What Happened to Church Music

Things have changed a great deal at the seminary where I earned my preaching credentials.  Of course, it has been more than thirty-two years.  Last week, seminary officials announced another change.  The School of Church Music is being closed.  When I was a student, they had the theology school, religious education school, social work school, and the music school.  I believe they closed down social work a few years back and now they are doing the same thing to Church Music. 

The justification given was the lack of students.  There are simply not enough students to justify having a School of Church Music.  Courses will still be taught but they will be administered under other disciplines. 

I remember the music program from seminary with great fondness.  Of course, those of us studying the high science of theology frequently teased the Church Music students just like we did the religious education students as being nothing more than acolytes to our superior calling.  However, I loved the performances and the worship leadership they provided.  I was raised as a Baptist from the western frontier.  All of my church experience was with a typical revivalistic influence.  I was accustomed to three hymns (first, second, and third stanza), a special, the sermon, and an invitation.  When I was introduced to a liturgical style of worship, not only in seminary chapel but also in Kentucky churches, I was fascinated. 

I began to pay attention to the words of the hymns and understand the symbolism of the ritual.  I had never belonged to a church that observed Advent or anything during Holy Week other than Easter Sunday.  It was the students and professors of the School of Church Music who made these introductions to me.  I clearly remember attending chapel services and being moved by the sound of six hundred or more men (we had very few women seminary students in those days) singing beautiful harmony and infusing new meaning into the ancient hymns.  The music of those chapel services was typically much better than the preaching. 

Closing the School of Church Music saddens me.  However, it also causes me great concern.  Anyone involved in church leadership is keenly aware of the changes, emphasis, and disagreements that surround the issue of church music today.  There is no subject that is more volatile in many churches.  This does not seem like the time to de-emphasize the study and expertise development in church music.  If anything, we need better-trained and more qualified music leaders in the church. 

I confess that I am certainly no expert in church music.  I can read music, and over the years, I have played a variety of musical instruments; I even took a music theory course once.  But I have been a careful observer of how music is done in hundreds of churches over the past decade, so I am not lacking in opinions about the subject. 

There are two statements I would like to make concerning church music and the role it plays in today’s church.  First, the music must lead to participation rather than performance.  Because we have consumer-driven churches, we also have performance-driven worship.  There is a temptation today to make sure the music at our church is better than the music at your church so more folks will come to our church.  The easiest way to control the quality of the music is to make it performance rather than participation. 

The problem is that worship is not an activity for observers.  Worship requires participation.  Much of the church music that is used today is not conducive to participation.  We sing songs that have no melody, or one that is very difficult to recognize.  Folks are provided with nothing but the words.  There is no music distributed so that those in the congregation who can read music find it easier to sing along.  Very few songs have any kind of harmony for those with an ear for music.  Any song that substitutes “ohhhs” and “ahhhs” for words does not encourage congregational singing. 

The result of using music that is unsingable (possibly a made-up word) by the congregation means that there is a need for performers.  Otherwise, much of the worship time would be nothing but instrumental music as people stand and watch words flashing on a screen.  So we put together a “worship team” and everyone is happy.  The music “sounds” good and no one feels the necessity to participate. 

The importance of participation does not exclude the use of contemporary music.  However, it does mean that we must use contemporary music that is conducive to congregational singing.  It also helps if we sing a song often enough that we actually learn it.  Perhaps one of the best things a School of Church Music could teach is how to encourage participation in worship.

My second statement about church music is that it should be theological rather than emotional.  Pay careful attention to the words of many of the songs used today in worship and you will discover that we are not singing about God or the great things of the faith.  Often, we are singing about ourselves.  When the subject of the song is “I,” then it is not a song worthy of using in worship of God. 

Not only is music expressive of what we believe, it is also instructive of what we believe.  As our music provides great statements about God, those truths are continually reinforced in our minds.  Those of us who grew up in church singing the great songs of the faith learned much of our theology from those songs.  Sometimes it is easier to recall the words of a hymn than a scripture passage when trying to understand theology. 

We need music leadership that will make sure that we are learning and singing songs that are theologically sound.  The easy path for a music leader is to select music that stirs the emotions, even if it does not strengthen the faith.  This kind of singing may sound good for the moment but will offer nothing of eternal significance.

Music styles and music tastes have changed.  Many Christians will never learn to appreciate the hymns.  However, that does not mean we should give up and just sing tunes from the Top 40 charts.  Instead, it requires even greater diligence and determination to make sure that we have music that truly honors God and encourages His people to worship.  There is still a need for a School of Church Music.

Comments

[Steve Austin]

Amen, brother. You are preaching to the choir now. For those of you that have never seen a church choir then that is the people behind the preacher sometimes all wearing the same robes.

I have noticed that when a church finally does sing a hymn the congregation is far much more involved.

[Tim Dahl]

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."

You're right! Horribly self-centered music. Down with it! Throw it out! I'm in totally agreement!!!!

Ok, now that my visceral outburst is over...

Terry, I love you...I hope you know that. I usually enjoy reading what you write. It tends to be well thought out, and not beholding to anything but good sense. However, now you're just trotting out the old line against contemporary music, that is rife with fallacy.

Some of the biggest shows I've ever seen were at 11am, Sunday, in "Traditional" Baptist churches. I hope that you will admit that you're coming from a particular cultural context that does not invalidate another's.

Tim

[Terry Austin]

Tim,
I am not critical of the style of music (traditional or contemporary) but the content and use of the music. There are many old hymns that have no more meaning than some of the modern inane choruses. There are also many contemporary tunes that are filled with solid theology. My point is that regardless of the style, the music should be theologically sound and conducive to participation. If you hear criticism of contemporary worship in what I wrote, I suggest you had your mind made up before you started. Read it again!

[Russell Farnell]

@Tim

Terry jokes, "I was accustomed to three hymns (first, second, and third stanza)..."

This is why great hymns should not be treated like tossed salad. Like scripture, understanding the message of a hymn means understanding the text as a whole...in this case, all four of John Newton's original stanzas (the fifth is anonymous, and doesn't follow the theme of grace).

The subject of "Amazing Grace," (oddly enough) is God's amazing grace. Though the hymn is written in first person, the idea is that grace is a personal gift of God. It is Newton's testimony, not of himself, but of the grace that "will lead me home." Carefully contrast this with the subject and message of "I Can Only Imagine."

This is the type of subtlety that is missed when church musicians' music background comes from their own taste and not from a vast depth of historical knowledge that has been uniquely available to Baptist music ministers for less than 100 years.
I hope that Baptists can find a way to immerse themselves in the culture of the world to transform it instead of being lead (sometimes astray) by what is "good" right now.

Russell Farnell
Baylor '97
SWBTS '99
Minister of Music
First Presbyterian Church
Arlington, TX

[Wickle]

The style of music really should depend on the congregation and what really serves. What are the gifts, the needs, etc..

My church uses contemporary music, and no one can possibly accuse us of not engaging the congregation.

A great many people who are strongly pro-hymn and anti-worship chorus have never actually seen a church in such worship. That is a fundamental flaw.

Hymns, of course, are not Scripture. There is nothing that makes "Amazing Grace" more holy than "I Can Only Imagine" except that it's older. My church has used both songs ... they're both powerful, and need not be mutually-exclusive. (Except that I discourage singing both at the same time ...)

Check out the Psalms to look at some of that self-focus, by the way. I don't understand the need to tear down other believers because we don't do things the same way.

Your church is well-served by hymns? That's great! Praise God!

My church is served well by contemporary worship? That's equally great! Let's praise God together!

Until and unless there's a Biblical passage found somewhere condemning the use of cymbals, horns, and stringed instruments, this argument is pointless.

[Jay Harris]

Most of my 41 years in ministry were spent leading church music. I have directed the 5-fold Amen after the Pastoral Prayer(which was right after the Doxology). I even once sang the Recitatief to Elijah in a Sunday service (a bit much even back then). This Sunday I will be leading worship in a much more post-modern setting at my church, with the worship team and praise band backing me up.

I love and worship through all the styles of music. They are all His. Biblical accuracy is a requirement. I have found that is just a easy to "perform" an old hymn as it is a new praise chorus. Oft times if I am reading the music in four-part harmony("singing from the hymnal like Jesus did"), I find myself focusing on the musicality of the piece, my harmonizing and not the object of my worship.

On the other-hand I have stood puzzled as a church was whipped into an emotional frinzy through music with no Biblical foundation whatsoever.

I feel that the music of worship should invest responsibly in my, and everyone else's, active participation in worship of God.

For years, the School of Music at the seminary, taught a music of worship that very few churches were looking for. Seminary grads had to learn worship leadership through other means. The school refused to learn what God is doing in worship through music today relying on a style of 50 years ago. Therefore, rather than change their paradigms of church music and really begin to invest in the worship needs of our churches, they are shutting down.

Yes, it is a sad loss. Is the rest of the Seminary very far behind?

Jay Harris

[Dot Shackelford]

I am VERY DISAPPOINTED that Southwestern Seminary (my alma mater)has chosen to close the school of music. I feel that it will be a great loss in regard to "keeping the great songs of the faith --- along with--- the "new songs". I agree that the "old" songs have more "theology" than the new "praise songs."

But......God is still on His throne and He will see that HIS WORD IS DISSEMINATED TO HIS PEOPLE.

...Dot Shackelford

[Rob McClelland]

What is amazing to me in this discussion is that I keep hearing that hymns have "more theology" than praise songs. Obviously we need to be reminded that theology is "words about God." The words used in old hymns (and I think most people using this term mean hymns their grandparents sang) might be beautiful, like exploring the depths of the phrase "ineffable love." That is beautiful language to someone who understands it. But to someone who does not, it is distracting in worship. Praise songs have just as much theology as hymns, the "words about God" might be a little simpler though. There is not as much focus on using words to paint a beautiful picture before God or even of God, but they seem to focus on engaging a new generation's heart with the work of the Holy Spirit, while being drawn into God presence.

Why would I spend time worrying about why I am raising my Ebenezer when I could be adoring God by singing about how great He is, using the words to Chris Tomlin's "How Great is our God"?

I love both Contemporary worship songs and Traditional Hymns. My heart can focus on God when I hear Mozart or Crowder. I have seen choirs perform more that praise bands, but I have seen praise bands perform too. I think that there is much to be gained from having a school of church music which teaches ministers of music how to educate congregations on the purpose of music in worship, the truth that God enjoys diversity in music, and how different forms of music can draw us into the presence of Almighty God at different times in our life.

We also need to remind people that there are vertical and horizontal songs in worship (this is true in the Psalms as well). Vertical songs are used to sing to God in worship, as songs of adoration like "Then sings my soul, my savior, God to Thee, How great Thou art..." or "My Jesus, My Savior, Lord there is none like You. All of my days, I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love..." Then there are horizontal songs that are sung to praise God while witnessing to others about who God is, like, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior, all the day long..." or "Savior, he can move the mountains, My God is mighty to save. He is mighty to save. Forever, author of salvation, he rose and conquered the grave. Jesus conquered the grave."

Both types of music (vertical or horizontal) are aimed at giving God the glory, and engaging people in worship to encounter the risen savior. Neither is wrong, just different. And neither contemporary or traditional is wrong, just different in who it brings into the presence of God. We don't know if the angels are singing "Holy, holy, holy" before the throne to an organ, with a praise band, with African drums, or with no instruments at all. We do know that they are definitely not using songs that are favorites of the day, like the Wesley's used...right? Just kidding.

I am blessed to be working with (I deem him to be) one of the most talented Ministers of music I have met. This is not because of his "Theological training," but because of his humble heart and the way he prepares people to come into the presence of the King in worship. He works hard to offer his best to God, not performing for the congregation, but worshipping the audience of one! I know that we need more people trained in that, and without schools of music, where will that happen?

Rob McClelland
Senior Pastor

[Tim Dahl]

Terry, I read it multiple times; and you are attacking contemporary worship. Sorry man.

Concerning consumer oriented worship: I see it every day. People want their favorite hymns sung, because it makes them feel good. So many of our songs are members singing to other members, and not to God. Even the idea that they should be used as theological teaching tools is disappointing. We are still making it about us. Frankly, that is idolatry.

[Terry Austin]

This song is currently playing on KLTY (leading Christian radio station in the country), which means it will not be long before it is used as a worship song in church somewhere. Read the words and you will see my point about theology:

I can almost see it
That dream I’m dreaming but
There’s a voice inside my head sayin,
You’ll never reach it,
Every step I’m taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm going to have to lose,
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

The struggles I’m facing,
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes they might knock me down but
No I’m not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on,
cause

There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm going to have to lose,
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Somebody's you're going to have to lose,
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It’s all about
It’s all about
The climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith

The theology of this song is not bad, it is non-existent. I don't have a problem with the radio station playing the song, I do not expect the radio station to lead me in worship. My concern is that many of the songs heard on Christian radio are assumed to be appropriate for worship.

[Matthew Young]

I hope that Baptists can find a way to immerse themselves in the culture of the world to transform it instead of being lead (sometimes astray) by what is "good" right now.
Seriously??? Only Baptist? Wow....

Russell Farnell
Baylor '97
SWBTS '99

[don g]

so write some music independently from the "church", y'know like LV Beethoven did, or you can bemoan the things that "used to be". Jesus sought disciples to spread the Gospel. I look at it as style, context, setting, genre, et al are analogous to being the vase or container while the Word and glorifying God is analogous to the unchanging, pure water that is poured forth (hopefully) no matter the container. Yes? Si?
Don,
God bless