There are a variety of reasons for the “worship wars,” as they are called. And for fundamentalist Christians, most of the arguments center on the worldliness or immorality of the very musical instrumentation itself — the contemporary, beat-driven sound that makes up CCM. Growing up, I was trained to recognize a strong beat in musical accompaniment and to envision that anyone singing to such music was worldly. As I started thinking through the subject in more detail, I wanted to find a Biblical argument for my stance against pop musical styles. And Frank Garlock and David Cloud had to suffice. Even then, I could see the arguments were quite weak, so most of the rationale had to depend on an analysis of the psychological affect of rock music on people and of all things, potted plants. Yes, plants!
Well, after I walked away from strict fundamentalism and re-evaluated my position on cultural matters in light of an open-minded examination of the Bible, I came to embrace contemporary worship and I was then able to really enjoy worshiping God in music to a whole new degree. I encountered deep, Christ-exalting lyrics (more meaningful to me than some of the shallow and almost trite hymns we sang growing up). And the music resonated with me – it moved me. It was like speaking in the language of my own culture — which I had been trained to deny and put down, but that really was a part of who I was. I was able to express myself in worship, to lift up my soul and exult in new, powerful ways. And I have since come to really appreciate the contemporary worship song for all its worth.
Don’t get me wrong. I still value the old hymns, and I value traditional music as well. I sing in choirs and enjoy harmony and special numbers. I also don’t enjoy any new song, indiscriminately. There is a lot of shallow music without much doctrinal depth out there, for sure. But there are some great songs which bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary. I have written, years ago now, on the Modern Hymn movement. UPDATE: USA Today just did a piece on the Gettys who I also feature in the article linked above. And I still enjoy a balanced worship approach that seeks to unite styles and generations, as well as ethnic affinities, together into a blended, unified, corporate celebration of worship. And I appreciate John Piper’s emphasis on gravity alongside our gladness in worship too.
Now, to the point of my post, after having come to where I am now on worship, I became aware of a newer position on music in fundamentalism. This position eschewed some of the more Gospel-ish hymns, and didn’t take to the sentimental songs that were written in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They took to more doctrinal-centered, high sounding hymns. And they also stressed “religious affections” — an approach which majored on appropriate feeling in worship, and stressed that God desired the best aesthetics in music. I didn’t get sucked into that movement, although it did seem appealing and intellectual. But it didn’t sit well, especially when it was not Scripture that was judging between various music forms but research and supposed universal aesthetic principles.
I say this to encourage anyone who is following me here, to go read Bob Bixby’s recent post pointing out some grave errors in this “religious affections” approach to music. This approach stresses that there is a right way of feeling, and that how you sing and what you sing in church, reveals if you are having right feelings toward God. It sounds right, but it isn’t. Of this movement, Bixby notes:
They’re separatists by condescension. They don’t practice separation; they practice superiority. And that separates them….
Theirs is a Christ-less conception of worship. It’s Gospel-free. It’s enraptured by form. It’s old-school fundamentalism. And it has little to do with the religious affections that Jonathan Edwards wrote about.
Bixby’s piece is worth reading if you have ever tended toward frowning on contemporary worship styles. If you have preferred traditional music, his post will help you examine your own heart. It will also show how this stance toward the worship wars can so easily turn into a pharisaicalism that looks down on others and in turn, becomes an empty shell of externally focused religion.
I have to quote one more bit from Bixby’s post before encouraging you to read the whole thing.
Consider the God-ward, God-glorifying form of the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14. “I thank thee God that I am not like that poor Chris Tomlin singer over there who shuts his eyes and lifts up his hands with the pitiful, artless, crude hip-swaying style of corrupted orthopathy.” Ah, yes! The feelings of thankfulness were genuine in the Pharisee. He had, in fact, religious affections of sincere gratitude that God — indeed, he credited God! — had not made him as that poor loser in the corner, crying out to God with bad poise, seemingly unconscious of God’s glorious transcendence and preference for hymns. No one had more concern about form worthy of God than the Pharisee. No one.
Now if you really want more after reading Bixby, you could try to wade through this old post in my archives, with its 50 plus pages of debate on the subject of the morality of music! But you probably have better things to do!
I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately, especially since I have been in Charismatic churches for the past 7 years now.
After leaving Newburgh it was refreshing to dive into contemporary music head first and actively learning new songs. It opened up different ways for me to worship through music. At the peak of this experience I felt like I was truly enjoying this time of worship.
Somewhere along the line I have started to become disengaged by contemporary worship. Lately the words seem very shalow, the repetition is simply annoying, and musically the chord progression of the basic 3 chords in contemporary music is simply b-o-r-i-n-g. These days I resort to praying during the singing time because I cannot force myself to raise my hands or sing “Hallelujah” 20 times using 5 notes or less (yes, those numbers are real). Fortunately, our worship pastor has enough sense to mix in some hymns arranged in contemporary style, which gives me a truly enriching time of singing time tested truths of the word of God.
Children’s music is another area that bothers me. Our church has a tendency of taking Bible verses, putting them to punk rock sounds, and feeding them to our children. Content is awesome, but musically I highly doubt punk rock is what our children need. As a musician I truly believe that there is music suited for children, and we as adults need to be selective about the kind of music our children are exposed to. At home I make my daughter listen to Ron Hamilton – and although some of the words are extreme (pigs get locked out of the house?!) most of them teach the children to “Trust in the Lord with all Thine Heart” using instruments that are pleasing to hear and soothing to the soul.
UPDATE to all, USA Today just did a great piece on Keith & Krystn Getty – who write the greatest Modern Hymns.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/04/16/christian-hymn-writers/2089271/
Steve – thanks for your thoughts. I agree there can be a repetitive style that is empty of meaning. Of course, the role of us worshipers is important – we do have to keep our hearts and heads in it. One thing that helps me when I think of music that isn’t appealing to me or very doctrinally rich, I think that perhaps the guy standing next to me is being ministered to by it and it hits him where he is. Maybe he isn’t as far along on the doctrine trail as I am and so being able to sing music that all can appreciate to minister to all (not just theologians like me) is an important element in this.
As for Patch the Pirate, too much can be bad but it is pretty harmless. 😉 Seriously, sometimes by not teaching our kids Gospel-centered, doctrinally rich songs (new or old), and instead giving them only childish ditties that are fun and wholesome even, we can be dumbing down Christianity. That is a danger in all spheres of music. But so many of the songs are fun and I as a parent struggle with that too. It’s more fun to do fun songs with our kids than teach them doctrinally involved songs. A parent’s quandry for sure. And no, we don’t like lots of the new songs for kids these days that are so beaty. But there are some good kiddish melodies of songs we’re familiar with that do have a ocntemporary style that’s not overdone. We make use of those.
Thanks for sharing. There’s no easy solution. I think churches should strive to be as blended as possible so they don’t marginalize some who will come by the music – and that all the songs should be doctrinally rich and meaningful, rather than just repetitive phrases that sound good. And as far as that goes, there are plenty of hymns that can do the same for me. “Blessed be the Name” is one of them. So much repetition that it becomes trite, and hard to be worshipful when singing it.
thought provoking. thanks.
This is an interesting article. I think it is a little of a “straw-man” to compare the best most “Christ-exalting” contemporary praise songs to some “trite and shallow” traditional hymns. Compare the best praise songs to the best “old” hymns lyrically and the praise songs lose out every time.
Also, my biggest problem is not the instrumentation per se (much of the controversy could be eliminated by singing a cappella, or Psalms) but the faddish nature of the music. “In Christ Alone” if listened to objectively, and in the original tune (I have already heard it re–tooled,) already sounds dated. Songs are dated within 5-10 years.
There is a problem with this. It abolishes the idea of worship through time and space. When I sing “A Mighty Fortress” I am singing what has been sung by saints for almost half a millennium!
This “faddish” way of worship also sacrifices the older generation’s hymns (what they have sung and known for 60, 70, 80 years) for the youth’s music that they have been singing for 6 mos. We are communicating “the youth are more important than you.”
The reason we have hymnals (some hymnals are better than others) is because these are the songs that have been “vetted” and have stood the test of time for centuries.
The last issue I have is that even when contemporary songs are theologically accurate, they are often simply a series of statements strung together in rhyming form. The best of the older hymns (Watts, Wesley etc.) are poetry. This difference reflects the lack of interest and time spent in poetry and good literature.
There simply is no comparison. In my opinion:)
@Kandice,
I could not agree more with your last point there.
Some contemporary songs are written on the whim of inspiration rather than taking time to thoughtfully create poetic lyrics that are enriching to the soul.
A good example of this is Steven Curtis Chapman’s “I Do Believe” which literally starts out…
Sitting in a traffic jam 11:52 PM
Just a few miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio
I take my pen and start to write
The thoughts that fill my head tonight
Nothing terribly profound
Just these simple words
That keep my heart anchored down
They keep my restless heart anchored down
Now, I understand that most churches won’t select this song for morning worship, but as you pointed out many contemporary songs are like this.
Kandice & Steve,
There is a point to what your’e saying about the poetry. The best songs aim for more. However, hymnals include hymns that look far different from what they did hundreds of years ago. New tunes, varieties in the wording, adjustments — all of that comes with hymns, let alone praise music.
I agree we should aim for singing songs that will last. But just because we want to sing songs that minister to people of an older generation, doesn’t mean we should not sing the songs that minister to younger people too. God over and over again declares we should sing a new song to the Lord. There is something to be said for singing new songs to God in worship.
It doesn’t have to be an either/or, but can be a both/and in worship. That’s how it is at our church, and is something worth striving for, in my opinion.
Thanks for commenting.
[…] most recent post on music has a provocative title: “Superior Affections Yet a Christ-less Conception of Worship.” And someone over at Sharper Iron sought clarification (in the comment thread here) as to […]