"Worship Wars" Part 2

Yesterday I talked a bit about worship as a concept. Today I want to talk about music in worship. I would reemphasize that music does not equal worship, but music in the church today has become a battle often called the worship wars. What concerns me most about these “worship wars” is that I feel like we’re missing the point. I came across an article the other day that was explaining how we were missing the point on music in the church because contemporary music was off in its purpose. The gal had put this chart in her article:

Definition	Religion/Christianity	Business	Entertainment
People	sinners/redeemed sinners	consumers	fans
Leadership	pastors/elders	CEO	directors/actors/singers
Purpose	honor & glorify God repository of truth	sell the product	please the crowd
Atmosphere	reverential/serious	reverential/serious	flippant/fun/easy
Style	contemplative/slow	efficient/pragmatic	fast paced/upbeat/trivial
Results	long term/eternal	temporal/transitory	quick fix/temporary
Demands	introspection/discipline	competition	none/indulgence
Authority	God/Bible	profit/money data/results	feelings/likes
Orientation	Word/substance	money	earthly kingdom
Real	spiritual kingdom	earthly kingdom	earthly kingdom
Rules of Conduct	formal/structured	orderly/methodical	informal/relaxed
Tools	Word/Spirit sacraments/prayer	economic formula investment of money and time = yield	props/lighting/band
Goal	spiritual maturity complete in Christ	satisfy the customer	attract an audience

Here’s my problem with charts like this. What is the Biblical basis for these statements? Don’t get me wrong, there are several statements that are very true in the categories like people, leadership, purpose, authority, etc., but these too are earthly observations. Where people go wrong in charts like this are in spots like atmosphere. Where in the Bible does it say that worship must always be reverential and serious? I have heard 1 Corinthians 14:20 quoted as a justification. Paul says, “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” The problem with using that verse is that it totally blows away the context of this passage. Paul has just spend the last chapter explaining the use of spiritual gifts in the church. The church in Corinth was apparently engaging in some wild church practices, and Paul was addressing this church. Matter of fact, just a few verses earlier, Paul says, “The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law says.” Out of the context of this letter, this statement sounds incredible, and we certainly would not use it to muzzle the females in the church. So why should we apply verse 40 broadly to our worship? I would make an equal case from 2 Samuel 6 where David brings the ark of the covenant back into Jerusalem. Starting in verse 14, it tells us, “and David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” When David’s wife reacts to this outpouring of joy with scorn, David replies, “It was before the Lord, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord - and I will make merry before the Lord. I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes…” So would I use this passage to say that worship must always be unabashedly joyful? Heavens no! Rather I think that these two passages along with passages from the entirety of scripture make available to the worshipper a broad range of reactions and emotions. To say that hymns are the music of God is just as wrong to say that praise choruses are the music of God. I have a feeling that when we are singing before the throne, anything that we could come up with in this fallen world will pale in comparison. My problem with the “worship wars” is that it has caused people to draw up lines saying things like, music must be dignified always, or on the other side, music must be current and relevant. I would say that we shouldn’t limit ourselves to either, but rather avail ourselves of the full spectrum of music that is available to us. We need to let go of our generational prejudices and worship the Lord our God together. All of that being said, I am a realist, and I realize that this is an area where a congregation needs to grow together with time. I think that it is irresponsible to suddenly throw a century of tradition out the window for folks. The bringing together of these generations by necessity must be a process, not an abrupt change. May we grow together in Christ graciously!