Thursday, June 21, 2007
Worship Wars
Over at The Point there has been some discussion of worship music. Gina Dalfonzo quotes a couple of sources out of a discussion that I will excerpt here. The first
But consider, it contributes to the drive to bigger and bigger church. Budgets increase, people can only give so much of their income, so the answer to getting more money is to get more givers. Bigger churches do make it easier to avoid discipleship and lower the bar.
Besides, where are the great stories behind the modern music. The story behind "Amazing Grace" is well-known at the moment. Do you know the story behind "It Is Well With My Soul"?
So, in answer to the question, "...what should a minister of music do?" the answer in my mind is yes, punt. We are called, as Christ's people, to be radically different. If people are not responding it is not because we are too different, it is because we are not different enough.
There is nothing wrong with making a buck, but there is with putting that before the call of Christ.
Related Tags: worship, music, money, hymns, stories, discipleship
Now, a kind of unholy trinity exists that has turned the ministry of Christian music into the industry of Christian music. Christian radio promotes the songs, the churches use them in worship, and CCLI collects fees for the copyright holders. The big winners are the Christian record companies, many of them now owned by secular corporations, who sell records into the millions. The big loser is the church itself, which now pays to have itself marketed to every Sunday morning at 11 am.The second is not linked but reported from a personal conversation
Again I have to side with the author of this article, it has become a huge industry. And, then, what should a minister of music do? Completely void the use of great contemporary songs so as not to be involved in the radical industry of contemporary "secularly owned" markets?First of all, I am not sure the average pew sitter understands all of this, so let me put it very plainly. The "switch" in music has been driven industrially and for a profit motive. Problem is, the church is not making the profit. Actually, that is probably not a problem, since that means the church, at least, does not have that particular competing motive to worry about.
But consider, it contributes to the drive to bigger and bigger church. Budgets increase, people can only give so much of their income, so the answer to getting more money is to get more givers. Bigger churches do make it easier to avoid discipleship and lower the bar.
Besides, where are the great stories behind the modern music. The story behind "Amazing Grace" is well-known at the moment. Do you know the story behind "It Is Well With My Soul"?
This hymn was written after two major traumas in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman). In 1873, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford’s daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford’s wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Several weeks later, as Spafford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, the Holy Spirit inspired these words.Now we get stories about record companies and deadlines.
So, in answer to the question, "...what should a minister of music do?" the answer in my mind is yes, punt. We are called, as Christ's people, to be radically different. If people are not responding it is not because we are too different, it is because we are not different enough.
There is nothing wrong with making a buck, but there is with putting that before the call of Christ.
Related Tags: worship, music, money, hymns, stories, discipleship
