Worship wars. We have all heard about this - folks drawing lines in the sand about what music should and shouldn't be like in the church. The perspective that "you are either with us, or against us." If you have experienced this battle in your church, you know that, just like in a real war, there are casualties. People who leave a church over music. At its worst, church splits. And if you haven't experienced this battle yet, buckle up. It will likely only be a matter of time before you do. It's like a virus, a silent church killer, moving and spreading from one church to another seemingly at will. Our enemy must be delighted at how effective this can be in destroying churches.
This war can take many forms. It can pit the older against the younger. Those who want the organ against those who want a band. Those who want hymns against those who want to hear what is currently on the radio. Those who want a choir against those who think a choir is completely out of date. Those who want a lot of media used with those who want to keep things simple and unadorned. Those who prefer loud and exciting with those who want quiet and reflective. And the list of debatable issues goes on and on.
The reality is that we all have our own personal tastes when it comes to music. Stuff we like, and stuff we don't. In the same congregation you are likely to find someone with season tickets to the symphony, and someone else who goes country line dancing every Friday night; someone whose idea of a good date is sitting in a jazz club, and someone else who knows every word in the latest rap music offering on itunes.
For a religion where "they will know we are Christians by our love" the topic of worship is our least convincing argument. Our conflicts over worship destroy any belief that we are successfully living in unity or practicing what we preach. It's no wonder we are so often called hypocrites by those outside the church. Music can provide enough damaging proof all by itself, without needing to go into any doctrinal debates or denominational differences.
I have seen church after church struggle to find a solution to our varied tastes in music. I have been a part of many discussions on this topic as I have served as worship pastor in large churches scattered across the United States. Trying to figure out what will work best. What will offend the least number of people. We have taken congregational surveys that have left us tied in knots trying to find common ground among all of the opinions expressed.
All of which has brought me to the following point of view. The Church, the Body of Christ, is best served by two guiding principles when it comes to worship:
First, let's make it about God, not about us. "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength." It's not about us! We have an audience of one when we worship, so let's focus on honoring Him with our praise. Even if the form being used is not our personal style preference. The God who showed his wide ranging creative ability in fashioning the world we enjoy surely also has a wide range of what He considers appropriate expressions of worship. While we all have our preferred ways to worship, with styles we enjoy, why not look to expand our repertoire of worship before the God of this universe? He's big enough to receive it all. In fact, He is far more concerned with what is going on in our hearts than with the form or style of worship being used. So let's have hearts full of praise, focused completely on Him and able to use a wide range of styles, even the ones that stretch us.
Second, let's prefer one another rather than ourselves. "Love others as you love yourself." Guess what? It's not about you! What if we looked for ways others can express themselves in worship, even when it's not what we are comfortable with. Let's be spiritually delighted when we see another Christian able to praise God using a musical style that we find hard to accept. That change in attitude might draw us closer to each other and increase the common ground we have in worship. The movement to have various services with divergent worship styles all being offered at the same church causes consumerism, division and actually does nothing to foster unity as a church. How much finer would it be to see grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren, all worshiping God together in the same room, appreciating and understanding when the worship ministers to others better than themselves, and yet still able to enter into the worship experience themselves, despite all its varied forms.
With these two principles applied to worship settings, I believe it is possible for all of us to get along when it comes to worship!
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