PRINCIPLE 29 |
Church music is a touchy subject.
Everyone has a musical complaint because everyone is focusing on the style rather than the message of the songs.
The distinction between style and message is the single most important distinction we can make in analyzing church music. "Style" refers to musical aspects such as notes, rhythm, melody, harmony, tone, dynamics, arrangement, tempo, and accompaniment. "Message" refers to the lyrics of the song, that is, the ideas and the teachings contained in the words. If we pay less attention to style and more attention to message, most of the above complaints would disappear.
The Bible repeatedly emphasizes the words of a song rather than the style. Paul told the Ephesian believers to "speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" (Ephesians 5:19) and the Colossian believers to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Colossians 3:16). Notice that these commands are not primarily commands to sing, but to convey a message. Communicating the message is the central thing; the singing is merely the method. (And, of course, it is only one of several methods of conveying a message.)
Notice that the Colossians passage also says something about the content of a song's words. The believer should let the "word of Christ" dwell in him as he sings. This means that the principal focus of church music, just like the focus of teaching and admonishing, must be on Christ. Although there are many legitimate topics to sing about, including God's creation, God's goodness and faithfulness, the Holy Spirit, missions, prayer, and the Christian's peace and dedication (to name just a few), the prevailing focus of church music must be on Christ.
Paul also implies the importance of the words of a song when he says, "I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind" (1 Corinthians 14:15). In the context Paul is stressing the importance of intelligible communication with others.
And consider the book of Psalms. It is a testimony to the importance of the words. The lyrics of the hymns that ancient Israel used to sing are preserved here for us; the melodies, however, are lost.
A good song is a song that does an effective job of communicating a message. The message should, of course, be biblically sound and should often focus on Christ. Lyrics should be either straight from the Bible, based on a Bible passage, or in harmony with the teachings of the Bible. (Traditionally, songs containing words addressed to God have been called hymns, while songs containing words addressed to other people have been called gospel songs.)
This emphasis on the importance of words does not mean that the style of a song in unimportant. The style should help convey the general spirit or feeling of the words. Somber words should be set to somber music. Happy words should be set to cheery or upbeat music. Words of majesty should be accompanied by majestic sounds. Words of prayer should be set in a quiet style. And words of warfare should be set in a militant style. The style should always support the words rather than drawing attention to itself.
When style is allowed to become the focus, church music is reduced to a performance, or entertainment, and is no longer a ministry. It becomes a distraction from the purpose for gathering (see Principle 27).
Unfortunately, many pastors and song leaders have a low view of the place of music in the meetings of the church. Often the music is chosen only for its style and not for its words. A quiet song is chosen to "set the mood" for the sermon. A four minute song is chosen to allow enough time for the offering to be taken. A jumpy song is chosen to get the wiggles out of the kids. But music is more than a mere time filler, or entertainment, or a means of transition between the "important parts" of the service. Music teaches. Music evangelizes. Music exhorts. Music comforts and gives strength. In short, music ministers!
The song leader can do a lot to insure that music is used properly in your church. He can select songs with words that relate well to the pastor's message. The words might emphasize one of the points of the message, or they might provide an appropriate response to the message. When he introduces the song he can draw attention to the words in various ways. He can ask the congregation a question that is answered by the words of the song. He can tell them about the author or the circumstances in which the words were written. He can ask the congregation to compare the words with certain scripture passages. Or he can even stop in the middle of a song and ask the congregation to discuss what they think a certain phrase means.
And, of course, he should avoid anything which draws attention away from the words of the song. For example, he should avoid telling the congregation to sing louder. Good singing has to do with the activity of the mind, not the force of the lungs. It may be distracting to ask the women to sing one stanza and the men the next. He should avoid over directing a song. When he leads songs, he should think of himself, not as a Toscanini but as a teacher with an important idea to be communicated.
The question of whether rock music should be used in church has created controversy, mainly because the focus has been on the style rather than the message. The conflict could be greatly eased if both those listening and those performing would keep the words in the forefront. Listeners should remember not to evaluate a song primarily by its style, but by its message. They should also learn to exercise reasonable tolerance of musical styles they don't like just as they must exercise reasonable tolerance of various clothing styles, and even preaching styles. Those who sing and play in church should remember to select their songs on the basis of the lyrics. They should also remember that whether or not the style of the music hinders the communication of the message depends upon the listeners' backgrounds and preferences. If the rock idiom offends your listeners, the message will not get through. If your listeners are comfortable with the rock idiom, then it can be used to convey the message. And the same general principles apply whether the problem is with rock, folk, jazz, or even classical music.
Whatever the style, music can be a powerful tool of instruction. It can be used effectively with children, youth, and adults. It can be used both for evangelism and edification. We should not underestimate either the benefits that come from the proper use of music or the problems that can come from the misuse of music.