Brehm Center

During the past 20 years, though churches have been increasingly using choruses and songs of praise in worship, the field of hymn writing has also increased. Some who have observed its growth have deemed it a "hymn explosion." Among the most prolific of recent hymn text writers are such well-known names as Carl P. Daw, Timothy Dudley-Smith, Ruth Duck, Sylvia Dunstan, Fred Pratt Green, Marty Haugen, Fred Kaan, Graham Kendrick, Thomas Troeger, and Brian Wren.

One of the means by which this new hymn text work proliferates is through hymn text searches. Publishers working toward new hymn collections and institutions seeking a way to celebrate key events (anniversaries, inaugurations, etc.) will advertise a search for new texts on various themes. These searches are essentially national and international competitions. Winning texts are selected on the basis of beauty of poetic expression, capacity for singing, theology, and thematic applicability.

In celebration of two recent events at Fuller, the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts established hymn text searches. For the inauguration of the Fred Bock Institute for Music, a hymn text was sought that celebrates the place of music in worship. The winning author is John Core, an established hymn writer who works as a librarian in Morgantown, West Virginia. His text, All Creation Danced in Answer, was premiered at the October 2, 2005 service of worship and dedication for the Fred Bock Institute of Music. 

A second hymn text search was undertaken to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Fuller Seminary�s School of Psychology. The theme was to capture God's healing at work in the world. The winning entry was written by Debra Rienstra - new to hymn writing, though well established as a writer of Christian poetry and literature. Debra is on the English Literature faculty at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her text, �Foothold,� is based on Psalm 25.

It was first sung at the School of Psychology anniversary worship celebration on February 17, 2006. That people are writing hymns again (or still) and that there are multiple other kinds of worship music being created is a sign that the Holy Spirit is alive in the Church and that the Spirit is not in service of cultural or musical trends. While so-called worship wars may have raged, faithful people have continued to create vehicles for praise in countless genres.  Singing a new song to the Lord has always been a biblical command eagerly followed. C. Michael Hawn, a teacher at Perkins School of Theology and ethnomusicologist, has noted that the worship of the Christian church is a 2000-year-old hymn, to which each generation writes a new stanza.

These two hymns represent trace examples that the Spirit is alive, still creating, and looking for new creative partners who can help us to fulfill the biblical charge to sing our praise anew.

Theology, News & Notes (ISSN 1529-899X) is published for the alumni/ae and friends of Fuller Theological Seminary. It is published three times a year, in winter, spring, and fall.

The editorial content of Theology, News & Notes reflects the opinions of the various authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the views of Fuller Theological Seminary.

2006 by Fuller Theological Seminary. Produced in limited quantities for alumni/ae and friends.

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