Christian Living

WHAT DOES YOUR CHURCH SING

by Charles (Chuck) Robey
07/28/14
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"Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.( Psalm 150)

Do you remember that old song entitled " Music! Music! Music!", written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum and published in 1949.The biggest-selling version of the song was recorded by little Teresa Brewer on December 20, 1949.

Does this old song date you ? If so, then join the "dinosaur" generation. For now, we are all probably on the same page, as far as Christian music is concerned. Much like the secular world, music is the soul of the church. It may change its beat or repeat its message and you may stand or sit for it, but if it is not based on scripture, it is of no avail to us individually or collectively. In other words, it's not the loud acoustics, or the one person "stage barker", that gets our Lord's attention. 

"Praise and Worship" music must be a genuine scripture based personal "teaching", "reproofing", "correcting", and "training in the righteousness of God" (2 Timothy 3:16). Then and only then, will we be "equipment for every good work" ( 2 Timothy 3:17).

A bit of history ! Knowledge of the biblical period is mostly from literary references in the Bible and post-biblical sources. Religion and music, both vocal and instrumental, was well cultivated among the Hebrews, the New Testament Christians, and the Christian church through the centuries."

The music of religious ritual was first used by King David, who is credited with confirming the men of the Tribe of Levi as the "custodians of the music of the divine service. This music was capable of expressing a great variety of moods and feelings such as joy and sorrow, hope and fear, faith and doubt.

Very little is known. however, about primitive Christian music, as it was mostly unwritten. And much like the old "gossip game" we played as children, as songs passed from generation to generation, they grew very different from the original.

With the onset of the New Testament writings, music had attained a much higher development. As related to Christ, it was now called Christian music. However, there are but few allusions to it in three of the Gospels: in the Gospel of Luke, there are the "Angels' Song," Mary's "Magnificat," and Zacharias's "Song." In Acts, Paul and Silas sing behind prison-bars: the prison is shaken, the doors fly open, and they are free. In the Epistles, there are but few references to music, but in Ephesians there is a "beautiful one," in which Paul exhorts the churches to sing "Psalms" and "spiritual songs."

Many religions in modern and historic times have counted on music as a way of blending the congregation. The Christian Church is no exception with a widespread variety of musical styles. Some may use a full orchestra, while others may rely solely on the " A cappella" style, which is singing without instrumental sound.

Simply put, music is and has always been a part of the church scene (Psalm 68:4), from the old traditional hymns to the newer contemporary music. As long as God's word is honored, I see nothing wrong with a little mixture. Thus the phrase " Praise and Worship music (Psalm 147:1).

In the 19th century, churches would even put gospel messages to the more famous "bar room" tunes. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, used the music of popular tunes for hymns. According to Booth, Satan would have to be battled within his own strongholds, and any means was justifiable. 'Why should the devil have all the best tunes? "Oh, let us rescue this precious instrument from the clutches of the devil, and make it, as it may be made, a bright and lively power for good!"

And having grown up in The Salvation Army church (a spinoff of the early Great Britain Methodist church doctrine), music was widely recognized. The brass bands, in good taste of course, would lead the singing, and other appointed specials, and always stood out among many church orchestras. I even had the pleasure of playing the "tambourine " and the old "bass drum" on occasion, which I dearly enjoyed very much.

I realize that discussions about church music can have an adverse effect on both young and old alike (Ephesians 5:19). And this debate, if not controlled tactfully, can have an unsympathetic effect on any congregation. The young ones like the more modern contemporary music. While we seniors tend to go for the old fashion Bible based hymns.

Today's churches, however, are beginning to incorporate more contemporary music into the worship service because the old hymns seem to be "old" and "not exciting" and do not appeal well to the younger sect.

Conversely, some familiar with the older scriptural hymn messages, often times say that the new music doesn't seem to "move" anywhere, as the same lyrics are repeated over and over. This type music is now called "7-11" music, as it tends to take 7 words or phrases and use them 11 times.

This difference of opinion just may be due to the "generation gap" syndrome. Young people tend to worship "in the now". Whereas, seniors want the scripture message to flow through the lyrics.

It's not surprising when someone has grown up in the church some 40-50 years, and having only sung the known "ole time" hymns, not to be comfortable with the contemporary worship songs.

Being new doesn't mean a Christian song lacks the same scriptural basis as their former counterparts, but it does mean they reflect a new less ornate prose perhaps. But new songs will be the reflection of their composers. Nonetheless, each new generation should do as commanded by their Creator and ' give unto Him a new song" (Psalm 8:2).

It is my view point that a "happy medium" can be reached, by changing to a combination of traditional and contemporary music, simply by cautiously incorporating the newer songs (1 Cor 14:26).

A word of caution, the newer songs must be carefully chosen to make sure that we don't use songs that are completely beyond the ability of the congregation to sing, or that they incorporate a secular mood into the lyrics to move its audience into a false sense of worship.

A church, in which I once attended introduced new music by having a Sunday evening chorus of the month. Each Sunday the service would open with this chorus, and by the end of the month, the chorus was well known.

It's nice to have the words of the song or hymn projected onto a screen, but not with music. How many parishioners actually read music ? If the hymns are transposed from the hymnbook, the page number should be included for those having a problem seeing the screen words.

So what's the solution ? Simply put, the church service should be a time of worship for young people and seniors alike. The older church members are the "back bone' of the church (1 Cor 14:29). However, without young ones, the church will surely perish ( Psalm 71:5).

Worship is not about any particular demographic segment of the community. It is about letting God be real to those in the congregation (Romans 8:27). It is about letting God's "Holy Spirit" take control of all aspects of the service (Romans 5:5), including the worship singing.

In conclusion, you may not be the best at harmonizing, but just let go and let God have his way in your heart strings. You see God can take a simply harmonistic voice, as long as it's singing His praises (in tune of course), and turn it in to an angelic masterpiece. (Psalm 100:1)

It's all about praising and worshiping Christ Jesus. You see, musical leadership is modeled in the Old Testament (1 Chron 15:22). And ultimately, our worship leader is Jesus. He is the only mediator between God and man, and the perfect man, who sings God's praise in our midst (1 Tim 2:5) (Hebrews 2:12), as our High Priest (Hebrews 10:19-22).

So let's make, Music! Music! Music! In our hearts as we worship Christ Jesus, at home, at work, at play and at church.

Please click my web page below or type the address in your search bar,  to review more inspirational messages and music.

 ( http://ccrobey.wix.com/themessage )

Blessings To All