Some Reminders When Thinking About the “Worship Wars”
Quite often, when an article, pastor, or conference speaker makes critical statements about church music many people express (what may be sincere) disappointment that Christians would argue over such things. We’ll call this the “why can’t we all get along” objection, which sounds pious and is often made by the most well-intentioned believers, but misses the point.
Most Christians that I know who are concerned with current worship trends in the Christian church are not the looking-for-a-fight type. They understand their own fallen-ness and the heartache of division within the church and do not enter lightly into a critique of the worship methods of others. It can be difficult for sure, but when participating in the worship wars debates we need to make sure that our criticisms do not cross the line into malicious personal attack.
Yet in our effort to guard against this sin of commission - the mean-spirited attack of Christian brothers and sisters - we must be careful not to commit a sin of omission. That is, we cannot ignore the issue. We must be willing to search the Scriptures to find the truth about this issue (as with any matter of church practice). And, having found the clear teaching of Scripture to have much to say we must speak the truth in love to those whose practices are out of line.
Unity and charity are both valuable to the church - but neither rises above truth spoken in love. See the witness of the apostles; did Paul hesitate to correct his brother Peter when his actions failed to correspond to Christ’s teaching? No - he spoke the truth in clear and direct terms - but also, we know, in love. It does not help the church - the local church body, or the church universal, when we allow wrong practices to continue for the sake of unity. Unity around falsehood has no value.
Additionally, we need to be clear about, but not overemphasize, the importance of this issue. How important is it that we have right views on the use of music in corporate worship? Very, very important. Our worship of God is not only how we reveal our feelings towards him and our understanding of him to him, it’s also how we reveal these things to the world.
How important is it that we have right views on the use of music in corporate worship for my soul? Well that’s a more difficult question. For the reasons I gave above we can say that it is important, for we are missing out on opportunities to be blessed by the presence of God if we have deficient practices. Also, if God has commanded certain practices then we are breaking his law (sinning) when we fail to use those practices in favor of our own. But our views on worship do not save us. We are saved by faith through grace.So it is important to keep it in perspective and never lose sight of the doctrines in the church on which there is no room for disagreement: the doctrines of our salvation.
However, I think we reveal stubborn hearts if we refuse to be taught from the Scriptures on these issues. We should strive to be taught from God’s word about all matters and we should all agree that worship is a matter of great importance.
Discussions on church music can make people tense. They can get many agitated rather quickly. Part of this is because, as I’ve mentioned, the way we use music is important. But part of this is also because of the unhealthy elevation of the role of church music over the past two decades. This change can even been seen in the vocabulary we use within the church: we have “worship leaders,” and “praise and worship,” but these titles refer only to the musical portions of the service.
When people say to me that at their church “the worship is so good,” I ask them to clarify if they mean the whole service of just the music. Quite often they aren’t sure what I’m getting it but every time they’ve admitted they were thinking only of the music.
While music is an important part of church worship it is not the only part of a church service that is worship. And actually, it’s not even the most important part. Everything we do, from the Call to Worship to the Benediction, falls into the realm of Corporate Worship, but Scripture clearly indicates that the reading and preaching of the Word (along with the sacraments which attest to the Word) take top place. Everything else that we do: our singing, our prayers, confessions of faith - they all direct us toward the Word.
There is another common objection, most commonly used by those defending contemporary music: the “but it works” objection. Some will say that, while the Bible may have suggestions about how we are to worship, “look at how successful we are using this new kind.” “Look how many people are coming, how many people we are reaching, and how good they feel when they sing these songs. How can someone say this is wrong? Isn’t God blessing what we’re doing?”
We cannot, however, subject the church to the marketing criteria of this world. There is no doubt, for we see it all the time, that a dynamic speaker can start their own church, preach their own gospel, teach their own way, and worship according to their own means - and by doing so, attract a large following. Does that mean that God is blessing their work? Not likely. People will always be attracted when the speaker is telling them what they want to hear and letting them do things their way.
Worship of God is different. He’s already given us the message to preach, we don’t get to choose our own. And he’s already told us, in many ways, how we are to worship. So while we might be able to reach a bigger crowd with the worship methods of our own choosing, by doing so we’ve already preached to them a lie. “Do what you want, God only cares about sincerity.” We have not advanced the kingdom of God when we show seekers, by our actions, that we have the liberty to ignore the Bible’s teaching and “go with what works.”
There are many difficult questions to consider when thinking through the worship wars: Is style neutral? What role does music play in public worship? From where will our standards for worship come?
Though it has been going on for decades the debate is not over. We cannot lose patience with each other and, in frustration, walk away from the table. The leaders and people of the Church of Jesus Christ must continue to talk to one another, even to press one another, as we earnestly seek the Scriptures to hear from God. The truth is there to be found and when we find it, we must share it, in love, with all who will listen.