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Keith Getty

One of the joys of Christian worship is the singing of praise to our great God. Numerous commands exist for the individual believer and the gathered body of the church to sing. Unfortunately, this wonderful vehicle of adoration and encouragement has been the subject of battles, fractures and divisions amongst English speaking Christians for many years. Parties have grown up, groups have formed, and instead of being a point of wonderful unity, sung praise has often been the bludgeon with which many Christians go to war.

I confess to little interest in these battles. I want to be a thinking theologian who understands principles; I want to be an analyst of culture and assess trends and fads; I also want to be a wise pastor who watches, guards, enables and facilitates the flock of God in good and biblical heart religion. I don't wish to engage in constant debate in order to justify the hymns. psalms and shorter praise items that we use as highways of praise to our God.

I do want to give thanks to God for the hymns of Keith Getty. No hymnwriter is perfect and no theologian is infallible. Mr Getty doubtless has many flaws. Having said that, I am grateful to God for his theologically rich and musically gifted compositions. I have no doubt that many of his hymns will endure for generations if God should spare us.

Do you want a quote of his to inspire you? Try this one from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship:

What we sing becomes the grammar of what we believe... It’s been several hundred years since Christian worship was as shallow as it is today. Christianity is more universal than it’s ever been, but people’s understanding of their faith and the Bible is disappointing. We try to write theological and Bible truth that speaks in everyday life, as Charles Wesley did. And I try to write melodies that large groups of people can sing. That is my filter: Can all ages sing this melody? ... I love hymnody. We’re trying to preserve hymnody not for the sake of conservation but to reinvent it so it can live and breathe for a new generation.

Keith and Kristyn are members at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor.

Last night, my wife and youngest daughter - along with several other friends - attended an evening of praise at St. John's Methodist Church in Llandudno, where Keith and Kristyn Getty were present along with a string quartet and other instrumentalists.

Around 200 people of all ages were present, and each report that I have heard has emphasised the appropriate way that Keith Getty drew attention to the greatness of God, the need for the church as a worshipping community to commit to one another and to a dying world, and above all that we live lives of holy service to God. Hymns both ancient and modern were the centrepiece of the programme, with a strong commitment to excellence both in doctrinal and poetic content and musical style.

There are many valuable hymn writers at work today. May God grant us many more like Mr. Getty. Here he is pictured with my daughter who very much enjoys singing his hymns.