Why I Value Contemporary Worship Music

“Context is king, my dear.”

Brenda! How dare you question male authority!

Next time, I hope you remember your place…

I like it when Christians start sparring with each other and begin using fancy syntax and formal grammatical structures.

Good times!

:-D

[Easton]

“Context is king, my dear.”

Brenda! How dare you question male authority!

Next time, I hope you remember your place…

I apologize for the offense given by my tone which was understood to be condescending by you, Brenda.

Easton, there was no intent of chauvinism in my comments. I think the fact that I have been polite and attempted to interact with Brenda based on her comments indicates as much. I politely asked for her to interact concerning the content of the blog because I actually value her input on this topic.

[Jay]

Instead of tying ourselves in knots over the weird things that this guy does, why don’t we talk about what he actually wrote? It’s entirely possible for someone to speak the truth without being 100% correct (or even 50% correct). No one here, I think, would advocate preaching from a church setting in camos or in a wedding tux, endorse women preachers, or some of the other things that he did.

He wrote this on music:

But many modern songs are far more like Biblical psalmody than the hymns I sang over the years (and still sing and pray today). A great number are actually Scripture set directly to music, while others are thoroughly Scripture-based. For example, the song “Knowing You” is drawn from Philippians 3, and the words of “Those Who Trust” are based on Psalm 125. And it is true that many of today’s worship songs are written and sung from a highly personal, perhaps narcissistic frame of mind (the personal pronoun “I” does dominate some of them)…but then, even the most casual glance at the psalms will reveal precisely the same thing.

Most hymns were written with different instrumentation and venues in mind; they are great for pipe organ, piano, and choir. An entirely different music form might have resulted if Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley had written for guitars and drums, as many of today’s songwriters do.

Jay, I appreciated these comments especially. I know there are a number of excellent hymn writers today (i.e. Keith and Kristyn Getty, Chris Anderson, etc.). Their songs are both doctrinally rich and beautifully written. I think that the modern church should be able to sing these hymns in their worship. I don’t care whether it’s with drums/guitars or pianos/organs…the church should be educated and edified by these hymns.

I think that the “narcissism” that he speaks of is found in many contemporary songs…and I find that to be detrimental. But I am reminded of my unhealthy fascination with the “gospel songs” from The Wilds. The content is often anemic and the focus is frequently and unabashedly person-focused. I shudder at the thought of the vigor in which I sang “Faithful Men” and “I Saw Jesus in You.”

We need to carefully evaluate the content of our songs. We should not sing bankrupt songs and hymns, regardless of when they were written. But we should sing rich songs and hymns, regardless of when they were written. And I fully believe that God is praised and glorified by the congregational singing of his people, without respect for their chosen accompaniment.

Jay,

No knot tying going on here. And, I did talk about what the guy actually wrote — it just didn’t pertain, yet, to what he wrote about music. But, thanks for the reminder to everyone. It’s always good to talk about what people actually write.

DL,

I apologize for the sparring. I shouldn’t have done that. And, I wish you wouldn’t enjoy it when people do.

Todd,

I’m going to pass on continuing this conversation. I regret having ever instigated it in the first place. Nothing personal; I just think it’s best if I drop out.