Anecdotal Fun with Lutheran Hour Ministry's Five14

Recently, someone suggested to me that it would be good to host a Lutheran Hour Ministry's Five14 EVENT.

They reasoned that the youth would like the contemporary Christian rock bands. They thought this would be a great way to reach the youth in our congregation and those outside our congregation.

So, I decided to do some anecdotal exploration of this idea.

The LHM's featured artist of the month is QFYRE

During a pre-confirmation class, I told the youth that I wanted them to listen to some music. Afterward, we would talk about it. I played a song by QFYRE called In the Blaze.

I asked them what they thought of this music:

"Did you like it?" Unanimous NO.

"What was the song about?" No one knew. One person thought he heard a cuss word. Another said that the Lord's name was being used in vain a lot.

"Would you ever think it would be okay to play this in church?" Unanimous NO.

So, next I sang the first stanza of a hymn that I'd heard a few "more mature" adults grumble about during the Lenten season. One person told me that he "tries really hard to stay awake" when we have sung it. The hymn, written by Paul Gerhardt (1607-76), is "A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth." LSB #438.

While I sang, two of the youth joined me. I asked them what they thought of this hymn:

"Did you like it?" Unanimous YES.

"What was the song about?" Jesus, the Lamb of God, Who died for my sins.

"Would you ever think it would be okay to play this in church?" Unanimous: Duh! Of course.

Then I asked, "Even though you didn't like the first song, do you think that playing the QFYRE song during worship would be a good way to attract NEW YOUTH MEMBERS?" Unanimous NO. The youth mentioned that some of their friends listen to that kind of music but they prefer a different kind, like country music. "Anyway," one person said, "hymns are for church."

Finally, one of the youth looked at me suspectly and asked, "You're not going to play that during church, are you, Pastor?"

"No."

Sigh of relief.

Lutheran kids like hymns. Period.