[ohioWfan]

The problem is not praise music. It's the exclusivity of praise music.

There has always been a mix of "songs, hymns and spiritual songs" in churches, but the problem now, is that traditional, theologically sound hymnody is almost completely absent from a large number of churches. (One book of choruses......271 of them, to be exact.....didn't have ONE reference to the Cross in any of it's songs).

It makes musical worship a mile wide and an inch deep, and the musical, theological education that used to take place in church non-existant (including worshipping God with our MINDS).

It's a serious spiritual problem, IMO, and part of the reason so many Christians in America are so weak......

(btw, I am a Protestant church musician who lost my job in my former church after 18 years so that the church might become more 'culturally relevant.' I'm now in a Presbyterian Church that values depth, traditon, and worshipping the Christ of the Cross)

[Quix]

Too much truth about a mile wide and an inch deep.

I do think though, that Christian weakness has more to do with

PRIDE, SELFISHNESS, FEAR

than a LOT of other things.

I simply choose music which edifies me, builds me up and draws me closer to God. A reasonable range does that and certainly The Blood and The Cross are recurring themes in my collections.

[Miss Marple]

I cannot agree with you enough. I don't mind a moderate amount of "praise music." (I use the italics because I consider all worship music praise to the Lord, not just those choruses that are self-described.)

What I have trouble with is those who tell me that the contemporary music is MORE worshipful because it is "from the heart," and that the traditional music is not connecting with the congregation. We lose SO much when those old hymns and anthems are neglected; we lose the history of those believers who have gone on before us, the rich cultural heritage which bound us together over time and space. People NEED to know about the history of that music, and what it meant to the people who wrote and sang it.

I am still looking for a church which will not discount the efforts of those who went before.

And I don't feel worshipful with electric guitars and drums. Neither does my son, who calls it "Church Light."

[anniegetyourgun]

Oh my goodness.....we really WERE separated at birth, OWF. While I'm not a former church musician, we even share Reformed tradition roots!