Contemporary Christian Music Debate

          There are few church-goers in our community who have not been confronted with the on-going debate over the use of contemporary music within worship services. Walk into a random church in Ozaukee County and the odds are even that you’ll see guitars, drums, and an electronic keyboard somewhere in the sanctuary, as opposed to simply a bell choir and pipe organ. Some see this as a good thing. Others do not.  
 

On one side of the debate, there are those who insist that only organ music and traditional hymns are appropriate and worthy of a worship service. Most churchgoing Ozaukee County residents over 40 were raised in a church where such music was synonymous with worship. Traditionalists, for lack of a better term, frequently feel quite strongly that alternative forms of music are inappropriate, constitute “giving in” to cultural icons and pressure, and do not fulfill the perceived purpose of music in worship – to proclaim the word of God to the people of God. Some feel that traditional hymns alone are genuinely contemplative, self-examining, God-seeking and pious enough to be worthy of the Christian worship service. Some feel that the alternative and contemporary music of our time does not even hint of things like confession, guilt, and sin – that it is a feel-good and emotional type of “Gospel-lite”, without even a footnote mentioning the Law, our sins, or our need for a Savior.
 

On the other hand, there are those who feel that more contemporary music is the most effective means of joyfully praising our Savior and communicating with the unchurched – especially the young. They cannot comprehend why anybody would want or need to sing durge-like hymns written before man discovered that the Earth actually revolves around the Sun. They cannot understand why anybody would take issue with powerful, contemporary music that simultaneously praises God and evokes an emotional and spiritual response in worshippers. They point to the numbers of young people who flock to and worship in contemporary music settings and blame lethargic membership and the falling away of young adults in many congregations on the “old way of doing things”. They feel strongly that there is nothing wrong with contemporary worship music.
 

So who is right? Who is wrong? Or is there a right and a wrong? And while there is no Biblical prescription that a congregation must use old hymns or the same worship format at each service, it is frequently the pastors left hanging in the balance as they try to make both sides happy, while at the same time struggling to maintain the Bible’s clear call for church unity and order.
 

Most advocates of appropriate contemporary Christian music do not claim there is anything wrong with traditional music. They note that Scripture itself contains admonitions against those who would worship according to human rules rather than the Word of God.
 

Many Biblical references to music occur at spiritual high points in the history of the church. Events such as the Reformation, the 18^th and 19^th Century Awakenings, and modern crusade evangelism, have all produced new forms of worship music. Contemporary worship music, therefore, is a symptom of an awakening within our society that is very much needed. Like new forms of worship music in years gone by, contemporary Christian music contains lyrics very similar to the praises of the Psalms. Contemporary music, therefore, is not much different from past traditions of church music. It just seems that way. In a sense, contemporary Christian music is, therefore, very traditional.
 

Worship serves dual purposes - it is vertical because it is focused on God. At the same time, it is horizontal by edifying, strengthening, and uplifting the worshippers. A Biblically-balanced view of worship must take into account both purposes. Churches that focus on the vertical are in danger of making God appear distant, unfriendly and unloving. Those that focus on the horizontal can lose sight of his majesty and purity, his hatred of sin, and the consequences of our sinful nature. If contemporary Christian music sometimes errs on the side of ignoring the vertical, then traditional worship risks erring on the side of underemphasizing the horizontal.
 

God leaves us to work out the specifics of worship by our own Spirit-led wisdom, within the broader principles of the Word. Scripture tells us to pray together, for example, but it does not tell us precisely what prayers to say during a service. Similarly, Scripture does not prescribe the use of any particular melodies for hymns or any particular musical style. Music used during worship services should simply be of good quality, appropriate to the texts employed, and meaningful to the worshippers.
 

Brandon Rockstroh is music director at Christ Church in Mequon. This ELCA Lutheran church features a traditional Sunday service at 8:00 a.m. with a Chorale and hand bell choir, and a contemporary service at 10:30 a.m., featuring guitars, drums, and a keyboard. “The church has always mimicked where popular music is going,” he says. “There is no right or wrong here – people want what they’re used to. Even many of today’s youth are perfectly content with traditional music.” Brandon points out that humans are born into sin, and the negativity and contentious debate between the two schools of worship is often accentuated by a society which teaches us to be critical. First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cedarburg, goes even further to cater to all tastes and features traditional worship at 9:00 a.m., contemporary worship in their gym at 10:10 a.m., and a blended service at 10:30 a.m.  
 

Father Tom Eichenberger with St. Francis Borgia in Cedarburg loves contemporary Christian music, which he refers to as “praise music.” He listens to it in his car and on his iPod. “Roman Catholics are a little more cautious about its use,” he says. “It tends to be more emotional and personalistic – more appropriate for personal use than worship.” He wants St. Francis Borgia’s music to be “liturgical” (appropriate for the standardized order of events observed during a religious service and fitting for the applicable church season), and most praise music is not liturgical. Having said that, he did point out that one of their five weekend masses – 6 p.m. on Sunday evenings – features praise music from their “Fire Choir.”

And what of those who say that contemporary music is more about entertaining the sheep than worshipping the shepherd? There is certainly a risk here that must be avoided, because some contemporary worship is deceptively similar to sitting down for secular entertainment. The vertical and horizontal aspects of the service should be kept in balance. God wants us to take delight in Him (Psalms 37:4: 40:8; 119:16). If we do not enjoy singing about God’s incomparable love, something important will be missing. But contemporary worship music should not have as its sole purpose the stirring of the senses. Such a stirring, however, should be expected if the horizontal aspect of a worship service is effective.
 

Jesus established one church, not many, and he prayed that the church would always be one. As sinners, we must work to love one another, honoring the diversity of the church body in order to honor its unity. How do we honor each other and still defer to one another in the selection of church music? We must first search our own sinful hearts for evidence of selfishness and musical snobbery. Unless music can be shown to be inappropriate for worship, everyone’s music should be acceptable in worship.
 

If the use of contemporary Christian music is contrary to any Biblical principle, then we should not use it. But if Scripture permits the use of this style of music, it is not wrong to think about and thank God for the effect it has in producing church growth, reaching the younger generation of today, and following through on the Great Commission which Christians of all stripes all too often forget once we walk out of those doors on the way home from church.