The Traditional Or Contemporary Church Music Controversy

There is a controversy brewing in the Christian community in regards to the style of music offered in a church worship service. There is some debate as to which is more appropriate. Whether you agree or disagree I hope this article will help you decide.

This controversy stems from the use of traditional verses contemporary music. This has stirred up quite a bit of debate. In this article I want to share with your some thoughts and ideas regarding contemporary church music.

The danger of contemporary church music stems from the fact that modern music as an art form is thought of as a variety of entertainment. When shown in this light the real danger is that contemporary church music can look more show business more than a ministry. This is the primary argument of those who favor traditional music.

As you study your Bible you will learn about several examples where music is important. Here is one example. David was skilled musician. One of his early jobs was to play music for King Saul. When ever he play for the king, the king was either soothed or agitated by the sounds he heard. That is the power of music to reveal emotion and produce an emotional reaction. The emotions were reveals purely on Saul's attitude at the time.

Consider music is an important part of modern society. It has been that way from the creation of civilization. Music will mirror the culture. It tells the stories of important themes and ideas. By this we learn about the many implication of the world view. It says a lot about our society.

The purpose of church music is to be a part a worship service. It is part of the ritual. The music is integral in the service. The songs used in the service need to be based on solid biblical principals. Now when you combine this idea with current music styles we get contemporary church music.

So what makes a song fall into the category of contemporary church music? This type of song is identified by first by its lyrical content and second by the music genre. You should realize there are a multitude of musical genres. These genres include rock, jazz, country, rap, folk, and classical. Each genre provides the listener with us with a variety of performance style options.

The music genre is really at the heart of the controversy. The modern praise and worship songs use up to date music style that appeal to our modern culture. It offers the listener modern lyrics and song music style with a traditional biblical message. In fact this genre of music is more defined by the lyrics than the style of music. What we find is the most common theme to contemporary church music is worship and praise and worship to God and/or Jesus.

Regardless of the type of music here are three things to keep in mind when considering song selection for your church.

* The songs must proclaim God's Word

* The songs need to be appropriate to the worship service

* The songs need to mirror the belief of the congregation

As you can see the crux of the issue is about the style of music. We all have preferences to what we like and don't like. Sometimes we want the status quo other times be may be more adventurous and try new things. But the bottom line is that no matter what music genre it is the lyrical content that guides us. Especially when the lyric are in agreement with the Scriptures.