The Sunday News
Talking Spiritually
IT does not cease to surprise and leave me in awe to realise just how much we use language in the house of God to lead the congregants to a point of destiny. Needless to say that the Apostle Paul aptly states it in his epistles that he “. . . did not come (to the church) with cunningly devised fables . . .” He was clear in that his language was simple save for the manifestation of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This brings us to the subject of today where we engage with the language of the songs of Pentecostalism and their transforming nature. I will deliberately be broad and consider even those songs that may not be viewed as being Pentecostal.
I will first take you back to the definition of the various songs we made two weeks back. The three categories exist in most churches. One finds the most prevalent in Pentecostal being the chorus or as some will have it, the spiritual song. This in most cases comes in the case of the glossolalia moment. When one leaves the tongues of the heavenly host of angels the Holy Spirit may prompt a musical expression in tongues of men. It is this new rendition that will captivate the hearts of the saints in worship to bring them to great heights of spiritual connection. We say it enters them into the spirit (kubangenisa emoyeni).
What is in the language of these songs? What really pulls the people of God in these song? The power of the song is in the manner it conveys the doctrine of the worshipper. It is the direction of the preacher that is also propelled by the song. I am taken aback to the olden times when the prophet needed inspiration. He called for the psalmist or most appropriately a minstrel! It was when the singer sang and played on the instrument that the spirit came down and he prophesied. Pentecostalism has its roots in what has come to be known as the Azusa Street revival and I should now refer to one of the preachers of that time back then.
Music has always been an integral part of the Pentecostal Movement. In a book by one Howard Goss an early Pentecostal pioneer, entitled Winds of God, he devoted a chapter to what he termed the advent of Pentecostal music, which he described as “joyous” and an attractive alternative to the mournful worship of traditional churches. Songs were sung “almost at breakneck speed,” and the passionate praises penetrated the souls of saints and sinners alike:
This crescendo of joyous, happy people singing unto the Lord was infectious. The sound of victorious Christian living wrapped around you. Unperceived, it seemed to slip down gently into the deeps of your affections, to tap at your heart’s door, and unsuspected, spread warmly through your entire being (Goss 208-209).
It is clear that Pentecostal music is seen as an important and indispensable element of the revival. Goss goes on to say: “Without it the Pentecostal Movement could have never made the rapid inroads into the hearts of men and women as it did. Neither could we have experienced a constant, victorious revival over the ensuing 50 years, one in which thousands have been accepted, sealed, and shipped through the world in bond, waiting for the appearance of the Lord” (Goss 212).
The centrality of music in the promotion and spread of Pentecostal worship and an abiding spiritual anointing have produced a number of prolific songwriters. In Zimbabwe nowadays any mention of Gospel Music really refers to Pentecostal music. Even in the case of the music of the VaPostori there is an understanding of the power of the spirit.
The song writers are inspired to pen new hymns intimating the fundamental stand for full Bible truth and melodiously conveying the doctrines of the Mighty God in Christ, the New Birth, and holy living.
The many singers in the AFM, Zaoga and Fog to mention a few just go to show the depth of the spiritual search and drive.
The hymns of early Apostolic and Pentecostal believers were inspired by deep spirituality and the freshness of Bible revelations. They were simultaneously anointed and apologetic, glorifying Christ and intimating the deep truths of the Scriptures. The popularity of many of these hymns lasted throughout the early decades of the Oneness movement. Sadly, today their lyrics and tunes are virtually unknown to Apostolic young people, and many of the Oneness songs are indeed endangered. But the musical contributions of our Pentecostal predecessors make up an important part of our Apostolic heritage, and it is the responsibility of the contemporary Church to rediscover and revive the powerful songs of Zion that remain relevant to our strong stand for Acts 2:38 salvation and New Testament doctrine of the Mighty God in Christ, passing from generation to generation the “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” that so clearly articulate the message of “the faith once delivered unto the saints”, born in the Spirit-fueled conflagration of early Pentecostalism and the rich experiences of our Apostolic ancestors.
This is where I get to a point of asking whether those singers of today are actually inspired by the same spirit that inspired our elders. Why are there no hymns just bubble gum flavoured choruses that capture our moments and their sweetness and poignancy dies out as swiftly as they came. Who will pen the new hymn of the present-day prophetic? Is it that we are not original seeing even others take to even copy and imitate the tongues of the spirit! Where are we going to? When one listens to Ncandweni one is captivated by a creative originality where the cultural truths of afro centric spirituality are captured. Ever listened to their song Qedisa Amalobolo Mzalwane! It is there that you find the reality of the currency of their expression. Where is the local Ndebele Pentecostal or Kalanga or Nambya and Tonga Pentecostals inspiriation. I surely believe that Jesus is still the same yesterday today and tomorrow. Something ought to change.
I invite you to next week’s issue as we look at the same in the VaPostori and amaZayoni realms something is happening there in line with their doctrinal direction. God bless you as the worship teams find themselves in a new song. It is good to sing Zulu and Xhosa and comfort ourselves that it is “Ndebele” but for how long? Does our God not inspire us in our local varieties as well! He does maybe we are just not listening with the right ear! God help us! Inkosi inisize bazalwane! Shalom!
