Bible Question:
Please help me. I attend many contemporary Christian worship services. I often have difficulty understanding the lyrics. Some examples: 1. "Let the river flow" 2. "Let your fire fall" 3. "Dance with me Jesus" I don't understand the lyrics to these songs and it makes my worship experience less than optimal. I finally put my foot down with the "Dance with me Jesus" worship song and now I have the Pastor and elders in conflict over the spiritual accuracy of asking Jesus to dance with us...not what I had intended at all! Does anyone else have difficulty over the spiriual accuracy of these songs? Do I really want Jesus to dance with me? Can I stop the river's flow? Isn't the fire falling from God a symbol of His judgment? Do I want any of these things aspart of my worship experiences? Please advise. Blessings! Bud Greenberg PSALM 133 |
Bible Answer: Bud: My problem isn't the newness or oldness of the songs, but there are three aspects of "contemporary praise and worship" that I feel are biblically questionable at best: 1. The "man-centeredness" of many of the songs. Whereas most of the traditional hymns written before 1900 are focused on, singing praises of His attributes and adoring Him for who He is, modern songs tend to convey some version of "Do this for me, Jesus" or "Bless me more." Both are self-centered and reveal little theological truth. 2. Many of these songs are not just theologically shallow; they misrepresent God. In days past, the minister of the church exercised alot more discernment over what was sung. One of the most offensive songs I have heard in recent years is "Heavenly Father, I Appreciate You." Appreciate Him?!? The infinitely holy Lord of hosts? I appreciate my neighbor who loans me his lawn mower. I revere and stand in awe and praise the name of our infinitely majestic God. 3. The music is more than just a backdrop to the praises to God; the music in many ways is an incarnation of the message. In other words, is a song of adoration really that adoring if it is put to a heavy-metal, 150-mile-an-hour beat? No, I am not against guitars and drums, but I do hold that an inappropriate style of music that doesn't fit the spirit of the message serves to distract the worshipers from praising God with their whole hearts and minds. This is a huge issue that falls into the discernment category. Are we worshiping God in spirit and in truth? Are we honoring God and giving Him the glory that He deserves? Or are we seeking to entertain ourselves and get emotionally worked up and keep up with the secular entertainment industry? Important questions that congregations should work through. --Joe! |