I was surprised that you made no mention of lyrics. I am one who loves the modern music 'sound' but often the lyrics in the modern music can't hold a candle to the sound theology and God glorifying lyrics in the old hymnal.

I for one am so tried of hearing the word "I" in modern music

I agree that the style of music is not an issue with God but lyrics and attitude are important in the arean of worship.

"Finally, if we’re to make any progress in the worship debate, we have to shift the focus from music to relationships."

God gave us His instructions for "Spirit filled" relationships when the saints gather.
"Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Eph. 5

This is intimate, mutual, and two-way. This is the exact opposite of the platform vs pew oriented gatherings held to for so long in Ur. The expert driven session is a bad substitute for God's design - "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, etc." This is believer driven gathering versus platform driven. One requires the saints to prepare their participation to "build up" the others. The other requires nothing, just walk in the door. One is full of the Spirit. The other is full of the flesh. Zero drive from the saints in speaking and singing means 100% flesh.

I didn't make this up. It's in the Word. There is no Word about believers gathering to be driven from a platform by an "expert." But this is all the systemic operating system of the American church. The music battle will not stop until you change the operating system. You can't do the same old thing and expect different results. We are fools to think we can get God's results while ignoring what God asked for.

I used to be a "worship leader". I know better now. I was merely a ceremony leader trying to keep attenders happy, the board happy, and the Sr. pastor happy. What a scam that is in view of God's Word.

The last time I heard a preacher preach on Eph. 5, he got to verse 19 and immediately jumped to Galatians 5 and the fruit of the Spirit. He was clueless with what to do with verse 19. At Wendy's I ran into brother from my old pulpit / pew church. He complained vehemently about the loud banging noise from the platform. I showed him in the Word what God was asking for. He got even more angry with me. Sayang! Filipino for "too bad, what a pity, such a waste".

It's time to leave Ur - the flesh driven operating system of American church. It can feel pretty, it can feel euphoric, but it won't be filled with the Spirit.

Good point, Mary. Thank you.

I think when it comes to "style," lyrics don't always factor into the equation. That is to say, a lot of people don't get that far: if they don't like the sound, they object. That said, I agree with you. I'm a word and doctrine guy, so I tend to like hymns played in a more contemporary style.

This is a great article. I played bass in the worship band at our former church and whenever we played the classic service where they would sing hymns we always had complaints. The funny thing was that the decibel level of the organ was much higher than the combined decibel level of the entire worship band. But that is what most people complained about but I think it was a thinly-veiled complaint about the style of music not the loudness. I found that most of my friends at that church were actually fine with worshipping with the old classic hymns while the older members of the church would ever consider worshipping with more contemporary music.

Mary, and Brandon, I encourage you ... from a strictly lyrical standpoint, to check out the Christian rap artist "Shai Linne" and his "Attributes of God" album. It's amazing how God centered and rich the lyrics are. Two of my favorites are "Mercy and Grace" and "Self-Sufficiency" ... however I like the whole album a ton. A guest artist on there named Timothy Brindle has a new album coming out very soon that I think will also be amazing lyrically/theologically. The abbreviated title is "The All-Sufficiency of Christ", where the full-length title is "The Restoration: The All-Sufficiency of Christ in the Gospel of Grace to Restore Ruined Sinners to Himself for their Joy and His Glory."

Thank you for the article. I particularly was cut to the heart by your comment "If a pastor could help foster an environment in which congregants lobbied for the type of music that moved their friends and loved ones—because each wanted the other to be moved in worship—questions about which is “best” would become inconsequential". I pray that my heart is changed in this direction. Thanks again!

Words matter in songs, and I think for the major part I pay attention more to the words than to the back beat, or whatever instrumental accompaniment.

Some recent songs have good solid scriptural foundations "Revelation" though presented as pop, or soft rock, whatever has a very good statement about G-d, and how we should view him.

On the other hand, there are songs to which after reading the words I...I don't know what it is we're singing, and to whom or what we are singing them too.

I therefore think that worship music, like biblical scholarship, is something we should approach with a good deal of skepticism and research.

BTW, personally, I still like listening to latin chants...one of my more enjoyable if lingering left-overs from my days as a Roman Catholic.

Worship is bowing down... Whatever calls me to submit my heart, my mind and my will to Jesus is a sacred instrument in the hands of the Spirit. "older" generations have been just as guilty of spectatorism as any younger. How i feel is secondary to what happens in my relationship with God.
Luther said " He who sings, prays twice"

Really glad to see this subject come up! It is a huge complex and important subject. We are seasoned Christian musicians who have done everything from leading worship to retreats and concerts. I am also a writer of published books. There is a wide-spread "movement" to move beyond the pew and do something besides continue to get "fed" forever. It appears to me that most Christians see their life as being decent, not cussing or smoking, doing all your duties and going to church to get fed some more. The majority don't teach, don't go on missions or other church projects, or even bother to mention Jesus to people outside the church. Needless to say, these are the very ones who complain about the music - doesn't really matter what kind of music - there's just something wrong with it. The other thing we have run into is a new "fad" of accusing the lead worshipers of "performing", ASSUMING the musicians are not worshiping, HUST "performing".
Probably the worst problem we have run across lately is that the paid, full time worship leader prefers young trendy, sometimes embarrassingly so, young people who are more interested in their appearance and their own glory than in worshiping God. We participated in an Easter program where the young, trendy lead singer wore plain old flip flops to sing in!! To me it was disgusting because it was definitely not all she had to wear.
I'm just touching the tip of the iceberg here, but what seems to work best in our area is a mix of old and new with good accompaniment , talking about the songs and the worship.
One important thing I want to say while on this subject is, I don't believe God is pleased with music that goes out of its way to copy the secular performances. I have seen horrible, disgusting, embarrassing bands/videos on Christian TV that are worse than anything I have ever seen in the world. SHAME on them!!! Jesus came to make things better, not worse. I praise God for the young people who have been brave enough to produce their music on CDs, on the air and radio that actually give praise and honor to God and help others do the same. That is what it is all about.

Full disclosure - I'm an occasional worship leader.

I'm getting close to where I may seek out a congregation that minimizes musical worship. I am worn and weary of the worship wars, slick worship leaders, blasting drums, guitars and yes, organs and most especially musicians who exude pride and inflated egos. I think the church needs to repent of the idolizing of musical "preference".

I believe we should respect both sides... music is a gift from God and for me there should be no arguments about it. Worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.

I have served as a "Worship Leader" for over 30 years. I can worship while singing or listening to instrumentals from either traditional or contemporary "styles" of music. I prefer a blended style of worship, utilizing the best of both styles.
The priority I consider when planning worship is focusing on songs that are scripturally based and sung directly TO God. God loves to hear His children sing His Word back to Him. My second priority is whether or not the music will bless and encourage those around me. Worship should NOT be approached as a concert of religious songs sung to excite the audience.
Psalm 150 says "let EVERYTHING that has breath praise the Lord" It also encourages the use of ANY and ALL instruments that are available to you as you worship.

Music in church is secondary to the worship and the study of the word of God. When music becomes primary, then your church has become a place of entertainment. Easy words to say, perhaps, but then I have experience of churches where the pastor cannot go beyond a certain depth in Biblical exegesis because a sermon that long would take precious time away from the praise band - I hope you can see why that scenario is wrong.
My conviction is that it is purely God the Spirit who ultimately brings people into true union with Christ, not church externals. Sadly, so many churches have trapped themselves into the church-entertainment = crushingly heavy debt load culture that profound subjects become taboo in so many.

As a Bible translator who has been working on the psalms, I would like to comment on the way many people (including some in these responses) say that they are sick of hearing the word "I" in modern songs. Read the psalms, and check out how many times the word "I" occurs!! Praying and praising are very personal. They need the personal pronoun. One other thing, about the dopamine effect: God made our bodies, and he knows how to help us open up to him. For some of us it comes in silence, for some with a heavy backbeat. Whatever the chemical cause, I welcome the physical responses that smooth the way for my heartfelt spiritual ones. I've even come to find that the heavily repetitious, hot-percussion sound of the African people here can lead me to levels of joy and philadelphia-love that I have not often previously experienced when singing in community.
This is a multi-level subject. Thank you for this balanced, thoughtful commentary!

Thanks, Linnea! I think I read somewhere that there are multiple Hebrew words for "praise", each emphasizing a different emotional or physical posture. Could you elaborate...or did I dream that after eating a spicy burrito?

By what stretch of imagination can the rythym section of a praise band be called a "backbeat?" We've abandoned melody and harmony for "beat front and center" and lyrics for how we feel. Brain chemistry and preferences aside, corporate worship is not about us, or who is leading, or what style we prefer. Just as Eastern meditation calls for emptying the mind and biblical meditation calls for filling the mind with truth, so worship is not about feelings, chemistry, or preferences. It is about humbling ourselves before a holy God and openly and corporately confessing our sin and affirming His worth in our lives. Worship happens when we engage our mind in the contemplation of truth and how God's worth in our lives affects our lifestyle.

From a historic perspective, theological soundness of words and music style have always both been seen as critically important in the Church's liturgical worship.

A few years ago, I read in a book on learning to chant by an Episcopal that after a particular Roman Catholic men's monastery in France was asked (I think in the wake of the Novus Ordo and Vatican II) to give up most of the chanting of the Psalms, etc., in the hours of prayer, and read them instead, there was a lot more physical illness in the community. The author concluded that apparently there are even physical health benefits to the this type of use of music. (I believe this property of certain types of music has since been demonstrated in other medical science studies.) I have found there is a lot of truth in this context to the saying that "He who sings, prays twice." I think to a large degree in modern culture, we have lost this wholistic sense of the nature of Christian faith and worship as a way of life, even involving music style, that may in many ways run counter to prevailing culture. Now, it seems to be mainly the New Agers who will readily embrace and accept this connection, but often in spiritually unsound or undiscerning ways!

I grew up during the birth of Christian contemporary music and also playing classical music (violin) in the school orchestra. I love listening to Newboys, Casting Crowns, David Crowder, and many others, but I definitely do not miss the use of this kind of music in my EO liturgical worship setting. The "Eight Tone" system of a cappella chanting of virtually the entire service (in my congregation, congregational singing has been revived, and the congregation is the choir) is a balm and a wonderful aid to meditation on the words of the Scriptures and Scriptural prayers that are sung or chanted. Human nature being what it is, there can still be "worship wars" of sorts among the Orthodox (criticism of the musical setting used or quality of the chanter's or choral performance--more like little squirmishes), but nothing like in modern Evangelical circles. I guess there's something to be said for having largely resolved this issue by the end of the 8th or 9th century!

The point you made about lobbying for others' tastes is the exact point in cross-cultural worship communities. As our country changes demographically, some of these warring congregations are going to be driving past neighborhoods, housing projects, or even churches where other ethnic groups live and worship. Let's skip to the future and start choosing music from traditions in order to encourage diversity.It's coming sooner than white Christianity thinks; The SBC just elected a symbolic African American president. When a congregation is committed to reaching across cultural lines, there are some remarkable side effects! As a white musician in a cross-cultural church, I get few complaints because our mission is unity between black, white, and latino.

Great article and conversation happening in the comments! This is a great thing to consider when leading worship, realizing that not everyone has the same preferences. People's heart music is so different, especially as churches are becoming more multi-cultural. What if we, as worship leaders, could encourage worship songs from other cultures and languages represented in the congregation? This mixture would allow people to worship in the styles they connect with, while introducing others to the outside world. There is something to be gained in each of these God-given creative styles. Even if your church is divided by age, we have an opportunity to help bridge the gap between the two and show the value in hymns as well as contemporary worship songs, both in style and lyrical content. It would be great if the debates could stop and the conversations of working and worshiping together.

Dear Sir
Our Founding Senior pastor Died and was searching for a new pastor
and finally hired a young minister two Churches merged The young pastor had a small Church and the our church was a mega church has one of the largest Pipe organ in the USA He told the committe he loves Organ music church Hymns .but when he was Offically the Senior Minster He stated firing Paid soloist fired our Praise band brought his own band He is following the Rick Warrin's Purpose driven church
Only Prasie band the Organ is Silent for the most Part
As a result thier was such a ugly worship war the Music staff left half the choir left so did the organist and choir Direster and started thier own Chuch
We had a fantastic Concert Series and Childrens choir No sacris music at all.
This trend has got to stop.