A Few Thoughts On Modern Worship Music: What Really Matters

Recently, it seems that there has been a ton of opinions on what worship music should be sounding like.  From the young, trendy, boutique-driven, “hipster” worship musicians that are my age, to the older generations, there is a divide in what the musical style should sound like and be appealing to both sides.  And including the past’s music into today’s musical arena.  I have outlined my thoughts, and these are just my thoughts.
Music is actually just a repetition with variances over time.  Today’s music is influenced by music that was produced 25-30 years ago.  In the 1980’s, New Wave was a synth-driven relic to the jangle of the 1960’s for the most part.  “Hard Rock” that emerged in the mid 1970’s was simply humbucker-driven hard blues riffs that were from well before their time, as well as over-driven sounds of the 1950’s.  In the 1990’s, music was just odd. (We need not go into that, as I loathe 95% of the music from the 1990’s).

I give that context to say that all the young yuppies in CCM using delay and chorus have to know that sound was most popularized in the 1980’s.  (See The Police, Duran Duran, U2, etc.).  So, let’s just already know that what’s being done today isn’t anything mind-blowing, nor is it something that is so detached from an older generation. 

Hymns will never get old.  There was a movement I remember to modernize hymns, and in my opinion , it didn’t sound that great.  “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is one of the most beautiful songs ever written and is more than relevant today. Why? Because there’s power in the written words that stand the test of time.  Sure, you may not have your Ebenezer readily available, but you cannot deny that Jesus sought you out when you were a stranger.  Everyone can enjoy hymns, if you have piano, acoustic guitars, or voices, and this is also true as well with heavy ‘verbs, delay, and rich ambient sounds. 

What I admire about some of today’s worship music is that it’s risky.  When I first heard Jesus Culture a few years ago, that really shocked me.  I’m a musical critic and snob.  My first reaction wasn’t to think “Man! What’s he running? A Tele through a Fender amp with modulation!?”. No. It was “Man. I feel the Presence. This is good.”  I believe everyone can agree on the whole point of worship music is to bring us into the Presence, without that, it has no point.   Good music isn’t hard to find.  What is more challenging is devoting music to the purpose of worship; it’s a challenge that is exciting. 

Musical worship is very important to me.  I think it’s important to God in that it’s celebration.  All things are meant for worship.  When the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem, this was the response:
“David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.”- 2 Samuel 6:5.

I would imagine those were modern instruments of their time, but that proceeds the most important part. “…were celebrating with all their might before the Lord.”   To me, this shows that there is not a disconnect between age and worship.  The ultimate goal is bring people into the Presence of God, not a musically appealing experience.  Don’t get me wrong, I love music. And I enjoy music that’s relevant and doesn’t make think it’s 1999. However, the tension always lies in the personal state of the worship musicians.  I don’t honestly believe there are more people meeting Jesus (and experiencing Him) simply through ultra-relevant music.  If that’s what we believe, then the Church has serious issues.  The Gospel is wonderful and it’s been around for 2,000 years.  It’d be a shame if we felt we had to modernize it or dress it up.  What we need is to be is more committed to being worshippers instead of relevant.  I think Jesus was relevant, even though He wasn’t a sinner.  Maybe His humility and humanity were enough to reach people. Maybe that’s what we should be after.  I think of this verse when I think of how we should align ourselves:
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”- John 4:24. 

I am also very inclined to spontaneous worship.  But, let’s be honest.  That’s been around forever.  I mean, David was pioneering this.  He was honest with God and he dared to go farther in to His presence.  I feel like that’s how we should approach worship ourselves. 

I don’t want to come across as cynical, but I do want to share my thoughts in regards to how musical worship does not have to be narrow but rather, authentic.  In the future, we need to be people in pursuit of His Presence and we must lead out of that desire and passion.  When we do, we can create an environment in which people will develop their own experiences and history with God.  That’s what I look for in a musical worship experience.