Thoughts on Contemporary Christian Music and Worship

Music has been defined as the art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.Music can be used as a means through which a single person or a group can express their feelings of worship. But the reverse is not true. Worship cannot be used as a means to promote our liking for music.We are to love our God with all our heart and soul and body. Music helps us to integrate our mind, our emotions and our body into a single act of worship unto God. When we express our words, it must be accompanied by the right emotions and the appropriate non-verbal expressions.  

But what actually makes music Christian? Imagine yourself listening only to a sound track (no vocals). How would you know if it was Christian music or not unless you knew beforehand that the sound track was associated with the lyrics of a Christian song? So the defining element is the lyrics. It is the content of a song that primarily decides the world view it represents.

There can be occasions when attributed meaning makes sense. Year’s back one of my favourites was a song called ‘Thank you Daddy’. The lyrics of that song have so much meaning to it and it clearly portrays a picture of a loving father. Now the original composer of the song may have written it as an ode to his own dad. But as one who had tasted the love of the Heavenly Father, I was able to sing the same song attributing the words of that song to God. Thus a secular song became to me a very meaningful Christian devotional because of the meaning I had attributed to the lyrics.

Tastes in music and styles keep changing from generation to generation. Songs based on pub tunes of the William Booth era are now classified under Old Favourites in Christian Hymn Books. What is music to some is irritable noise to others. Despite the ever changing generational preferences, what should remain important is that the lyrics of the song be true to the Biblical world view and clear enough for the singer to comprehend and identify with. If the sound and volume of the instruments deafen out the words, the purpose of the song is questionable...even though some would try to justify this as making a joyful noise before the Lord - a common refrain in the King James Version of the Psalms.

In some Christian concerts the worship leaders are often the focus of a lot of attention. Can worship leaders learn to facilitate the congregation to worship God in truth and in Spirit without attracting attention to themselves? Well, I think even good preachers have to bear with this same challenge.

After a church service, we sometimes ask the question: Did you enjoy the worship? It sounds as if we go to church to evaluate the worship and allot marks on the preacher and worship leader. The truth is that God is seated as the audience and we are being evaluated as to how true our worship is unto God. God is the one doing the evaluation and we are the subjects. The right question to ask is not 'Did you enjoy the worship?' but 'Was God pleased with your worship?'Any deed is only good if it serves the purpose it is meant for. A worship session is questionable when people only enjoy the music but fail to worship God. It is similar to junk food.It tastes and feels good, but has no nutritional content at all. The tune, musical instruments or voice will not worship God. Only the heart does.

The proof that the pudding is in the eating! The proof of true worship is that it reaches God. If it is only limited to the walls of the building and restricted by our words and actions - then our so called expressive worship may end up being mere entertainment. Sadly many gatherings are concentrating on how entertaining it is for the human mind. There is no harm in the session being entertaining (in the sense of being interesting and not boring) but that factor alone will not serve the purpose of worship. You can enjoy worshiping God and it should necessarily be so for a genuine Christian. But remember – do not concentrate on the beat, the sound, the rhythm, the voice, the tune or the mood music creates. Rather concentrate on the content i.e. the lyrics of the song and what you are telling God from your heart. If not, it’s just entertainment again.

I sometimes wonder about the singing of songs by professionals who don’t necessarily share the conviction of the song. Just imagine a group of professional singers who do not have a personal faith in Jesus Christ singing the song ‘Jesus… Name above all names, Beautiful Saviour’. A true believer may be led by their singing to glorify God from his or her heart while the singers themselves may simply have focused on singing it well.

As a true Christian, what is most important is the motive and purpose of our singing. Are we singing unto the Lord from our hearts? Or are we singing to impress others? Are we singing to climb the ladder in our popularity rating as a band or are we singing to glorify God? Name, fame, popularity, fan following, money, etc. are all self-serving while Jesus Christ made it very clear that He came to serve and not to be served. Being filled with the Spirit we are to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:18, 19). It is what happens in the heart, which God is most concerned about.

Do musicians stir up the emotions of the audiences? Yes, they do. Don’t preachers do so too? Through the preaching of the Word and music we are to address the mind, the emotions and the will of the people to facilitate a closer walk with the Lord.

I sometimes wonder about the repetitions of the same one line of a song. For instance, when the song 'God is good ' is sung during worship, the line 'God is good all the time and all the time God is good ' is often sung over and over again. In a public gathering, how appropriate can the repetitions be?  In Mathew 6:7 Jesus Christ has warned us not to use vain repetitions in prayers – songs are often prayers sung. As long as repetitions are from the heart and done meaningfully, all is well. In Psalms 136 the words ‘for His mercy endures forever’ are repeated 26 times in 26 verses.

After a music programme can we rejoice in our performance? God after having completed His creative activity sat back and evaluated it and said, “It is good”. We too can and must evaluate before the Lord what we have done. We can be justified in rejoicing in a job done well. We can be humble enough to receive words of appreciation but we will also have to be very careful lest we become proud in our own abilities. In the secret chambers of our heart, let us learn to take the crowns and trophies that are given to us and place them at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Luke 10:20 Jesus Christ warned His disciples not to rejoice in successful ministry or outstanding performances but rather to rejoice in the fact that our names are written in heaven. As humans this is not easy. But it serves as a guidepost, for the happiness of happenings will pass and high spirits will give way. The fact that our names are written in heaven is what should spur our true rejoicing.