Worship Wars

Unfortunately there is still a conflict in the church today that divides many congregations. It is not over the doctrine of the Trinity or the inerrancy of Scripture. It is actually something much more secondary. It involves worship in a congregational setting, specifically the songs we sing in worship. This conflict does not revolve around the content of the songs but the manner in which they are sung. The reason I know this is there are some who are not satisfied when a favorite hymn is sung using a more modern musical style. Apparently songs must be sung in a certain style in order to be pleasing to God.

The purpose of this article is not to necessarily reopen this debate about worship style that has gone on for far too long. Instead I just want to briefly add a couple of perspectives that may need to be considered when trying to decide what worship is pleasing to God.

First, we need to consider the author of music. Despite the opinions of a few, Satan did not invent rock music. God is the creator of all music. Therefore, what are we saying if we refuse to worship to a style or genre of music? Are we not in effect saying that God did not do a good job of creating that form? I realize that there are many genres of music that have been used to convey messages that are in radical opposition to the truths conveyed in the gospel. However, I do not think this means we must abandon those forms in a church worship service.

Second, we need to be reminded of the other forms of worship in the world. When people declare that worship must only consist of hymns or contemporary music they forget about worship in other cultures. There are many cultures that have received the gospel which do not worship to our form of music. They do not worship with hymns or contemporary choruses. They may use different styles altogether. Does this mean that they are not worshipping God correctly? I think not. This reminds us of the simple truth that God loves a variety of different styles. Maybe we should be open to them as well.

I believe the church in America needs to focus on the proper aspect of worship. The content of what we sing to God. I know of hymns and modern songs that are shallow and even theologically incorrect. This does not mean that all hymns or contemporary songs are bad. As believers I think our focus must be on the God we worship and the words we sing to Him, not on the form in which we sing. When we focus on the form we are not focusing on the content or the One to whom we sing.