A pretend book cover, based on a quote by Bible scholar Gordon Fee. And whilst it's not saying anything new, it says it very well.
The quote can be heard either postively (if we are happy with what it implies) or negatively (if we don't like it) or maybe even as a challenge to reflect on what that might say about our own church.
Personally, I'm very happy with the idea - which is perhaps as well, given that I choose the bulk of the hymns/songs each week. I am also more than happy that the balance of the music, chosen by our Musical Director (or whatever posh title we give him) expresses our theology too.
Some of the music we sing is overtly aspirational - this is the kind of church we long to be, are on a journey to becoming, a theology we are working out even when it's tricky. Songs/hymns in this category would include:
Jesus call us here to meet him
Great God, your love has called us here
Let us build a house where love can dwell
For everyone born a place at the table
Some of the music we sing explicitly expresses the hope we have in a God of grace, mercy, justice and love, such as:
Come to me and I will give you rest
Do not be afraid, I have redeemed you
The Lord's my shepherd (in assorted versions!)
O love that will not let me go
What a friend we have in Jesus
Great is thy faithfulness
Some of the songs we sing express our ethnic diverity and sense of being part of the World Church, so we from time to time sing songs in languages including
Latin
Greek
Spanish
French
Yoruba
Xhosa
Sometimes we sing very cheesy songs and have fun - because church can be awfully staid and 'proper' and I'm sure God has a great sense of humour
God's people aren't super brave super-heroes
Father Abraham has many kin
If you're black or if you're white or if you're in between (God loves you when you're being good and even if you're bad...)
We sing songs that express hope, and songs that act as prayers, we sing old songs and new songs. No writer or 'stable' is off limits as the collection of music books on my shelves demonstrates...
Baptist Praise and Worship (red book) and Baptist Hymnbook (green) and the ill-fated 'Praise for Today'
Methodist Hymnbook and Hymns & Psalms
Rejoice and Sing and Congregational Praise
Hymns Old and New, RC and Anglican editions
Church Hymnary, Fourth Edition
Sunday School Praise
Mission Praise, Junior Praise, Carol Praise
Songs of Fellowship original series and new series!
Really Good Songs for Junior Church
Kid Source
A complete set of Iona books including 'Love from Below' and others whose names I cannot, just now, recall
Assorted books from Taize
And a whole load you'll never had heard of, and I can't recall off the top of my head.
My church has a very wide repetoire of songs and hymns, and is always willing to learn fresh (new or old) material. Week by week, as I choose the hymns and as the MD chooses the choir pieces, we have always in mind very strongly that the songs we sing both inform and are informed by our theology.
Of course, very occasionally I will be totally self indulgent and choose something just because I like it! But maybe that's a theological expression in its own right...