On Music in Worship

If you have worshipped with us at Christ the King Church, you will notice that we do not use what is often called "contemporary" worship or praise music. This is because we believe that most of this music is not appropriate for the worship of God. Please don’t get offended; allow me to explain what I mean. Some people do get offended by this and often respond with something like: "show me in the Bible where it says we should use that tune or we shouldn’t use this tune for worship." Well, this issue of music is not really a law issue, but it is more of a wisdom issue. It is a question of what sort of music is fitting and appropriate, not necessarily what sort of music is lawful for the church’s worship.

The church has a long heritage of worship music. A few decades ago, this tradition was rejected in favor of pop forms. It was thought that popular music is what really moves people, so the church should use this music to attract a wider audience. But as we have already seen, "attracting an audience" should not be a factor in how we plan our worship. And is it really wise for the church to throw off almost 2,000 years worth of music as it has developed within the context of the church’s worship, only to settle for contemporary pop music? I ask the question because this is exactly what has happened. There is nothing wrong with pop music per se. It has its place. Listening to some of it on the radio or in the background at a restaurant can be quite enjoyable. However, this doesn’t mean that it belongs in the assembly of God’s people when we approach the mighty throne of the Lord. One parishioner may like marching bands; another prefers New Orleans jazz. They are certainly free to enjoy these musical styles. But does this mean that we should incorporate them into the service? Why do we think that just because we like a certain kind of music, we need to bring it into the Lord’s Day service? It just doesn’t follow. The real issue is not whether or not I can ever listen to pop Christian music or any other kind of pop music.

The issue is whether or not the music is fitting for the purpose of approaching a holy God in reverence and awe. Music does communicate. We need to make sure that our music is not communicating the wrong thing about who God is or what worship is.

So am I arguing for "traditional" worship versus "contemporary" worship? Not really. I don’t care for the use of these labels because they are not accurate. Most churches that describe themselves as contemporary are usually describing their style of music. Generally, however, they are not using a strictly contemporary style of music. They use a style that baby-boomers are comfortable with. It’s the soft pop sound you can find on any number of classic or light rock radio stations. But it is definitely not contemporary. It is in a style peculiar to a specific time period (70s and early 80s). And many middle class to upper middle class Americans happen to like that style. I happen to like some of it as well. But that doesn’t mean that it is appropriate for worship.

Likewise, I reject the labeling of our worship as "traditional." It is true that at Christ the King we use many old hymns. We also make use of the Psalms, which are the oldest hymns of all (God Himself wrote them). We do not despise contemporary music. But we do recognize that we live in a time in which the past is despised. We live in a time when contemporary Americans (and yes, Christians too), do not think that we have anything to learn from those who lived in ages before ours. We, along with our entire culture, are infatuated with the new and up to date. As Christians, who follow a faith that is based on God’s acts in history and the doctrine of God’s providential working in all of history, there is no excuse for this. The corporate worship of the church has a unique atmosphere and is a unique event. For centuries, Christians have thoughtfully composed music and lyrics to use for the glory of God and for the expression of Biblical praise. A real Christian musical culture was developed over time. Is it wise for us to simply dismiss this? Is it not simply foolish to insist that what is new is necessarily better? Let’s be clear; we don’t reject much of the modern church music simply because it is new. We reject much of this "praise and worship" music, because it is itself a rejection of the forms and modes of musical expression that were so effectively used in the past; substituting in its place music derived from pop culture and commercial jingles. We at Christ the King don’t worship tradition; however, we are not going to dismiss it out of hand either. Our desire is to see the church build on this tradition, not dump it. I really believe that many of the best of the church’s hymns and music are yet to be composed. But because of our present ignorance of the tradition, our duty at this point in history is to re-educate ourselves in what our fathers in the faith accomplished musically so that we may rejoin the conversation and begin to build on the foundation left to us. Our culture’s infatuation with pop music has us building a foundation on the sand. It is one that will not last and that we cannot pass on to our children and grandchildren because pop music, by definition, is temporary; it is what is "popular."

Our goal in selecting and offering music and song to the Lord is to use that which most effectively expresses what we are doing in worship. Do the music and the words express reverence and godly fear? Or do the lyrics simply express our feelings about worshipping God, how happy we are, or how much fun we’re having? Too often, the latter is precisely what is expressed, even if it is unintentional.