On Blended Worship: Intentionally Mixing Music Styles to the Glory of God

A recent comment concerned music styles and the worship wars. The three way split, envisioned by the commenter included the following.

1) Those want to do nothing but maintain the status quo, whether that is the contemporary style that is now familiar (with no new forms like Christian rap), or a traditional hymn-focused style — this group wasn’t going to budge from their stance.
2) Those who want to move back to the psalmic/hymnic tradition handed down to us from the early church — this group was further described as “Conservative Christianity”.
3) Those who allow for anything within the worship service.

What is missing from this list is “Blended Worship”. Why is it that we have to worry about being “comfortable” in our style? What about loving others and using styles that are accessible to others? Certain styles or songs may move me more than others, but they may hit other people where they are at more readily than they do for me. That has been my view of the issue for the last five years or more, now.

On this front, here are some quotes from documents on worship from my old church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, pastored by John Piper.

Because we value the importance of old and new , historic and current, we will pray that “the Holy Spirit may lead us into ways of worship that are continuous with the historic witness of worship given to the church throughout its history in the world, and at the same time He may lead us into the discovery of new forms and patterns that meet the needs of the people of our day” (R. Webber, “Worship Old and New” ). We will continue to be a “both/and” people that cherishes all the richness and freshness that comes from God.

Because we value the importance of both head and heart in our worship experience , we will continue to fill our minds with Biblical thinking about God, others, ourselves, and life, while at the same time putting renewed and greater emphasis on giving expression to our heart’s affections for God during worship.

Because we value being a singing people with growing appreciation for diverse expressions of love for God, we will use as many musical styles and forms as are helpful to worship and respond to God appropriately, as we seek the “significant range” of “at-homeness” referred to in Fresh Initiative #2. We will encourage whole-hearted participation by the entire congregation in all parts of the worship service, as the defining sound of Bethlehem worship becomes the singing voices of all God’s people praising Him.

Because we value increasing in a humble willingness to support others whose tastes are different than ours, we will put understanding above accusation, forbearance above faultfinding,and Biblical unity above the demand for uniformity. We will create opportunities for God’s reality to be conveyed more powerfully by learning to affirm the forms and styles that edify our brothers and sisters. Our relationships of love for each other will lead us to patiently support and rejoice with those who appreciate other styles, believing that God is able to meet us in the context of any Christ-exalting worship style.

Because we value growing in appreciation of both fine and folk elements in worship, we will strive to affirm the strengths and avoid the weaknesses inherent in both forms. We will worship within the range of gifts that God bestows on us, never compromising spiritual qualifications for aesthetic considerations, as we pursue undistracting excellence in spiritual leadership.

Because we value a determination to welcome people different from ourselves for the sake of Christ, we will continue to embrace God’s call for visible manifestations of love toward each other and our neighbors, providing opportunities before, during and after the service to reach out to those God would have us touch.

Because we value being more indigenous to the diversity of our metropolitan cultural setting, both urban and suburban, we will seek ways to communicate and worship that allow for a significant range of diversity in those whose worship is driven by a passion for the supremacy of God in all things.

Sunday morning worship is a corporate expression of our passion for the supremacy of God. We sense God’s leading to develop fresh expressions of this passion that 1) allow for a more focused and free lingering of love in the presence of the Lord; 2) reflect musically the diversity of our congregation and our metropolitan culture; 3) interweave the values of intense Godcenteredness and more personal ministry to each other in the power of the Holy Spirit. The following clarify our worship distinctives at Bethlehem:

We will continue with one common worship service format, “that with one accord [we] may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our worship life will have a “defining center,” with significant range on either side of that center, resulting in a broader worship life than in the past that people can comfortably call “home.”

The mingling of historic and contemporary music No church or service can be all things to all people. But we do not value stylistic narrowness. We believe there are affections owing to God that different tunes and different texts and different genres may awaken better thanothers. We will strive to be who we are without exalting our own tastes as the standard of excellence or power. We will see God’s guidance in each worship setting to be both indigenous and stretching.

The last paragraph was excerpted from What Unites Us in Worship, and the other paragraphs were excerpted from Bethlehem’s Philosophy of Worship. There is a lot more in the philosophy document than what I’ve shared, but these sections focus on “blended worship”.

What do you think? Does your church emphasize a “blended worship” style?

9 thoughts on “On Blended Worship: Intentionally Mixing Music Styles to the Glory of God

  1. I cannot say that our music is blended. The contemporary choruses are interspersed with hymns that carry contemporary tunes and/or tempos. Not that I completely disregard the modern style, but the content is so rarely present. And sometimes when the lyrics are solid (thinking here of Manifesto by City Harmonic) the tune is unsingable for a large group. The combination is rare as hen’s teeth, but it should not be.

    I would welcome blended: P&W chorus, hymn, metrical psalter, chant. Just give me quality content that teaches the doctrines of the faith.

    1. Steve,

      Have you seen any of Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s music? This post, on Modern Hymns is a bit dated but has some excellent resources, including Getty’s site. Also check out the recommended music I list here.

      The past ten years, especially, have seen a rise in better quality lyrics in modern, contemporary songs.

      1. I was trying to think of Getty and Townsend when I replied but was having a “senior moment.” They are certainly the brighter lights in the industry.

        I will take your word on the past decade. My exposure is a local Christian radio station and what is used each Sunday morning. If either are indeed presenting the “best of the best” in the genre, I stand by my original statements; if not, so much the better.

      2. Radio doesn’t present the best of the best, usually. There are a lot of good songs being written but there is only so much content that a contemporary song can contain, as opposed to a hymn with many verses. Still just being willing to use a contemporary orchestration to older hymns can be helpful in “being all things to all men” and loving others in the congregation. Of course, each church has its own genetic makeup too. I’m not discounting that.

  2. We sing older hymns to older tunes, older hymns to newer tunes, newer hymns to new tunes, and choruses both old and new. (I refuse to call the more contemporary music “praise and worship” since this description also fits the older hymns perfectly.) We sing many of the Getty/Townsend hymns along with music from Sovereign Grace Ministries. All in all, I think our church does blended worship very well.

    1. Sounds much like our church, Stephen. Thanks for sharing. This seems to be an increasingly common approach among conservative churches.

  3. Hmmm…Mixing Music Styles to the Glory of God…sounds nice doesn’t it! It just might be possible if we stick to “universally accepted biblical interpretation” as our basis….hmmm…*; )

    Beginning the journey is definitely commendable!

    Romans 15:5-7
    New Living Translation (NLT)

    5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

  4. Bob,

    I never mentioned the fact of “comfort” in a church. I was actually raised outside of fundamentalism within megachurchland (back when they were the fastest growing church in America – http://www.joyonline.org ). I’ve been in traditional/blended services throughout all of my junior high and part of my high school years. I came to fundamentalism half-way through high school. I’m not uncomfortable with CCM – I simply choose not to listen to it – because I understand a little about its history, what it is, what it does, and what it means (You really ought to read and review this book: http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=1907). For those reasons, I have chosen to walk away from it (Realize also, that I consider much – not all – of what is called “hymnody” or “gospel songs” after about 1830ish to be the exact same as CCM. If you doubt it, watch old musicals for awhile and realize how much that the music of vaudeville entered into the church).

    As for my church – we definitely don’t have a blended service (first of all, it is a Chinese church – with the singing done simultaneously in two languages – a bit of a cacophony). And, with the hymnal being in both English and Chinese, when I set up the service, I try to pick the best of the hymns out of the book. Do some in our church listen to CCM? Of course. Do I police it? Never would – listen to what you prefer in the home, but when it comes to the church – it is regulated (think the RP) by the text of the New Testament which places us squarely in a tradition (BTY, Conservative Christianity is defined much more broadly than music – see Bauder’s NoT articles from Feb ’09 to March ’09) handed down from the times of the early church.

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