-one tasked with a more delicate balancing act in all of Christendom: leading the people of God as they sing in worship. Alongside juggling the parameters of faithfulness to Scripture, relevance to and edification of a church family, not too fast, not too slow, not too high, not too low, pursuing a taste that is neither offensive nor anodyne (the list could go on)… how on earth do you make room for mystery, weirdness and strangeness as well?
What hymns should you choose this Sunday?
In December 1527, the German reformer Martin Luther wrote to a colleague referring to himself in the third person: “We …