Dr. Stackhouse,
I appreciate your concerns surrounding the state of music in the contemporary church. I agree that we can do better than many of us in church musical leadership have done in the past. There is no argument from me on that. What I do have a concern with is the tone of your blog post directed at Chris Tomlin.
One of the things that grieves me most is when I see the people of God, who cherish and draw their very life from the grace of God, fail to extend this same grace to others. I would like to humbly submit that you rewrite your blog post or edit it significantly to reflect to a greater degree a gracious and gentle spirit (2 Tim. 2:24,25).
To be clear, I do not claim to be perfectly consistent when it comes to displaying to others the grace that I have received from God. I need to improve in this area. Can’t we agree that we should all be working much harder toward this end for the sake of love, unity and witness to the world? My contention is that the spirit of your post works against these Biblical ends.
I could be wrong, but my contention is that statements like this only work against your cause:
“My suspicion, in fact, is that these songs “come to him” and he then records them with little or no alteration. Surely he can’t be crafting them with the diligence of a serious poet. For if these are the best he can do after working and reworking them, he simply needs to get someone else to write the words. They’re just that bad.”
“We have rhymes this time–hooray!” (Painful sarcasm)
“But what Brother Tomlin seems happy to keep sending our way–and what the rest of us are happily receiving–isn’t simple, it’s just bad. Shame on him...”
I am in no way saying that Chris Tomlin is beyond critique and I’m sure he would not say that either. I honestly share some of your same concerns, but as we all know, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. I would like to submit that the tone of your post (mainly from these quotes above) does not reflect a graciousness that is the mark of someone whose every breath relies upon the mercy of God. I could be wrong, but this seems to be a very problematic disconnect for a man who has given his life to the study and communication of God’s word which is mainly the story of God’s grace. Perhaps this is just subjective judgment on my part, but at least consider it and run it by a few folks in your life who you know love you and love the grace, mercy, and patience of God.
One of the ways that you could do a heart check with this is to imagine if you were talking to Chris in person. Do you think you would feel comfortable reading your post out-loud to him if he was sitting in your office with you?
I could be wrong, but I would guess that that situation might make you feel a bit uncomfortable and that you would probably edit some of your words if you knew that Chris was going to actually read your blog post. Critique from afar is very simple. Critique up close is more complex.
Here is my offer to you Dr. Stackhouse: Through relationships that I have in the Christian music industry, I can say with a relative degree of confidence that I could get Chris to read your post (if he has not already). I could be wrong here, but my sense is that if you leave it as is, he will write you off as just another insensitive and angry blogger. If you really care about this issue and want to make a difference in the life of a younger believer who influences thousands of people, you should rewrite your post for the sake of greater impact through love, humility and respect. If you do that, I’ll do all I can to get it to him.
Let me know if you want to take me up on the offer.
Sincerely,
Zach Nielsen
Music Minister
Desert Springs Church
Albuquerque, NM 87113
zachnielsen7@gmail.com
Thursday, February 12, 2009
An Open Letter To Dr. John Stackhouse in Response To His Critique of Chris Tomlin
Recently Dr. John Stackhouse (Regent College) wrote a blog post critiquing Chris Tomlin and his songwriting. The title of his post is, “Chris Tomlin’s Worship Songs: We Have Got To Do Better”. You can read it first and then read my response if you like.
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13 comments:
I read Dr. Stackhouse's post and was considering a response. However, I then read your open letter and didn't feel I needed to add anything beyond what you said. Well written and very gracious. Good work. I hope he responds well.
Very wisely written Mr. Nielsen. It stirs up in us anger when one lashes out at another unjustly - but from certain people, should it really surprise us? When I read article such as this it comes across as "The Big, Cosmic, Amazing Who-Cares?"
Keep up the good work with the Vit. Z blog.
Regards,
Looking at Stackhouse's credentials and position, one would expect a thoughtful and well-ordered argument with some appeal to authority. Instead, he opines with the tact and thoughtfulness of a college student writing a facebook post.
I once heard Chris Tomlin describe his writing process, and it is much more deliberate and careful than Dr. Stackhouse assumes. Yes, his lyrics are elementary. That doesn't make them bad. They have their place. When I use Tomlin's songs in worship, I surround them with songs of more theological gravity.
You are right to take issue with Dr. Stackhouse's tone. I take issue with the poor content in his blog. It is not befitting a man of his stature.
Is Dr. Stackhouse harsh? Yes. Is he correct about Christian music, in general? Yes. I'm sorry it had to come down on Chris Tomlin only because a lot of others are to blame. We should be asking why such low grade stuff is being cranked out. Years ago, I used to love Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, and Third Day to name a few. Over the years, I have seen these artists and more start putting out album after album of baaaaad lyrics. I've almost stopped listening to christian radio because of it. There's better stuff out there, you just have to look for it...on iTunes.
@ Joe
I actually responded to him in a similar matter to a blog post he did on TV preachers. The blog post was alright but in the comments he felt he had to say that Driscoll really, really bugs him. Which is maybe ok for him to think but not for a respected dr. to write down without any explanation.
Great response. The very issue had been on my heart this morning.
Amen!
For what it's worth, I've heard Tomlin talk a little bit about how he intentionally keeps things simple, so as to make his music easily transferable.
I just went to a Chris Tomlin concert in Cedar Rapids a few weeks ago with some youth from our church.
I knew some of his songs, but not many.
I was pleased with everything that he sang. He presented a great view of God.
I left incredibly thankful to God for Chris Tomlin and the position of ministry he has.
He is writing/singing in a certain genre. I think that needs to be taken into consideration.
Thanks for your response, Z.
Sorry, unlike most (all?) the previous commenters, I have to disagree with your post. I understand the call for kindness, generosity, etc., but Stackhouse is just calling a spade a spade- and giving glaring examples of the mush Tomlin and others produce as lyrics. Unlike Stackhouse, I like contemporary music. I like loud music. But I wish somebody would write good lyrics.
Well said Zac.
Please let us all know if you get response.
Reading Stackhouse's replies has strengthened my resolve not to blog about things I DON'T like if I can avoid it in any way.
He responded sort on his blog in his post. You can read his response there. Thanks for your interest!
z
"One of the things that grieves me most is when I see the people of God, who cherish and draw their very life from the grace of God, fail to extend this same grace to others. I would like to humbly submit that you rewrite your blog post or edit it significantly to reflect to a greater degree a gracious and gentle spirit (2 Tim. 2:24,25)."
I agree with what you said here, but maybe you should think of this over the next four years instead of hammering people who voted for Obama with every decision that you don't like...just sayin
Anonymous,
I will respond to this if you identify yourself. Anyone can launch a critique from the cover of anonymity. It's harder person to person. I don't mind engaging your objection, but I only engage real people. Let me know if you want to talk more about this.
z
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