Man, it actually physically hurt to type that title. I know part of it may be the fact that I severely bruised my shoulder yesterday sliding down Art Hill with my kids. Even more than that is the thought that the music that so many people, including myself, spend their lives writing might not be actually reaching people. I’m asking this question for a reason, so let me give you my reasoning before I try to defend it.
Over that past few weeks, I have been noticing something quite interesting and I don’t know what to attribute it to. As a musician and a worship leader, it is my job to bring music and the opportunity for worship through song to my congregation. So over the past few weeks since The Word at Shaw I have been in the position of trying to ease people into what worship will look like at this church. The big picture and vision for this church is rather huge in my brain. As of right now, I’m just trying to nail down a consistent stable of musicians that I can pool from, but that’s another story. During my time of putting music together and planning worship services I’ve repeatedly heard two phrases from people in my church and outside of my church as well. One of them is “I don’t know that song”. That one I can go with. There is a lot of music out there. However the statement “I don’t listen to Christian music” is starting to become as common as the phrase “what’s for dinner”. That has been blowing my mind for months now. I have spent time with countless people, musicians in church even, that say that same thing. At first I didn’t really have a response to that statement because it caught me off guard. After a few months of hearing that statement I can say that…I still don’t have a response when I hear people say that. So here are my two sides about this and I’d love for you to weigh in.
Position 1: Coincidence
There is a lot of music out there and people, including myself, have varying tastes. I listen to all types of music because they all strike me in different ways. However, as a Christian I make sure that I’m listening to Christian music to edify me and pour Christ into my life. There are many Christian artists out there as there are many secular and it’s hard to keep up with them all even for someone who loves music. So it could be possible that there are some Christian artists that may not quite be in the mainstream that someone may not know. I also realize that as a worship leader I am listening to Christian music a lot because that’s what I use for my job if I’m not writing it myself. So maybe it was just a coincidence that these people just aren’t listening to AS MUCH of the Christian music that’s out there today. Or it could be…
Position 2: Epidemic
More and more over the past few months and even years I’ve noticed that people that I talk to and some that I look up to will say to me that they don’t really listen to Christian music today. Again, I know we all have different tastes in music, but as a musician who plays in church pretty regularly, I think it’s interesting that you can say that you don’t really listen to the music that you play. Or if this is the life you say you’re called to, you don’t listen to the music that can help reinforce that calling in your life. The other part of this is from the artist side that I also sit on. Is CCM music becoming so plain or distasteful that we as Christians are just walking, almost running away from it? And if that’s the case how in the world are we going to get non-Christians to listen to it? Is the reason we look outside of the body for songs that fit in a particular space because nothing good is written ‘in house’? If Christian music continues on this road will it be obsolete soon? Or are we just turning our back on it because of where it has come from and we have decided not to give it another chance? Either way, I see this mindset taking over in the body and I don’t know what to do about it… If it continues I think we will continue to see situations where people are continuing to not participate in worship not because the music is bad in their churches, but because they don’t listen to the music. Then we continue to have people write and talk about how worship is becoming more like a concert and not participatory. It could be because worship has turned a little more performance-like. Or it could be because the only time we hear this music is on Sunday morning for about twenty minutes maybe less. I’m just sayin’…
Now, what do YOU say?
Well, and I shall add fuel to the debate fire.
I say…good riddance. I have written this elsewhere:
The thing that has always struck me about Christian music (or any Christian art media), is that by forming our own sub-culture, Christians have removed ourselves from the Conversation. Not only does the Christian music industry mean that Christian musicians (in CCM) fail to reach the broader culture (mostly), it means that Christian listeners aren’t fully engaging the culture’s voice (generally).
This is especially dangerous in regards to music because music is so precious to our culture. Young adults, especially GenX and younger, tend to define themselves by the music they listen to. Lyrics are today’s main form of literary art, and they go quite far in shaping the way our culture thinks and even speaks. So the more Christians shut themselves out from the message of the culture, the more distant and removed they become from the culture in general.
Rather than making their own exclusive music, Christians should be seeking to redeem music in the public arena – both by making music that will appeal to all audiences, and by engaging music that my be from a different “lens”.
This calls for discernment – there are many lies as well as obscenities in the world of music which we must beware – but we cannot (nor should not) hide from them. In fact, by staking out a presence in the secular music world, we can address those head on, rather than behind our veil.
I am no fan of CCM.
As an aside, I treat music that it intended for worship separately than music I just listen to. While I am no fan of CCM, there does need to be a place for those who write and record and distribute music intended for worship.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Harry Walls IV, Harry Walls IV. Harry Walls IV said: Ooooooooooooh, I done just started a debate. You weigh in. New w180 blog. http://tinyurl.com/6kpkrkq [...]
Ryan, I agree with what you’ve said and I appreciate it. Here’s my question…what are we looking for the music to accomplish on Sunday morning? I don’t know if you’ve paid any attention to the tagline for this blog, but the middle phrase is Enrich Your Community. That speaks to the idea of worshiping together with the body of Christ. How effective can we be in doing that if we aren’t really connected to the music? I mean, I have my own issues with CCM, but there is some validity there just like there is the rest of the music out there today. I think sometimes we tend to cut it out completely because of this lack of reach that it has to the point where even we don’t know what’s going on come Sunday morning. I think that’s what I’m speaking to. The CCM issues is a whole other blog…
I guess, I should make clear that I see a distinct line between the music I would say I listen to, and the music I praise with.
Just because people aren’t listening to Christian music, doesn’t mean they won’t be connected with the music that praises God on Sunday. At least, I’ve not seen that in my experience. If it’s a style issue that’s keeping them at a distance, you can change the style of the song to make it sound more like what people can connect with.
One thing that really could address this is to challenge your musicians to write new tunes. Don’t worry about lyrics! There’s an ample supply of time-tested lyrics in that unused book that sits next to the pew Bible. Just write new tunes and put those lyrics to them. Challenge the people to write tunes that they would listen to. I’ve done that before, and seen some amazing results. Plus, the congregation is more likely to connect with a song that they know is “homegrown”.
Again, I just don’t see the connection between needing to listen to CCM regularly and connecting with worship on a Sunday morning. I really don’t listen to CCM at all, and I find it very natural to worship with the music at Quest.
I would ask the question of how relevant is CCM in worship? Are worship and CCM two separate types of music? Are they mutually exclusive from one another? What I am growing increasingly tired of is CCM that is not worship music being played as worship music.
I won’t go as far to say I don’t listen to CCM, I just don’t listen (very much) to mainstream CCM. I am tired of weak lyrics that aren’t reverent and then the music also not offering a real musicianship I can appreciate. That being said I will not lump all mainstream artists into one bucket, or even go so far as to say it applies to everything they write. But, I have found once a mainstream worship song catches hold in worship services then we start seeing the introduction of other not so worship songs by the same CCM artist in the same worship sets.
Lets not forget that praise and worship is to be in the presence of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit singing and exalting the Lord on High.
I once had someone tell me that once worship music starts being “about God” and not “to God” we have problems.
I’m tired of listening to songs loosely about God that have weak melodies and fair to midland musicianship.
Not a fan of mainstream CCM (* puts on headphones and goes back to listening to Michael Gungor)
You know I should caveat and say I don’t listen to what a certain station in STL thinks is mainstream CCM.
I still like Hillsong
I think that may be a second wrinkle in this debate. Are we throwing in everything Christian under the umbrella of CCM? Because I guess the mainstream CCM may be the issue. Or to some extent it is for me. I think that that mainstream CCM is such a small stream that it leaves out a bunch of stuff. As a result there is a lot of music that gets thrown out with that title. There is some REALLY good music out there that people just aren’t listening to because of the lump that is called CCM.
I would venture to say that part of the reason that CCM and some other Christian music is shrinking in effectiveness is because of those of us that really care about where music is going have stopped listening to it and deemed it ineffective. I know that I have been guilty of it. For instance, sometimes I feel that if I hear another Third Day song I could punch myself in the face. However, I know that they are still reaching people and write good stuff. Does it do it for me? Not really. Does that mean it’s not good for someone else, not at all. But could my dislike and vocal disapproval ruin this for someone else? Heck yes.
I value the concept of a mainstream movement because without a mainstream movement, the Christian culture has little uniformity in worship. The beauty of singing It is Well with My Soul or Amazing Grace is that you can be sure the audience will (or at least should) participate because they know the song. I pose this question:
If CCM discintigrates into localized pockets of grassroots worship all around the world, what kind of unity would Christians share in worship at conventions? Multichurch gatherings? In general?! None! So, am I a supporter of CCM? Absolutely! Now, that is a long term value which I think is somewhat less important than the following point.
If people say to me, “I don’t listen to Christian music” my response is “why?!” And usually the answer is, “well…. I dunno.” David says in Psalms 119:164 “Seven times a day will I praise Thee.” Now David is undeniably referring to an audible, tangible expression of praise. If our church members praise God throughout the week and respond to any and all kinds of music on Sunday, then praise God. If they don’t, then it’s time to teach about worship, disciple them, and pray for and with them about this.
I do see the problems with the Christian Contemporary movement of today. I avoid repetitious emotional songs that recount how our expereiences of God rather than our PRAISE TO GOD. But every person, church, and human movement is faulted. And yet, within this faulted movement there still exists a plethora of wonderful worship songs, even if you don’t agree with… 5% of them. So if someone says they don’t listen to CCM, it is our responsibilty as worship leaders to find out why and help them find songs that minister to them. And of course, if the majority of our members just can’t worship to our music because of stylistic preferences, then we’ve failed to understand that music does not draw us to God. God draws us to God. Music is the heavenly gift by which we make His praise glorious (Psalm 66:2). To God be the glory!
Thoughts? comments? Ands, buts, mama said’s?
Charlie invited me to this discussion as we have talked about this at length.
Unfortunately, the good worship music with rich theological lyrics and tunes that suggest a grand narrative gets lumped in with the vapid “Jesus makes me feel good”, two verses, one chorus and one bridge formulaic tripe that gets the majority of radio airplay.
You are at the door of a great opportunity; you can help set the musical DNA/culture for your congregation because they appear be a clean slate. Go with what the prior commenter suggested and make new tunes or arrangements for time tested hymn lyrics. Some of the best music out now comes from the modern hymn movement (Getty, Townsend, Indelible Grace, Sovereign Grace, etc.)
@Charlie, can you expand on what you mean by “once worship music starts being “about God” and not “to God” we have problems.”?
Are you talking about the perspective of the lyrics (God is versus You Are) or are you talking about what the lyrics are centered on (how we feel versus glory of Christ/Father)?
@John: Great response, I agree completely with challenge the person with “Why not?” You are absolutely right that it’s not about what music we listen to it’s about do we have enough of an understanding of who God is that it leads us to worship.
@Mike uh.. the second one, JK. I think it is dangerous for us to meditate on lyrics that focus on our experiences and feelings of how God has made us feel without having the resolve that God allows us to experience what we do for His glory and it is all “to” him not about him. I think a “God is” statement can still make great claims to God.
David’s Psalms always seem to lead me to God, not give me the feeling of, oh that was a great story about God. I suppose that is how I see that statement. If at the end of a song or something claiming to be praise and worship music I feel that I have been led into the presence of God and am now allowed to glorify him then I say that’s “to God”.
Well, for me CCM isn’t the only type of “Christian” music. I listen to everything from 5th Century Greek Christian music that’s still sung in Orthodox services to the latest chart toppers on CCLI. Christian music has an amazingly rich body of work, from Hildegard von Bingen to Amy Grant, the great Baroque masters (the Bach family, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, etc.) to John Rutter and Michael W. Smith. The question for me is always a two part one: What is the type of service (and not all services are worship services) and what is the “theme” or message that the service is trying to convey or bring out?
The vast majority of CCM is, as has been pointed out, overly simplistic praise songs, a significant percentage of which are intended more as performance pieces, and not for congregational singing. The same can be said of just about the Christian music of any period. Most Mozart Masses where not intended to be sung be the average “person in the pew”, but we do have a few songs and hymns that were written by Mozart. There are a ton of really great CCM songs out there which I really like listening to (and sometimes singing along to) that I’d never think of using for congregational singing, in any setting.
If you’re doing a full worship service (as opposed to a more typical contemporary praise service), then the songs have to reflect all aspects of worship – praise, yes, but also confession and redemption, invitation to the Word and Table, credo, offeratory, thanksgiving, blessing, etc. I’m finding it difficult to find all of that using just CCM. And it can be even more difficult to match the music to the Bible text or theme being used for the service.
Thankfully, there are a number of artists out there that are either writting new hymns in a contemporary musical style (Getty, Townsend, et al), writing new tunes for old hymns (Red Mountain Church, Indelible Grace, Page CXVI) or doing contemporary arrangements of the familiar tunes. I’m just starting to explore this aspect of CCM, and I’m looking forward to the journey.
Of course, if someone wants a real challenge, Charles Wesley wrote the lyrics to over 6,000 hymns, and only a handful have been done by CCM artists, with either traditional tunes or new music. You could make an entire career out of writing new music just for this body of work.
Add A Comment