On Contemporary Christian Music

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

KEEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy; and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As has been discussed, worship comes in many forms. It is, simply put, the way in which we ascribe worth to God. Art can be an important tool of worship, but it also brings with it possible difficulties. Throughout the ages, there has always been an important question asked of art as it intersects with the worship of God: where is the point at which art, intended to be used as a tool for worshipping God, becomes a hindrance to worship of God by usurping God as the focus of worship?

This was a question at the heart of the Byzantine iconoclasm controversy of the 8th century, and which has remained throughout the life of the church in relation to all mediums of art. In this period, there was a split in the church over whether or not icons could legitimately depict Christ, or whether or not they could only represent his humanity at the expense of his divinity. Ultimately this concern reflected the question of the legitimacy of the art as a tool of worship. In much the same way, particularly in the United States, music has become the medium under scrutiny.

Millions of Christians around the world find the contemporary Christian rock worship music significantly enhances their ability to praise God. To others, however, modern worship music, as it’s often called, has usurped the place of God as the object of worship. As Lance Ralston puts it, modern worship emphasizes the creation, “of emotional rapture and the worship of worship, rather than the worship of God.” With the desire to instill this feeling of rapture as the goal, musical worship can become the focus of a Sunday service in some protestant churches, and elaborate productions are put on, attracting hundreds and thousands who are seeking a ‘worship high’ from the experience.

This pursuit of a ‘worship high’ is part of a dangerous trend which sees the feelings evoked by Christianity as the goal of Christianity, replacing salvation. That in and of itself is dangerous, as it again reflects changing the meaning of Christian worship from ascribing worth to God to ascribing worth to self (you give worth to yourself by emphasizing your own personal experience over giving glory to God).

It is perhaps easy to see this experiential goal in the high production value performances of US mega churches, or various actual concerts, but there is an even more insidious form of this same issue of the worship of worship and the experience of worship.

In any Sunday service, be it Anglican, Roman Catholic or a protestant denomination, whenever a musician begins to play there is always a question of how the congregation reacts. For a musician, the music they are playing as much as the words they are potentially singing can be offered to God. There can be a problem when the music is being offered for the benefit of the congregation, for its inherent beauty, and for their enjoyment, rather than in praise of God. From the opposite side of the spectrum, regardless of the intentions of the musicians, the congregation can create and seek out their own euphoric experience from the music, rather than focusing on singing in praise of God.

Worship is generally active; a conscience decision to do something. When a person is passively receptive to what is happening, it is difficult to explain how that might constitute worship of God. When you seek something, rather than seek to do something, the focus has shifted.

In response to just this concern being raised in his home church, the Christian singer/songwriter Matthew Redman wrote and released the song “The Heart of Worship” in 1998, which contains the lines:

I’m coming back to the Heart of Worship,
and it’s all about You, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
when it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

The lyrics are a stark reminder that the importance is in the meaning behind the words and the intention behind singing them, not whatever else, or whatever experience we receive either by hearing the music or even by expressing ourselves in song.

In many ways it echoes the warning prophesied by Isaiah when he wrote:

And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

This should make complete sense. Songs are merely prayers arranged to music, much like the Psalms. As prayers, they reflect and, in some ways, shape our faith. If we constantly worship, even with the intention of glorifying God, through music with shallow prayers.

The question then becomes how to corporately ensure that the focus remains on the words and prayers, and that the art remains a tool for the worship of God, and not simply to create an experience for man. One method, discussed next week, is through the use of the Book of Common Worship.