More on Music

I make no pretense of being knowledgeable about music, but I happily confess that I love the great hymns of the faith, and also classical music as well as some traditional popular music that does not fall into the category of “rock.” I pastored half a century and always loved a good choir to prepare hearts before I would preach, as well as dedicated men and women and young people who were willing to contribute musically to a worship service. Most pastors would be in my corner regarding the importance of good music as part of a worship service.

Martin Luther wrote, “Besides theology, music is the only art capable of affording peace and joy of the heart…my heart which is full to overflowing has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.”

Gordon Greer recognized the importance of music in worship when, in the “Calvary Contender,” he wrote: “The only way this music thing is going to get cleared up in fundamental churches and fellowships is when we stop talking merely about melody, harmony, and rhythm and begin focusing on the primary matter of obedience to the Word of God and how this relates to His holiness and which music is acceptable to Him. We have forgotten that our music is to be directed to Him and not to men.”

From what Greer wrote, one might conclude that there has been some disagreement amongst Christians and Christian ministries and ministers about what music is good for worship and what is neither good nor acceptable. Most readers are aware of these tensions.

I read a portion of an interview that a Christian leader had with the late Robert Shaw, the legendary conductor of choral music. When asked whether he believed that music was either moral or amoral, Shaw was not hesitant to affirm: “I believe all the arts are moral. I can’t see how any of the arts are neutral.” When further pressed on the matter of rock music and its impact upon the music of our day, the artist continued, “I am aware of the controversy in Christian music…The church of Bach’s day understood the music in their congregation. I don’t know if the church today understands the music brought into the church. The people don’t understand the music.” The interviewer then said that Shaw gave a brief description of rock music and offered a rather graphic analogy of what the music portrays. “So, you think the music is sensual,” he was asked. He responded without hesitation, “It’s perverse.”

Most Bible-oriented, conservative churches would not incorporate rock music into their worship services. But, it is not hard to comprehend that the music of today has been, by and large, “dumbed down” to appeal to a generation that has pretty much rejected the great hymns of the faith. Hymnals have been replaced by PowerPoint media projections, with choruses that are repetitive and shallow compared with the historic hymns that Christianity has embraced heretofore. Preacher and author Vance Havner once summed up Ernest Hemingway’s description of the “millennium of the untalented” this way: “We are deluged with writers who can’t write, actors who can’t act and singers who can’t sing—and they are all making a million dollars a year! Auditoriums are packed to hear performers who know as much about music as a Billy goat knows about Beethoven.” OUCH!

Well, Hemingway was no authority on worship or Christian music, but he might have been onto something there if one visits a typical church of the day. The evangelist David Wilkerson worked with drug addicts, alcoholics and juvenile delinquents of all kinds. He was at one time accepted by the “Jesus People” of a past generation. In a book that Wilkerson wrote about this unorthodox movement, Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth, Wilkerson wrote: “One of the reasons that God’s Spirit was lifted from the Jesus People was their refusal to forsake their old music. They gave up pot, heroin, alcohol, promiscuous sex, and they even gave up perverted lifestyles. But they refused to give up their beloved rock music. Amazing! I say its hold is stronger than drugs, alcohol or tobacco. It is the biggest mass addiction in the world’s history. Rock music as used and performed in Christian circles is of the same satanic seed as that which is called ‘punk’ and ‘heavy metal’ and is performed in devilish concerts worldwide.”

I understand that most churches, pastors, and people involved in the music ministries impacted by people who will read this are not in any conscious way embracing rock music, but I think that being reminded of how clever the devil has been in infecting much of what is used today in church music—by that which was rejected by worshippers a generation ago—is not unwise.

Now, I’d like to close with something a bit lighter. There was in a certain church an ongoing feud between the choir director and the pastor. The first hint of trouble was when the pastor preached on “dedicating yourself to service,” and the choir director chose to sing, “I Shall Not be Moved.” Trying to believe it was coincidence, the pastor put the incident behind him. The next Sunday he preached on giving, and the choir director led in the hymn, “Jesus Paid it All.” By this time, the pastor was beginning to lose his cool, but the Sunday morning attendance had begun to swell, as had the tension between the two leaders. A large crowd showed up the next week to hear the pastor preach on the sin of gossiping—and, would you believe, the choir sang “I Love to Tell the Story.”  That was the last straw, and the next Sunday the pastor told the congregation that he was considering submitting his resignation unless something changed. The church gasped when the choir director led in “Why Not Now?” Truthfully, no one was surprised when, a week later, the pastor explained that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was leading him away. The choir director could not resist: “What A Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Thank God for good music, for churches that still major on music that glorifies God, and for pastors and church musicians who are committed to music that ministers to the spirit and soul. May we never cease to sing, and may our songs be after the fashion of the Music of Moses: “The Lord is my strength and my song: and He is become my salvation; He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” (Exodus 15:2)

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Cor.2:11)

• The Personal Praise of God’s People (Lamentations, Part 3)
• Making a Difference
• Congratulations, Graduates!
• The Despair of a Disciplined Nation
• Encourage Him

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