6:45 AM
Thinking "out loud," as it were, today -- something I don't usually do.
Lately I've really praying specifically about how to best serve the people at my church fellowship. Not that I haven't continually done that, but I'm digging deeper into my own motivations and into Scripture to find out why I do (and why I should do) specifically what I do regarding music selections and styles for our corporate meeting times.
I find it hard to imagine people in the following scenario being disturbed that the music used too many minor chords (the darker-sounding ones rather than "happy" ones, typical in much Jewish music), had a repetitive melody, or that those 120 trumpets were too loud:
(11) Then the priests left the Holy Place. All the priests who were present had purified themselves, whether or not they were on duty that day. (12) And the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and all their sons and brothers—were dressed in fine linen robes and stood at the east side of the altar playing cymbals, lyres, and harps. They were joined by 120 priests who were playing trumpets. (13) The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words:
“He is good!
His faithful love endures forever!”
At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. (14) The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of God.
2 Chronicles 5:11-14 (NLT)
Probably the first thing I think of when reading this passage is that I'd like to change my name to "Heman Lusk." But after that there are other thoughts.
Each scenario in the Scriptures where worship and song and meeting are described should be framed within the context of the culture of the time period. With the advent of the phonograph, a great deal changed in our culture. No longer do we have a unified style of music through which to worship and thank and praise God, but an immensely varied cacophony of styles.
Our congregations today in America are much more varied than the groups in Bible times (both in the Old Testament, and also in the New Testament when believers met in houses, sharing meals and praying) mainly because our distribution of wealth and classes of people are incredibly different from one another.
Along with some friends who don't believe for a moment that I agree with them, I do regret some of the perceived "dumbing down" of much of the music used in the modern church; often distilled down to four chords (or for the "complicated" songs, five) and a repetitive melody. However, I personally find that many of these kinds of songs enable me to be very expressive of what I find in my heart moreso than older songs with many more words and beautiful, but less-singable melodies. Another "however," though, is that many people are just the opposite of me, and not necessarily because of their age.
Whether we want to call people Godly vs. selfish, attending services to worship vs. be entertained, or concerned about the body vs. their own preferences, the cold, hard fact is that the style of music (along with its volume, etc.) played and sung at services can either be a help or a hindrance, whether or not it is presented in what the presenter believes to be a Christ-honoring fashion.
One old rule of thumb among worship leaders is that if people bring their worship with them, the style is really not going to matter. While that may be true to some extent, I'm not sure I buy into it anymore.
I wonder how eclectic a music service can be before it begins to become a stumbling block rather than a tool -- an avenue through which we express to God the things that speech doesn't accommodate so easily. Would it be jarring or somehow repugnant for a service to move from a high-energy, three-chord song immediately into a classic piano-and-organ song? I don't typically do that in preparing music for services, and more and more I'm questioning the logic behind avoiding it.
Just thinking...
Posted in: 
4 comments:
"One old rule of thumb among worship leaders is that if people bring their worship with them, the style is really not going to matter......"
I wonder if this applies to "Christian Goth Metal" or "Christian Death Metal"? BTW-These are indeed real forms of Christian Music: www.christiangoth.com/music.html
For me there is a line that must be drawn.
Every generation has had to wrestle with this very question. One of the most consistent things in church history is the conflict over musical style. It is up to us to decide what is acceptable to our church culture now, based on the makeup of our congregation. The fact is that everyone of us will draw a line somewhere. Just because I don't like a particular style of music doesn't make it wrong to use for worship. The number one thing to consider is the condition of the heart. People can fail to worship singing any style of music from Gregorian Chant to Contemporary Praise and Worship. If we haven't taught the people that worship is obedience to God, what music we use doesn't really matter at all - it is just time filler at that point.
Preston tongue-in-cheekly asked, "I wonder if this applies to 'Christian Goth Metal' or 'Christian Death Metal'?"
That's one underlying point of this whole topic. There's a "posture" presented by those styles of music that is inherently not filled with wonder, love, awe, or worship.
Not to mention that the term "Christian Death Metal" could be right up there with "Microsoft Works" on the list of "best oxymorons of all time."
Mark said, "If we haven't taught the people that worship is obedience to God, what music we use doesn't really matter at all..." I agree. This is a reversal of the statement about people bringing their worship with them, and is really stated much better this way.
"I do regret some of the perceived "dumbing down" of much of the music used in the modern church; often distilled down to four chords (or for the "complicated" songs, five) and a repetitive melody."
I'm finding usefulness for different types of songs. While I am young, and consider myself still new at this (3 1/2 years), I find myself to be a rare person at my age. I enjoy lyrics, and songs that do not say much lyrically tend to annoy me. I have noticed a return to language amongst some writers (ex. Stuart Townend). However, there seems to be a place for simplicity, especially in a congregation with people who would not understand the beefy words of the classics (which I love). And there is also that need for the profound, eloquent word. I really enjoy mixing the old with the new in a thematic way. I have been amazed to find out how many churches are doing the all out band thing. I thought we would probably be more of the moderate church, but it appears that many of you are more progressive than we are. I would love to move to that, but have realized this congregation is not ready, while some can't wait. Does anyone else see that about 80% of your people don't care what you sing, but it's the 10% on each side of that spectrum who make the most noise? There is that battle on some weeks where you are thinking more about just the right hymn/new song ratio and avoiding having one person come up and tell you what they wish you would sing.
Post a Comment