Praise And Protest

The book of John describes the incarnated Christ as being full of GRACE and TRUTH. Two opposites, yet inextricably intertwined. Kind as can be with the marginalized, but brutally honest with systemic hypocrisy.

Tensions and contradictions are found throughout the Christian faith. Not only do they create a vulnerability in us, but also a believability.

We all know what it feels like to have a relationship with someone who trades exclusively in syrupy words of praise. We soon see them for what they are - flatterers - and we place very little weight on their words as they can quickly feel empty and disingenuous. But a passionate encourager, who is also known to be 100% committed to telling the truth, even when it hurts or creates relational awkwardness, is more easily trusted and has more sway in our lives.

This is how it was with Jesus. He was 100% believable when he offered words of affirmation because he was 100% honest at all times. He truly was full of GRACE and TRUTH. He affirmed and he challenged. In him, PRAISE and PROTEST lived side by side.

Following in his footsteps, the Christian Church has had a history of praise and protest. Glaring evidence is that one of the biggest ‘praise’ movements of all time was named ‘The PROTESTant Church.’

Our efforts in creating this hymnal are geared at building a resource in which both praise and protest can coexist, in which our admiration for the integrity of the kingdom of God is juxtaposed with a conviction that the king of this kingdom is just and fair, and committed to uprooting the injustice in our world. Our hope is that the marriage of the two will catalyze God’s people to become a real and transformative prophetic voice in the corrupt and unjust systems in which we live.

In recent times, in Christianity, we have excelled in the practice of praise, but not been exercising the muscle of protest much. Yet, there are many issues in our world that need addressing. Therefore, our building of a library that contextualizes our worship in the issues of our day, ranging from racism to climate change, from excessive capitalism to extreme poverty, from gun violence to gender equality, from the dignity of the LGBT community to the sexual abuse, from mental illness to propaganda, from war to capital punishment, and the list goes on.

We have our work cut out for us, but the starting point is the awareness that Jesus was and is full of GRACE and TRUTH, PRAISE and PROTEST.

Malcolm du Plessis