Golden Oldies

Here's another Midlife Concern: when a 20-yr-old song is played in church, and you feel warm fuzzies, does that define you as middle-aged?

This is not me.
But yes, I had a mullet.

We enjoyed a great church service yesterday, partly because - to my pleasant surprise - we sang an old Vineyard song we used often when I led music as a Bible College student. Honestly, the last time I sang that song, the mullet was still popular! But our worship team played it well, and I found myself surprisingly drawn in to worship by the tune.

And this is unusual for me, because I'd be happy to sing a new set of songs every week, and I'd love to sing a few OLD songs - the kind that are printed in those books that are now usually just used to lift and level the video projector! (The majority of church-goers I've interacted with over the past 10 years have probably never opened a hymnal in their life!)  But I'm not typically fond of sort-of old songs.

Until now.

And that concerns me. Because when I first served as a music minister, in my mid-20's, the 40-something choir members I led liked some "old" songs. They didn't seem to mind singing songs like "Seek Ye First" (Karen Lafferty, c.1972). To me, 40-somethings seemed old, and it didn't surprise me that old people liked old songs. After all, old people are sentimental, right? Right, and now I'm there.

Oh my, can this really be happening?

Scripture encourages us to sing new songs. Several times the Psalms say, "Sing a new song", and Isaiah 42:10 affirms that, saying, "Sing a new song to the Lord! Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!"  I've always loved U2's 80's concert closer, "40", from Psalm 40, with the lyric, "I will sing, sing a new song." (Which in itself is remarkable, that a 3000-yr-old lyric becomes a new song with a new tune!)

I think what made the old tune work for me yesterday is that is reminded me of a meaningful spiritual time in my life (okay, some sentimentality), and it had been dormant long enough to feel fresh again. Yet most importantly, the text of the song rang simple and true, a Biblical testimony. It was - and is - a good song. And I was able to sing it with new desire and purpose. The song is old, but God's work in me through it can be new, always new.

So I'm going to choose not to "feel old" because I relished a 20-yr-old song. And no, I don't want to sing it frequently. I still prefer the new over the old. But I'm thankful for those Golden Oldies that can make an old message fresh again.

(For those who wish to comment here or on Facebook, what are the "old" songs that mean something to you and why?)