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The Divisiveness of Church Music
For the past few decades, churches have lamented the exodus of young people. Their answer has been uniform: Make the service more like a rock concert through praise music, and the young people will flock to church in their skinny jeans and hipster vests. Nowadays, it’s more common to find special music consisting of electric guitars, drums, and lighting effects than traditional choirs and organs. But has turning church into a dressed-up version of Bonnaroo really helped bring the coveted Millennials back to church?
I am vehemently against praise music, though I thoroughly recognize that this is a matter of personal preference. The pervasiveness of praise music has made finding a church I like very difficult. It has made it difficult to attend church with friends, because I just stand there with my hands folded in front of me while everyone around me sways their hands in the air, singing with their eyes closed. The difference in worship style preference has even made dating difficult in some instances. Still, I was interested to see how many of my fellow Ricochet Millennial contemporaries have a similar bias towards traditional music. They may not be as militantly against contemporary worship as I am — I will turn and leave if I walk into a sanctuary and see it looking more like a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert than a church service — but they still seem on the whole to enjoy the traditional worship style.
In short, I contend that this:
Is more reverential and evocative of God’s divine love than this:
But I’m also a classical music snob, admittedly. So what do y’all think? How much does worship style influence where you worship? Have your churches embraced a contemporary style that has successfully brought young people back to church? My fellow Millennials: which style do you prefer?
Perhaps all this boils down to this question: What is the purpose of music in a worship service?
Published in Religion & Philosophy
So why do it??
Human nature.
So you’re a Southern Baptist then.
Why should you always take at least two Southern baptists with you when you go fishing?
Because if you only take one, he will drink all your beer.
Verrrrry interesting post. I believe that anything that encourages the congregation to feel like participants, as opposed to spectators, is a good thing. My only concern is when the medium eclipses the message. Difficult to find the right balance. Where does Missa Luba rank in terms of message versus content? How is that different from the Baroque high masses?
Songwriter- I’m not Southern Baptist, but Baptists and my church should be best friends in some ways.
Our church is non-denominational, but pastor is son of well-known Baptist leader.
Last Sunday, the pastor said the following: Our church is 20 years old this year, next year when we turn 21 we can start using wine during communion,
I laughed a lot.
My dad likes to repeat something he heard on the JD distillery tour: wherever there’s four Baptists, there’s bound to be a fifth.