08/01/2026
Very well written, worth reading.
“THROWING OUT THE BABY WITH THE BATH WATER:
A Plea for Intergenerational Worship
The old proverb warns of a careless act. The story is that many times in years gone by, in the rush to throw out dirty bath water, the mother throws out the baby as well. The church in the Caribbean, and across the world, is in danger of doing the same with its worship.
I have lived this transition. We have moved from a single song leader and a robed choir with hymnals in hand, to a new model where churches that can afford it hire teams of young, gifted, paid worship leaders. They bring excellence, ambience, skill, and an auditorium conducive to production. This evolution is natural; the church is an organism that must grow and change is inevitable.
The problem is not the new. The problem is what we have discarded to get it.
I have watched young leaders who are vocally excellent finish their set, collect a check, and leave before the sermon to play another gig. I have watched them lead worship brilliantly while not knowing the tune to "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" or "To God Be The Glory." Meanwhile, the elders who prayed and paid for the very buildings we now light so well sit silently through services where not one song of their history is sung. They are willing to learn the new, to sacrifice their conservative preferences, but no one is willing to learn from them. Their hymnals, and the theology those hymnals carried, are becoming extinct.
The irony is painful. The same generation that dismisses hymns as outdated will go to the supermarket and pay the highest price for organic food. We crave what is unprocessed, rooted, and authentic on our plates, but we prefer what is processed, commercialized, and disconnected in our worship.
We must argue for both, because Scripture does.
The case for traditional hymns is a case for roots. Colossians 3:16 commands us to teach and admonish one another with "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Before many could read commentaries, they learned doctrine from hymns. Hymns are organic theology; they were forged in suffering, in slavery, in personal valley experiences. "It Is Well With My Soul" was written after a man lost his children. You cannot replicate that depth with seven words repeated eleven times. To erase hymns is to erase memory. Psalm 78:4 warns, "We will not hide them from their children."
The case for contemporary worship is a case for wings. God Himself commands, "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully" Psalm 33:3. The new brings a language our children speak. It brings cultural access and often a level of musical excellence described in 1 Chronicles 25:7, where those "instructed" and "cunning" led worship. When it is led by called worshippers and not hired performers, contemporary music brings a fresh intimacy that reaches a new generation.
Roots without wings become a museum. Wings without roots become an unstable flight. Roots are the hymns and elders that keep us grounded. Wings are the new sound and youth that help us move forward.
Only roots, we become a museum, alive in the past but dead in the present. Only wings, we fly fast but crash fast, excited on Sunday but no depth for Monday. God wants both, grounded and growing.
Therefore, the solution is not musical, but theological. Who is leading?
If the worship leader leads, we get performance. If nostalgia leads, we get stagnation. If trends lead, we get division. If God leads, we get balance.
God's leadership demands mutual respect. Young leaders must understand that anointing outweighs ability. John 4:24 requires worship in Spirit and in truth. One cannot lead people where one has not been. Learn a hymn. Sit under the Word. Ask an elder what song carried them through bereavement.
Elders must also not demonize the new. The choir and the organ were once called worldly innovations. Psalm 100:1 calls us to make a "joyful noise" unto the Lord - and your grandson's noise may not sound like yours, but if it is unto the Lord, it is acceptable.
Finally, pastors we must steward the worship, not just accommodate. Keep the leadership of God. You don't own worship, you steward it for both generations. We must intentionally build blended, intergenerational altars where a hymn that teaches and a chorus that touches can live in the same service. This is the practical expression of Ephesians 4:3 "endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
We do not need to choose between organic and excellent. We need both. We must keep the baby, change the water, and remember that the Father's house is large enough for the organ and the guitar, and for the grandmother and her grandson to worship side by side.”
