A Philosophy of Worship Music

Few words are as apt to elicit a passionate response as the words worship music. Churches, institutions, and homes have been rocked (pun intended) by debates over what is—and more often, what is not!—acceptable music. While I understand the debate and tend to land on the conservative side of it, the fact that the term worship is heard by many as a call to arms instead of a call to prayer grieves me. I fear that one casualty of the “worship wars” of the last generation has been worship itself. We have focused more on style than on substance. We have spoken loudly and often regarding what we are against, but we have said and thought too little about what we are for. We have given more thought to the manner of worship than to the Object of it. I’d like to see that changed, and therefore I ask, What are we for? What should we be aiming at as we produce or select worship music? I believe that the following six principles can provide some help as we work toward an answer.

Worship Music Should Be Intentionally Scriptural

Worship music, like the rest of the worship service, should be filled with biblical quotations, imagery, and allusions (Col. 3:16). In some cases (as with the metrical psalms), that means that the hymn lyrics should essentially be thought-for-thought paraphrases of the biblical text. Even in cases when hymns pursue a biblical theme or doctrine, however, the biblical content behind the lyrics should be clear. We should be singing the Scriptures! Further, worship music is able to both express and advance the singer’s theological understanding. Thus, what we value in hymn texts is not merely creativity or artistry, but biblical and theological accuracy. The songs we sing in worship should be doctrinally rich and meaty. People should meditate on spiritual truths as they sing, both in public worship and in private, so we should be endeavoring to provide fuel for such meditation through theologically astute texts, especially regarding the doctrines of God, Christ, and salvation.

Worship Music Should Be Intentionally God-Glorifying

Worship music—and the rest of our lives!—takes place for the glory and pleasure of God. As the Westminster Catechism states so well, our chief end is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” More importantly, Scripture teaches that just as all things were created by and for Christ (Col. 1:16; Rev. 4:11), all believers are saved by and for Christ (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). Thus, we should strive to produce music that encourages the Lord’s people to “magnify” and “exalt” Him (Ps. 34:3) by reminding them of His titles, attributes, words and deeds—by helping them to see Him as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. While songs shouldl be enjoyable and edifying for the Lord’s people, they should be intentionally focused upward so that the church might fulfill its purpose of glorifying God by singing directly of Him, for Him, and to Him (Eph. 1:12; 3:20-21; Rom. 11:36).

Worship Music Should Be Intentionally Christ-Centered

Worship music should be distinctly Christian. Our songs should make much of Jesus Christ and the glorious gospel. Because we believe that Christ crucified is the centerpiece of human history (1 Cor 1:23a; 2:2) to which the entire Old Testament prophesied and to which the entire New Testament bears witness (Luke 24:47), we should be determined to produce music that will point people Christ-ward and help them appreciate in fresh ways the glory of Jesus’ person and work. We should want to sing about Christ—His perfect life, sacrificial death, victorious resurrection, intercessory ministry, and glorious return!

Worship Music Should Be Intentionally Congregational

Worship music should encourage every-member ministry. While we should appreciate purposeful and appropriate special music, we should believe that God is uniquely glorified by congregational singing. Worship belongs not just to those who are specially trained or gifted, but to every believer in Jesus Christ. Further, singing praise is the responsibility of the entire body and not of a select few (Eph. 5:18; Col. 3:16). These truths should motivate us to produce music that is accessible, both textually and musically. We should not try to be academic or classical. While we may genuinely admire oratorios by Handel or cantatas by Bach, we should write music that will be useful for the average, musically untrained church member. The text and music may and sometimes will stretch the worshiper, but it shouldn’t be “beyond” him.

(Editor’s Note: For more about the centrality of congregational singing, please see Chris’s article “Congregational Singing Is Special Music.”)

Worship Music Should Be Intentionally Fervent

Worship music should have texts and tunes that affect the entire person—mind, will, and emotions (Matt. 22:37-38). At times, that will require musical scores that are quiet and meditative, inspiring wonder or sorrow. More often, I believe, it will require musical scores that are joyful and celebratory, inspiring a heartfelt and exuberant response consistent with the many “Shout to the Lord!” commands of the psalms and the worship of Nehemiah 12:43 that was heard from afar! We should strive to produce texts and tunes that stir the imagination and affections, encouraging appropriate emotional responses to the grand truths being sung. We should help congregations engage biblical truth and respond with thoughtful, wholehearted fervency (John 4:24).

Worship Music Should Be Intentionally Distinct

Worship texts and music should reflect the character of God in His holiness, glory, weight, majesty, love, grace, joy, and other perfections (Ps. 96). Though I recognize that the implications of this point to musical styles is necessarily somewhat subjective, I believe that we should desire our music to promote a biblical reverence (Heb. 12:28-29) and have a sound that is distinct from most of what is heard outside the church. We should also desire that our music be distinct in its quality. Of course, God accepts praise because of Christ (Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:5), not because of our abilities. However, I believe that one way in which we demonstrate God’s glory and our esteem for Him is by offering Him that which is excellent. Our songs, like the Old Testament sacrificial lambs (Ex. 12:5), should be choice offerings, not the “lame” or “blemished” (Mal. 1:8, 13-14). To that end, we should strive to produce music that is excellent artistically as well as doctrinally—that is “skillful” (Ps. 33:3; 47:7). Hopefully, the result will be Christ-honoring music that will point Christ’s people to Him for years to come.

To God alone be glory! (Ps. 115:1)

Chris Anderson is the founding pastor of Tri-County Bible Church in Madison, Ohio. He enjoys writing, and his writing projects include hymns (www.churchworksmedia.com), a blog (http://mytwocents.wordpress.com), articles (http://obfvisitor.wordpress.com), and Buckaroo Bible Club. Chris and his wife, Lori, have been blessed with four lovely daughters. This article is cross-posted from ChurchWorksMedia.com, a new site providing resources for intentional local church ministry. At this point, ChurchWorksMedia.com is primarily focused on providing fresh worship music, including metrical psalms that are being used in local churches across the country.