What Is the Theology of The Faith We Sing?

by Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources, The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship

Can we determine the theological content of The Faith We Sing? Some have looked or sung through the book and concluded that it is too much slanted to the needs of congregations that rely upon contemporary praise and worship music or the charismatics. Others claim it is a tool of the radical feminists and goddess worshipers. Some see it as a step backward into a time when we relied upon male dominated language as generic. A few complain that it is too liturgical and Roman Catholic — do we really need all that Taizé chanting in United Methodism?

One way to understand the theological position of the book is to examine and quantify its theological organization. The arrangement of contents in The Faith We Sing is topical rather than stylistic, and is adapted from the arrangement of The United Methodist Hymnal. This constitutes a strong theological identification between the two books and shows The Faith We Sing following directly in the long 250-year-old line of Wesleyan hymn books. This organization can be seen in the topical headings that appear in the top margin of each page. This organization within The Faith We Sing and the 285 hymns and songs within them are given below:

THE GLORY OF THE TRIUNE GOD     62 titles     2000-2061

Praise and Thanksgiving, 2001-2045
God's Nature, 2046-2050
Providence, 2051-2058
Creation, 2059-2061

THE GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST     55 titles     2062-2116

In Praise of Christ, 2062-2088
Christ's Promised Coming, 2089-2092
Christ's Birth and Baptism, 2093-2100
Christ's Life and Teaching, 2101-2107
Christ's Passion and Death, 2108-2113
Christ's Resurrection and Exaltation, 2114-2116

THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT     103 titles     2117-2219

In Praise of the Holy Spirit, 2117-2125
Grace, 2126-2219
Invitation, 2126-2132
Repentance, 2133-2138
Pardon and Assurance, 2139-2148
Rebirth and the New Creature, 2149-2154
Personal Holiness, 2155-2168
Social Holiness, 2169-2190
Prayer, Trust, Hope, 2191-2207
Strength in Tribulation, 2208-2219

THE COMMUNITY OF FAITH     62 titles     2220-2281

The Nature of the Church, 2220-2245
United in Christ, 2220-2233
Called to God's Mission, 2234-2245
The Book of the Church: Holy Scripture, 2246
The Sacraments of the Church, 2247-2269
Baptism, Confirmation, Reaffirmation, 2247-2253
Eucharist (Holy Communion, Lord's Supper), 2254-2269
Particular Times of Worship, 2270-2281
Opening of Worship, 2270-2274
Other Acts of Worship, 2275-2278
Closing of Worship, 2279-2281

A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH     3 titles     2282-2284

From this organization, it can be seen that The Faith We Sing strongly emphasizes the Trinity and the work of each Person of the Trinity:

• The praise and thanksgiving of God the Creator.
• The grace of Jesus Christ the Redeemer.
• The power of the Holy Spirit in the work of sanctification.

Other topical organization is structured around the church, united by Christ, called to mission and worship, and looking forward to the New Heaven and Earth.

Copyright © 2001 The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203-0003. Worship Web Site: http://www.umcworship.org. This article may be printed, copied, distributed, reprinted in church bulletins or newsletters, or otherwise used for nonprofit local church worship or education with the inclusion of the copyright citation and General Board of Discipleship Worship Web Site as its source. It may not be used for profit or republication without prior permission.

Posted 9-25-01