Holding forth the Word of Life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ
Philippians 2:16
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church
Topeka Kansas -
SHOULD A BAPTIST CHURCH
TOLERATE CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC?
Laurence A. Justice, Pastor
When people are saved by God's grace they naturally respond with music as an expression of their joy, praise and worship. For most Christians it is almost impossible to think about worship without thinking of music. When Christ Jesus saves a person, He gives that person a new song, a song which no longer has the themes of this world such as lust, drinking, cheating, and drugs; and which no longer has the style of the world's song, melancholy, sensual, strident, and discordant. In the last several years a radically different type of music has found its way into many of our churches. This music is known variously as sacred pop, Christian rock, new sound, and contemporary Christian music. The difference in contemporary Christian music, or CCM as we shall henceforth refer to it, and the music which characterized Christianity in all the previous centuries is this: CCM borrows the style of the world's music; the heavy beat and the straight, breathy tones of the singer, and brings this style over into the music of the church. CCM has the same musical style as the music of the world with the difference being that the music style has been joined with religious lyrics and is thus called Christian music. One commentator on this new music has said that the church musicians today have rushed to use the new sound rather than staying with the traditional hymns. I am convinced that this assessment is correct and that all kinds of problems have resulted from the introduction of CCM into our churches. Through several years of study and observation I have concluded that there are a number of very important reasons why Baptists should no longer tolerate the use of this type of music in our churches.
CCM DESTROYS THE REVERENCE OF WORSHIP
The style of CCM, including the hard rock beat, the loud volume, and the sensual
vocalization, is not conducive to the sense of awe and majesty and greatness of God
which is necessary to worship the High and Lofty One who inhabiteth eternity. It
does not produce the peace and quiet reverence which all who find themselves in the
presence of God experience. As a matter of fact, those who use CCM seem to know only
one level of volume in their music. LOUD. I recently preached in a church which had
two loud speakers on the platform facing the preacher and by the time the song service
was over and I got to preach, I had a splitting headache and was practically a nervous
wreck because of the loud, raucous CCM. That CCM destroys the reverence of worship
is not just one man's opinion. Just a casual observation of any service where CCM
is used will bear this out. This has certainly been the case at the Falls Creek Baptist
Assembly in Oklahoma in recent years. Falls Creek is the world's largest religious
youth camp with up to 30,000 teens attending annually. The music director leads the
congregation in some contemporary song or the soloist sings some hard-
THE MESSAGE OF CCM CENTERS IN MAN RATHER THAN GOD
The themes of music in the Bible are God and Christ and redemption. The first recorded
song in the Bible is the Song of Moses in Exodus 15:1-
THE WORDS OF CCM ARE OFTEN SHALLOW AND DOCTRINALLY UNSOUND
The message is often made up of one or two rather innocuous phrases repeated again
and again throughout the song. The shallow themes are such as this: "if you have
troubles simply take Jesus and you won't have any troubles at all." Not only is this
a shallow message, it is not true. Many times CCM replaces the words God and Christ
with the words "He" and "Him" thus leaving to the listener's imagination who is being
praised and sung about. "He" could be Buddha or Baal or Elvis Presley or anyone.
Why are we afraid to use the name of God and of Christ in our so-
THE WORLDLY STYLE OF OF CCM DOES NOTAGREE WITH THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST
Certain styles of music completely apart from the lyrics of the songs carry certain messages. The music of military marches, love songs, and lullabies all carry certain moods and certain messages. The same is true of rock music. Unchristian lifestyles can be characterized by certain kinds of music. What kind of music do drug users listen to and play? It is not usually classical music or traditional hymns. There is a close relationship between rock music and drug use. Music with a beat appeals in varying degrees to the lusts of the flesh. It often stirs the sex passions. Several tests and studies have demonstrated this fact. Many church music directors seem to think that the style of music can be separated from its mood and message. They seem to think that the style of music is neutral and that only the words carry the message. So they have wedded music which characterizes an unchristian lifestyle to "Christian" words and have come up with CCM. This music combines words about God and heaven and love with the style of music which usually relates to drugs and sensuality and rebellion. Rock music teaches rebellion and illicit drug use and immoral sex. How can the words of salvation and peace and God be united to this? In CCM the style of the music preaches one thing while the words often preach another. In scriptural church music the message of the style of the music must preach the same thing as the message of the lyrics. Scriptural church music is sacred music. It has a message in it and a style about it that the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." Our music ought to be a matter of worship and not entertainment. The church of Jesus Christ is not, and should never be in the entertainment business.
CCM PROFESSIONALIZES AND COMMERCIALIZES CHURCH MUSIC
We now have taped tracks for soloists and choirs, big gospel music concerts with ticket sales, and lots of talk about our performers and performances. We have contracts and copyrights and royalties for songwriters and singers. Some time ago I received a letter from a youth director advertising a Christian rock group calling itself "Undercover." This rock group was going to put on a concert in that youth director's church. The letter stated that tickets to that concert were $5 in advance and $8 at the door. Does this sound like worship or like show or entertainment business? CCM no longer has the spontaneity of genuine worship. It is all so professional and commercial! The great Christian hymns which have really lasted and which have been such an immeasurable blessing to God's people through the centuries were written by men and women who deeply loved the Lord Jesus Christ. They were not professional song writers or performers who wrote for money or performed for money. Many of them were preachers who wrote from the overflow of their personal study of God's word and of their private worship.
CCM SACRIFICES MUSICAL INTEGRITY
With the coming of CCM we no longer have much, if any, emphasis on musical artistry and skill in our churches. We have surrendered to the shallow, the easy, the fun, the sing along, the feel good rather than seeking to teach and to train and to improve musical talent and skill. Our singers now lean on the microphones and amplifiers because they have not been disciplined to project their voices in order to be heard. Proper use of the human voice requires very little amplification. Much of what passes for singing is not singing at all, but rather could be characterized as yelling. The singers utilize the straight harsh tone of the nightclub singer rather than training and cultivating their voices to be more skillful and pleasing. A lady in Oklahoma City told me that one day while a woman in her church was singing a solo in the loud straight tones of CCM a siren went by outside and the sounds of the siren and of the singer became almost indistinguishable. Our church instrumentalists are being neglected and ignored and downgraded in importance because many music directors and singers no longer need them. They use taped accompaniment made in a studio instead. Church music ought to emphasize and strive for the very best music and musicianship. We ought to major on improving the level of musical skill and musical integrity in our churches because nothing but our very best is worthy of the worship of the King of kings!
CCM DIVIDES THE CHURCHES
It divides the young people who mostly like CCM from the older adults who mostly do not like CCM. It divides the contemporaries from the traditionalist. Unity in the church is extremely important. Paul says in Ephesians 4:3 that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. One of the great benefits of singing traditional hymns in the church is that doing so unites us in spirit, in message, in activity during this singing of praises unto our God, and worship in His Word to follow. I know of a large Baptist church which has been steadily losing its older members during the 18 or so months since the pastor brought in CCM. This music did not bring in the crowds as he told the church it would. Instead it brought division in that church and that preacher is gone. One time I spoke to a certain denominational worker about my great concern over the use of CCM in some denominational activities. The man was obviously incensed by my comments and he replied that maybe I should just join a more fundamental denomination. This response just illustrates the very divisive nature of CCM.
CONCLUSION
How has CCM found its way in and become so firmly entrenched in our churches? The blame lies largely with pastors who have failed to provide the high standards and strong leadership necessary in insisting on Spiritual music in our churches. Some pastors have just caved in to CCM even though they know it is wrong. As pastors and music directors discover things in our worship and in our churches and in our lives that are out of line with the revealed will of Christ they must act to bring these areas under the sway of His Lordship and this includes the music they use in their churches.
printed by
Bethel Baptist Church -
1902 NW Columbia Ave -