Much of my journey revolves around music.  This does not mean I possess any talent in music but it does matter to me.  I even get to keep up with the latest pop hits since my youngest keeps the radio set to one of those stations.  It may not keep me young but it does keep me in the loop.  Some of the current songs are pretty good.  Groups like fun, Mumford and Sons put out some excellent songs.  But like any generation there are other songs that just escape me.  My guess is our grandparents and then our parents said the same thing in years past.

I may be biased but my view is the generation of music during my growing up years was the best.  We got to hear the Beatles just prior to the break up.  Groups like the Eagles or Boston were setting out on the path to fame.  Now they call most of my music classic or something like that.  It may not mean it was good but that it is old.  Artists like Elton John were young when I first heard them.  Now they are recognized more for their work in movies or stage.  One singer just after my generation won a Tony award this past week for the music on a Broadway show.  Bands that were making hits back then are now gathering for reunion tours.  The cycle just continues.

One good thing was my exposure to all types of music.  My parents still had albums from their day that I heard.  Some days you could hear me listening to Frank Sinatra, Elvis or even going back to The Kingston Trio.  Even singers like those in the old "Ratpack" made my list.  This does not even begin to cover my exposure to gospel music.  Most of my education with gospel revolves around the standard hymns along with the old shaped note songs.  Those are the songs that remain in my memory as time goes by.  Many a night was spent singing or hearing those great tunes sung in church or in homes.  And let me say that I am the better for it. 

Now part of my job includes selecting then leading songs on Sundays.  Trying to balance the old and the new is a constant effort.  We sang mostly fairly new songs last Sunday.  Some probably enjoyed more than others.  This week will be a return to some old songs from various sources.  What is always funny to me is that some of the old music is new to a few.  We seldom think of the music as just Christian but it has to be new or old for some reason.  Familiarity with a song replaces the meaning of the message.  Just allowing music to guide us to worship is still a lost art for too many.  We will too often try to win the worship war to get our type of music to be the main thing.  What we fail to see is we then lose the battle to just worship.  No one ever wins in that conflict.

Bro. Trey