Out with the Old...

Some years ago, many churches went through what was called a "Worship War" where it could not be decided whether or not to sing the "old hymns" or the "new choruses". My personal conviction is, 'why not both'? Even today, many of our churches are facing this struggle. I hear people say, "Our church is dying! We need to go more contemporary..." There are plenty of unhealthy churches singing new music for all the dying churches singing old music. Don't succumb to the idea that if you can change their musical style, then the church will come alive again. The issue is so much broader than “old music versus new music”. That is a very narrow view... The ailing church’s musical style is much more of a symptom of a deeper problem than it is the root of the problem, itself. You can have a powerful and effective worship music ministry that never sings a "modern worship song" if it ministers to your congregation and reaches your community.

Worship Music ministries should aim to be Biblical, meaningful, excellent, and anointed; but none of these qualities require a certain style of music. Good music for worship, just like good preaching, cannot always be cake, ice cream, and macaroni and cheese. We need a broad, balanced diet of music. We diminish our own human value when we limit our perspective to what music came out in the last 1-5 years when there are hundreds of years worth of quality music to be sung.

Only in the last fifty years have we begun teaching a generation of disciples that worship must be segregated based on musical preference. Music from yesteryear is no longer applicable to a modern context, thereby isolating – for the first time in human history – one generation from fully engaging in worship with another. Some youth groups worship on Sunday mornings separately from their parents or others in the "Adult Service". I understand there are nuances to how and why services are programmed: some kids are bussed in from broken homes, some seasoned saints like it a certain way, etc. I get it...

But if we preach from a thousands of years old book and strive to make it meaningful to people in 2018, then why do we think hymns that were written mere centuries ago or songs that were written only a decade ago are somehow irrelevant? Let's be intentional about our music selections, as well! Surely our theology of Worship should be more substantial than just "what sounds good" just like our theology of Preaching should be more substantial than just "what preaches good". Our Sovereign, Almighty God is the God of all Time, Space, and Matter. He is the MOST creative and expressive entity in the universe and it is only from Him we derive all human creativity and expression.

Why do we limit him so?