I wrestled with whether to let Kevin sing during the morning worship service. I felt uncomfortable with one of his selections, a soft rock song done in a falsetto. But I overrode my reservations; the song was theologically correct and had a clear message.
Afterward, one church leader told Kevin his song was “an abomination that totally ruined the worship service” and that “this sort of thing has no place in the church of Jesus Christ” and that a man singing in falsetto was “unnatural.”
It wasn’t long before Kevin left the congregation. “It’s obvious this group will never accept what I have to offer,” he told me. “I want to use the gifts the Lord has given me for him.”
The music-style-in-worship debate is nothing if not divisive. Those who prefer traditional hymns clash with those bringing drums and guitars into the sanctuary. People on each side of the debate believe they are defenders of the way God wants to be worshiped.
Can congregations make a lasting peace over this issue?
Those who prefer hymns and those who prefer choruses often feel their differences. As pastor to both, I try to emphasize five points.
1. This issue is not new.
I remind those who prefer hymns that the songs they consider traditional were once new, radical, and controversial. Hymn writer Isaac Watts composed his music as a reaction against the accepted church music of his day. Today, his works (including “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “Joy to the World,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed”) are so much a part of the church’s repertoire, it’s hard to believe they were once the new tunes on the block.
God has given new generations new songs in the past, and there’s no reason to believe he’s not doing so now; the day Fanny Crosby died was not the day God’s music died.
Those who insist contemporary praise music is the way to worship God must not write off two thousand years of church history. Those who have gone before have much to teach us about who God is and how to approach him.
One reason this isn’t always appreciated is that often pastors delegate the selection of worship music to a praise-worship team of talented laypeople. But such teams often have a bias toward praise music; they may incorporate more praise songs than the rest of the congregation can tolerate.
I seek the input of our praise team, but I have the final say about which songs are selected, how many are chosen, and even how many times each will be sung. This helps to give balance to worship and prevent unnecessary criticism. In accepting that responsibility, I also try to shield the praise team from criticism. The buck stops with me.
2. Our identity in Christ, not our common tastes, unites us.
The New Testament churches were made up of people of different ages, genders, races, and socio-economic levels, who came together because of their common belief in Jesus. Christ gave them their identity and, consequently, their unity.
In an era of marketing niches-of builders, boomers, and busters-we have grown accustomed to having things our way. But do we really need single-taste congregations?
What would happen if people with different musical tastes got along because of their common commitment to Christ? What a testimony to the outside world!
We regularly schedule “Hymn Sings” and also “Praise/Worship Nights,” on separate evenings. Doing so affirms that each musical style is a valid vehicle for praise. People are allowed more time for the music they love.
3. Worship is corporate.
What would our worship look like if we asked “How can I join those around me?” instead of “What will I get out of this?” Corporate worship is just that-corporate.
Individual styles of worship, though valid for an occasional special evening, must sometimes be set aside so the entire congregation can be touched by God. In the privacy of our homes, we may put on the music we love, crank it up, and repeat tracks over and over. But during corporate worship, everyone’s needs are valued. This is what Paul teaches in First Corinthians 14:13-25: “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body. . . .”
Our church board was puzzled when people began complaining, “The church has changed so much since we started singing those new songs.” We had added ten minutes of choruses at the beginning of each service, but the rest of worship followed the same liturgy it always had.
We finally realized that at almost every church function-potluck dinners, picnics, congregational meetings, missionary weekends-praise choruses were also sung. The choruses were often preceded by, “Now let’s spend some time worshiping the Lord,” implying the praise songs to follow were the only valid form of worship.
We relieved some of the tension by saying during our regular liturgy: “Let’s worship the Lord by silently presenting ourselves before him,” or “Let’s praise God by reading together Psalm 100,” or “Let’s sing to the Lord a few of our favorite hymns.”
4. Love means sacrifice.
Scripture calls Christians to love one another in the same way Jesus loved the church (John 13:34). That means sacrifice; we dedicate ourselves to those around us.
Do you not love me enough to sing my choruses? Do I not love you enough to sing your hymns? If the answer is no, then our problems are much bigger than what type of music to use in the worship service (1 John 3:14-16).
Nowhere in the New Testament are believers commanded to spend their time and energy trying to reach 100-percent agreement. Instead, the Scriptures make clear that Christians will not always agree (Acts 15:36-40), but we must, in Paul’s words, “[a]ccept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Rom. 15:7).
5. Each church is fearfully and wonderfully made.
God creates each local church unique; no two will be exactly alike. The answer to the question, “Why can’t we be more like First Church down the road?” is, “We’re not First Church.”
The issue is not whether the church can change; change is part of life and part of a vital congregation. But change is usually slow. Often people complain, “So what if the church has scheduled a hymn sing once a month? We still have to sing those boring choruses on Sunday morning.” Or, “Sure we do praise/worship songs, but only for ten minutes before the service even begins. It’s as if the church is saying they’re not important.”
People can’t always see that the very thing they dislike on Sunday morning may be a step toward including more of what they want. As the congregation warms to new music, the leadership often becomes more open to making changes.
Steve Bierly is pastor of The Cobblestone Church in Schenectady, New York.
Copyright © 1997 by Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.
