WORSHIP MUSIC

There are times I get so frustrated and distracted by this world around me, that I don’t tend to some of the things that would keep me a bit more focused. This blog is one of them and I’m going to make this entry short and sweet in an attempt to get back on track, God willing.

As a musician, I cannot play music or sing without experiencing an emotional connection to the piece that I am performing. This phenomenon can result in a positive or negative response for me, the performer, and the listener as well. By definition “emotion” is any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes, such as increased heartbeat or respiration, and often overt manifestation, as crying or shaking. It boils down to the fact that music is an extremely powerful medium and can ignite a variety of feelings, good and bad.

I would like to focus on music performed during church services in praise to God the Father and His son Jesus the Christ. There are as many opinions concerning what music is proper for worship service as there are those who worship. As an example, our church has written an article outlining what should be considered when selecting music for services, but based on my review of this article, it can be interpreted or misinterpreted depending on the reader’s age and musical tastes. The fact remains however that when we perform, what I will refer to as “special music”, we are not entertaining.  The music is an offering of praise to our Creator and if the musical piece detracts from that in any manner, it is inappropriate in my opinion.

I enjoy many styles of music and I’m not opposed to having fresh, new, music as part of our worship service, but not at the cost of introducing music that was intended primarily to make a profit and not necessarily for worship. Christian Contemporary Music is a business and businesses are designed to make a profit.  That being said, it’s the emotional aspect of CCM that in my opinion becomes a distraction during worship services. Music that causes our minds to drift away from the purpose of attending a worship service in the first place, should not be part of the service. Music performed at services should be considered an offering of praise, edifying the congregation, helping to focus our thoughts on our Creator and not exalting the performer or composer. 

God created music for us to enjoy, and he made us to be emotional beings without a doubt, however we should be extremely cautious with musically induced emotions that can rule our hearts and impact our relationship with God negatively.  The feelings we experience at worship services should be directly attributed to God’s Spirit working in us, causing us to approach Him with a humble heart, with a positive attitude, an eagerness to learn. It should not be from worldly elements that some music can inject, producing an attitude of complacency or disconnect. Remember Satan is the “prince of the power of the air”.

 To conclude, I'm not perfect. Not one of us is. I only present this opinion in an attempt to illustrate the importance of music performed as part of the worship service. When we worship God the Father and Jesus the Christ, we must do so in Spirit and in Truth. The music service has to be a cohesive element of the worship service and not detract from it. Please watch this short video to see how music can affect us during services.