Posted on 12/07/2004 12:06:09 PM PST by LouAvul
The growing clout of America's 100-million evangelical Christians is being heard loud and clear. Just turn on your radio, and you'll notice that a seismic shift in American culture is taking place.
Before, you could tune into different stations, which offered different music and different messages.
But now, as Correspondent Bob Simon reports on 60 Minutes Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 8 p.m. ET/PT,, evangelical Christian music is flowing into mainstream media -- and changing it. In fact, Christian entertainment now brings in $4 billion a year.
Rappers and rockers are making hits and making money while spreading the gospel to national audiences. Christian groups can be heard on secular radio and seen on "The Tonight Show." Earlier this year, the group Third Day even played at the Republican National Convention.
"The fact that there are Christian themes now emerging in rock and that Christians are in rock is just representative of a spiritual desire or a spiritual hunger in our culture," says Cameron Strang, publisher of Relevant Magazine, a religious publication.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
This Christmas I was able to get a CD of the Kings College Choir (Cambridge) performing the great carols of yesteryear:
What a blessing! What a contrast!
How about the question, "What is reverence?"
On the other hand . . .
What is that which appeals to our carnal senses; what is that which appeals to the musicians's pride and vainglory? What is that which very poorly copies pop/rap/rock music?"
Why must evangelical churches embrace this modern day slop, amplified (so God can hear?) and poorly testify to the neighborhood that Christians are at last "with it, Baby!!!"
Well, count me out the door.
Rick Warren defines and describes worship in his book, "The Purpose Driven Life." I offer an excerpt in response to your question.
Depending on your church background, you probably need to expand your understanding of the real meaning of "worship." You may think of church services with singing, praying and listening to a sermon. Or you may think of ceremonies, candles and communion. Worship can include these elements, but worship is far more than these expressions. Worship is a lifestyle.
Worship is more than music. For many people, worship is just a synonym for music. They say, "At our church we have the worship first, and then the teaching." This is a big misunderstanding. Every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, Scripture reading, singing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving an offering, baptism, communion, signing a commitment card and even greeting other worshipers.
Actually, worship predates music. Adam worshiped in the Garden of Eden, but music isn't mentioned until Genesis 4:21 with the birth of Jubal. If worship were just music, then all who are nonmusical could never worship. Worship is far more than music.
Even worse, "worship" is often misused to refer to a particular style of music: "First we sang a hymn, then a praise and worship song." Or "I like the fast praise songs but enjoy the slow worship songs most." In this usage, if a song is fast or loud or uses brass instruments, it's considered "praise." But if it is slow and quiet and intimate, maybe accompanied by guitar, that's worship. This is a common misuse of the term "worship." Worship has nothing to do with the style or volume or speed of a song. God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all -- fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new.
You probably don't like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship.
Christians often disagree over the style of music used in worship, passionately defending their preferred style as the most biblical or God-honoring. But there is no biblical style! There are no musical notes in the Bible; we don't even have the instruments they used in Bible times. Frankly, the music style you like best says more about you -- your background and personality -- than it does about God. One ethnic group's music can sound like noise to another. But God likes variety and enjoys it all.
There is no such thing as "Christian" music; there are only Christian lyrics. It is the words that make a song sacred, not the tune. There are no spiritual tunes. If I played a song for you without the words, you'd have no way of knowing if it were a "Christian" song.
Worship is not for your benefit. As a pastor, I receive notes that say, "I loved the worship today. I got a lot out of it." This is another misconception about worship. It isn't for our benefit! We worship for God's benefit When we worship, our goal is to bring pleasure to God, not ourselves.
If you have ever said, "I didn't get anything out of worship today," you worshiped for the wrong reason. Worship isn't for you. It's for God. Of course, most "worship" services also include elements of fellowship, edification and evangelism, and there are benefits to worship, but we don't worship to please ourselves. Our motive is to bring glory and pleasure to our Creator.
Worship is not a part of your life, it is your life. It's not just for church services. The Bible tells us to "worship him continually" (Psalm 105:4, TEV). Every activity can be transformed into an act of worship when you do it for the praise, glory and pleasure of God. The Bible says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV). Martin Luther said, "A dairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God."
How is it possible to do everything to the glory of God? By doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus and by carrying on a continual conversation with him while you do it! The Bible says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Colossians 3:23, NIV).
This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship -- doing everything as if you were doing it for Jesus. Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.
Note: Bold emphasis is mine, offered in response to a number of comments in this thread.
If your son or daughter thought church was boring because all the organist ever played was the same hymns and carols written in the 17th, 18th, & 19th centuries, would you be opposed to them going to a service where the music seemed familiar, but the message was bedrock salvation through the blood of Christ?
If one person finds Christ because of "amplified wordly music" then I say "Rock On!"
Thanks, I will take another chorus of "How Great Thou Art!"
I don't think he'd be impressed with obnoxious, crappy, patronizing, shallow, irrevent music performed by rock wannabees.
Btw, it is the Holy Spirit using the Word of God which draws an unbeliever to the Lord -- not some half-talent with a guitar.
Slop? In your opinion, you mean. I'd much rather listen to Switchfoot than some "talented" pastor's wife leading a hymn, accompanied by an organist - but I understand that's what floats some people's boats, so I don't complain about it.
Correction: Creed has said they are not a Christian band - although lead singer was raised Pentacostal.
Thanks for the clarification. I know when they first came out they were labeled as a Christian band, and I thought there was some controversy, but I couldn't remember.
You're right. reverence, not worldly entertainment floats my boat. Btw, the best soloist I ever heard was some a homely young lady who probably missed half the notes in her hymn. But her reverence, piety, and humility was far more edifying than glittery Amy Grant at the Universal Theatre or Switchhands at Melodyland.
cbs is just discovering Christian rock?
What an odd description. What did her appearance have to do with anything one way or the other?
At any rate, I don't think humility when offering a performance in worship to the Lord is necessarily demonstrated by doing a terrible job.
Well, it IS cbs, they are always behind on news, unless they make it up. :)
Great observation and dead on! That's exactly what's occurring in large measure. Generally speaking, it is in large part simply another effort by man to conform God to man's desires and machinations instead of the opposite. Far too many people get their information about God from others including music due to intellectual laziness and no desire to read and arduously study the Bible themselves. There is far too much emphasis on "what God can do for us" in a material sense and not nearly enough on the same focus spiritually.
Anyhoo, at the risk of digressing... :D
I think talent isn't as important as intention of the heart. When my husband sang on our former church's worship team (guitar, drums, etc) the pastor's wife was such a diva she would turn down the microphones so she could be heard rather than my husband and the other female vocalist. She couldn't sing as well, but the point was her heart wasn't in worship, it was on herself. OTOH, when my husband sang in choir (traditional hymns), the music director was a lot the same way.
The type of music isn't as important as the feeling/intention behind it.
No, but I think a spiritually discerning person would be more edified by humility than pride.
Bride, Whitecross, Ken Tamplin, Red Sea, Zion, and Three Crosses put out some very good cd's in the 90's. I found Bride to be exceptionly great sounding and cutting edge.
Good to see the Holy Spirit is guiding your words in this discussion with me....
You might want to read James 1:19 a couple of times. After that you might want to read Ephesians 4:29--
Agreed.
Exactly....
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