What is the purpose of Christian music? What is the place of music in the service? These are some of the questions that many local churches face today. With the propagation of gospel music in the secular channels of entertainment and the decrease of church attendance in conservative churches, there is a need to take a moment to analyze the focus of church music in the modern church. Although it seems to be common sense to rely only on the Scriptures to find those answers, churches all around the world fail to follow God's instructions regarding worship and music and begin to follow the trending of worldly music culture. That culture is highly appealing, especially to young people who see the traditional church as boring and outdated. Consequently, churches are likely to neglect some biblical principles when preparing music for the service in order to meet the musical preferences of their members or prospective members. Churches should strive to follow the Scriptures regarding music ministries in the areas of worship, congregation involvement, and evangelism.
Churches Should Follow God's Commands Regarding Personal Worship in the Service
One of the most profound developments with regard to worship at the turn of the twenty-first century is the rise of prosperity gospel in the United States (U.S). The phenomenon has been described as a popular way of modern Christian living that is drawn from different theological contributions and sources. 1 The emergence of prosperity gospel has its roots in the Pentecostal healing revivals that were common in the post-war years. These revivals were part of the broader Pentecostal attempts at finding Christian means of spurring God to answer prayers, particularly those directed at healing. Likewise, the Pentecostal denominations become more institutionally minded while the evangelicals garnered national respectability and attention owing to their cultural backing. The revivalists further thrived on the religious margins while their mandate was to ensure that the era of wonders and signs was kept alive. Their efforts were also aimed at discovering the spiritual formula that bore real power. 2 This movement expanded on a minority tradition in the early Pentecostalism. This tradition combined metaphysical confidence in the power of the mind and prayer with the Holy Ghost's quest for wonders and signs. The nascent theology of verbal power first spread via Pentecostalism in the 1950s and 60s and acted as the upstart of revivalism that was based on wonders and signs. It was also coming to terms with the newfound social and economic mobility as well as the cultural acceptance that came with Pentecostalism. This phenomenon also led to emergence of the charismatic movement which thrived in the 1960s and 70s and was founded on the use of spiritual gifts or charismata. This movement outgrew Pentecostalism instead inspiring numerous ministries, megachurches, associations, bible schools and conferences that were spread across independent churches and denominations. Prosperity gospel had, by the late 1970s become a household phenomenon boasting membership from various cultural backgrounds. It also gained popularity owing to the use of television, radio, large congregations, and religious paperbacks. Thus, prosperity gospel became a newly assertive Pentecostalism. It has since enjoyed positive relations with the broader evangelical culture as well as the society as a whole.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Prosperity gospel was not only ecclesially independent but also theologically Pentecostal. It was also based on four themes namely faith, victory, health and wealth. 3 The proponents reckoned that faith was a key component of worship. Inherent in this argument is the understanding of faith as a tool for activating spiritual power which subsequently draws blessings into the life of a believer. Numerous Pentecostal healers propagated this view of what right-speaking and right-believing Christians were capable of accomplishing. With the rise of televangelism in the 1980's, many Pentecostals and the newly converted charismatic Christians deemed faith to be the verified tool of Christian power. This led to increased emphasis on verbal proclamation, or what was branded ‘positive confession.’ Subsequently, believers began to embrace the idea of the performance of faith emphasizing such notions as the activation of faith through worship and word. This way, faith was appreciated because it could lead to the achievement of such measurable results as wealth and health. As a result, believers would use their health and financial status as evidence of whether or not the power of God was active in their lives.
The believers of prosperity gospel relied on faith to restore their bodies and make their lives prosperous. Nevertheless, there was no consensus on the extent and time taken by God to make these expectations a reality. Another significant development was the emergence of ‘hard prosperity.' This form of prosperity was characterized by a direct and somewhat instantaneous relationship between faith expressed either in songs or prayers and the results of this faith. Hard prosperity was popular in the 1980's televangelism and inspired musical styles that became popular in different parts of the world. This was coupled with the rise of prosperity megachurches in Pentecostal regions across the globe. These events set the pace for the globalization of prosperity gospel. For instance, channels of exchange of ideas and communication emerged between these huge independent ministries. Notably, their messages were pumped into the global flow of popular religious media. A closely related development emerged in the 1990s in the name of ‘soft prosperity.’ 4 The proponents of this form of prosperity not only developed a new language of worship but also supported it with unique music. For instance, they dropped the extreme promises and high emotional pitch that were common in the previous decade and instead propagated feel-good messages that were akin to therapeutic religion. Thus, soft prosperity lacked the ‘give-and-get’ narrative that had dominated the 1980s gospel.
During the era of soft prosperity, praised and worship music could not be lyrically distinguished from each other. For instance, the use of material and transactional metaphors to communicate matters of sanctification and salvation was commonplace. Specifically, the prosperity movement was based on the argument that as long as Christians were committed, they would prevail. It is based on this argument that the movement’s megachurches had triumphant names coupled with ministerial logos. In this case, the supporters of this movement held the belief that the death and resurrection of Jesus brought with it a new victory as well as reminders that believers are redeemed as children of God. This promise of redemption gave believers the ability to overcome all the obstacles in their lives. With the growth of prosperity gospel, its preachers resorted to inspiring their audiences and stirring crowds towards embracing its ideologies just like the revivalists before them had done. However, the theological argument of this industrialized worship experience was solely based on the promise of health, faith, victory and wealth. Consequently, this raises concerns as to whether this is in line with God's command regarding personal worship.
Following God's Commands to the Church Member
The Worshiper's Duties as an Individual, Personal Preparation to Worship and Becoming a Better Worshiper
Contrary to popularly held belief, every Christian is a minister before the lord. 5 Consequently, all believers should accept the responsibility and take up the role of being ministers. This implies that every Christian has the responsibility of contributing to the worship experience. 6 Thus, every individual worshipper has to minister unto the Lord. He or she can minister by giving himself to the church as opposed to merely waiting to receive. The worshiper should also be prepared for worship. For instance, before attending the service, he or she can pray or spend some time thinking about God and the impending service. This aids in ensuring that the worshiper's heart is already in-sync with God's spirit. Likewise, this helps one to get into worship even before he or she has gotten to the church, in which case getting into praise and worship becomes automatic. There is also a need for a worshiper to repent his or her sins before the commencement of the service so as to be clean in God's presence. Other strategies include frequenting the place of worship, being self-motivated, entering into praising both wholeheartedly and readily and avoiding distractions during worship. To be a better worshipper, one has to enjoy worshiping throughout their life. In this case, worshiping is not reserved for Sunday but rather praising and worshiping is carried out throughout the week. 7 By adopting this lifestyle, it is clear that all actions can take the form of an act of worship. This is because a believer’s daily activities can be an expression of his or her dedication to God.
Mastering Studies of Music and Bible
Importance of Learning about Theology and the Theory and History of Music
It is essential for a worshiper to learn theology due to the central role that it plays in evangelism. Firstly, by learning theology, a believer is better placed to relate to God as well as the world. Secondly, it helps one to gain relevant knowledge about God. Learning theology is also vital in strengthening one's faith and deepening his or her understanding of the workings of God. Thus, by learning about theology, an individual is better placed to be a responsible and thoughtful theologian. Further, the need to understand musical concepts such as theory and history cannot be overemphasized. This is particularly the case with regard to worship since music has multifaceted benefits. For instance, it can heal, affect mood and accelerate learning. 8
Churches Should Follow God's Commands Regarding Congregation Involvement
Following God’s Command as a Body of Believers
One term that was traditionally used in the description of congregation involvement was ‘congregation order.’ The term referred to the theory of church polity, church worship, and church management as adopted by Separatist and Puritan churches in New England three hundred years ago. 9 These groups of worshipers banded churches together, managing their affairs sedulously while shunning any interference by external forces. The groups not only had their authority but also lived together in harmony as churches drawing upon such factors as self-respecting sympathy and friendly independence. The congregational order can thus be conceptualized as being comprised of these churches. These churches of the Congregational Order dominated the first generations of the history of New England. The churches also dominated the worship experience with their meeting places being the most visible. Likewise, they boasted a large membership that comprised of all the freemen in the New England colonies. Thus given the dominance of these churches, breaking this exclusive New England theocracy was not only difficult but also slow. Following the settling of New England which took up to fifty years, the churches of the ecclesiastical order began to come into existence slowly. Given the inhospitable and unfriendly nature of the Puritan atmosphere, these churches were also forced to fight for survival.
The Congregational Order churches were the same in their constitution as well as the theory of church polity. Their devotional practice was also the same. The churches had a distinctive method of conducting worship. However, slight variations in custom existed between the different churches. This was evident in their conventional and common manner of conducting Sunday services of worship, admission, church discipline, baptism as well as the Lord's Supper. Therefore, Congregational Order refers not only to the theory of church polity and structure but also the practice of devotional procedure and church worship. 10
In the past few decades, the topic of worship in the church has been debated hotly. This debate has been centered on such issues as the style of music. 11 Likewise, the debate has been focused on the regulative principles. There is a consensus amongst scholars that the scripture should guide all worship practices. 12 13 The Scriptures are entirely inspired by God and are thus the authoritative and sufficient word on God's nature as well as his holy requirements of his people. They also serve as the authoritative and sufficient measure of all the activities of a church in its pursuit of addressing itself to God who is the savior. Therefore, the church should only allow and teach the practices that are contained in the Scripture. 14 This is as espoused in the Puritan teaching. 15 However, owing to the variations that characterize church worship, it is vital for churches to establish scriptural principles that can aid in planning their worship. The genesis of the arguments between churches regarding worship is the fact that the theological principles that drive worship in various churches are neither clarified nor communicated. Thus, the church should understand the basic requirements in a bid to correctly apply God's commands as contained in the Scripture.
Corporate Worship One notable concept in the pursuit of worshipping as a body of believers is corporate worship. Corporate worship should be centered on the word of God. Preaching takes up a considerable amount of time in the worship service of most churches. It is critical that the Gospel of Jesus Christ as contained in the bible is taught on a weekly basis. Consequently, it is vital for churches to embrace expository preaching. 16 In this form of preaching, the content of a particular sermon should be in line with that of the scripture that has been studied. Thus, while the place of topical preaching cannot be overstated, corporate worship should entail the vigorous expository of God's word. Contrary to popular belief, worship does not stop once the singing stops. Instead, as the preacher stands before his or her congregation to share the Gospel and as the congregation engages with the word, they, along with the preacher, ought to rejoice over the truth of the gospel. Thus, it is critical for worship to be an emotional experience. 17 Worship should also be grounded in the solid foundation of the truth as revealed in the word of God. Thus, the scripture should form the basis of corporate worship, whether in influencing the content of songs or the prayers.
Principles of Corporate Worship
Corporate worship ought to be participatory. Often, the worship services of most churches are designed in a manner that encourages spectatorship. This may be in the form of elements that are not only showy but also encourage the culture of sitting on the sidelines. Such elements include the use of a musician, choir or soloist. As opposed to fostering participation, such elements encourage distant watching. It is crucial for worship to be participatory, in which case the congregation is engaged in worship. Participation can be achieved through corporate singing or reading, prayer, Lord’s Supper or the use of sermon notes. The latter, for instance, aids in engaging the people with the sermon message. Overall, worship services ought to be structured in a way that encourages the worshipers to participate as opposed to being spectators.
Corporate worship should be evangelistic. Despite the dilemma on what worship should look like for non-believers and the believers, worship should be aimed at reaching out to the non-believers as well as edifying the believers. 18 Therefore, every worship service ought to have an explicit and clear presentation of the message of the Gospel. This is because any non-believer who happens to be part of the worship should leave knowing that it is possible for him or her to be saved. This implies that it is important to ensure that the non-believers are not alienated. Everything, including the order of worship, should be explained to ensure that everyone understands the progress of a particular service. Moreover, the non-believer should be welcomed publicly. They also should be appreciated for showing up and addressed explicitly during the sermon. For these feats to be achieved, churches should be hospitable and welcoming to the outsiders. This way, the outsiders would feel at home on going to the particular church for the first time.
Corporate worship should be aimed at edifying the believers. This is because a critical component of worship is discipleship. Most of the worshipers tend to be believers already. Thus, they attend church services with the aim of being encouraged to continue their walk with the Christ. In this case, they are given God's word with the aim of fostering their spiritual growth. Corporate worship should, therefore, be aimed at equipping and empowering believers to confidently and boldly live for Christ. This implies that at the end of the sermon, they should be challenged to repent and live for the Christ. The sermon should seek to not only encourage the believers but also to evangelize to those that are deemed lost. Though it is difficult to achieve the two objectives, it is critical for corporate worship to strengthen the believers. This can be accomplished by teaching the Scriptures. Despite leaving a sermon both convicted and challenged, Christians should also leave in the hope that God's grace is sufficient to empower them on their mission and cover their failures.
Corporate worship has to be contextual. This implies that it has to be different in different places and cultures. Culture cannot be decoupled from worship services. For instance, the use of a particular language in worship contextualizes the service implying that is aimed at a particular culture while alienating others. It is also undeniable that worship is comprised of various cultural expressions and is particularly the case in corporate worship. Thus, people in different parts of the world are likely to connect to particular styles of worship compared to others. Therefore, while preferences are important in worship, they can't be imposed in all ways and at all churches. However, while contextualizing of worship is essential, over-contextualization is detrimental as it may alter the Gospel's message.
In corporate worship, the music should bear solid theological content. 19 20 This music should have rich and robust doctrinal content ground. Contemporary music has been criticized in this regard for emphasizing emotionalisms as opposed to spreading the doctrinal truth. Contrary, when Christians gather to sing, the songs should be about the Gospel. Thus, it is vital that songs that are rich in doctrinal content are emphasized. Modern hymns should incorporate doctrinal depth. This way, despite being modern, these songs are more likely to be more powerful, engaging people in worship while at the same time sharing the truth. Ultimately, singing during worship should be viewed as an essential avenue for teaching the Gospel. 21 Lastly, corporate worship should be focused on God. Therefore, the believers have to understand that worship is aimed at honoring, glorifying and praising the lord. Thus, corporate worshipers should focus entirely on God and his everlasting glory. Besides worshipping God, believers are engaged in praising Jesus for showing humility and servitude through taking up the cross and eventually dying so as to redeem his people. During worship, people are also exposed to the spirit, which shows the believers the truth while empowering them to live by God's commands. Corporate worship should thus be God-centered and aimed at giving glory to the lord.
Making Corporate Worship Personal Worship
While corporate worship is essential, the need for personalized worship cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, believers are encouraged to pour their adoration and devotion on their own apart from doing it as a group during corporate worship. This is because setting aside time for prayer and personal worship is a crucial part of Christian spirituality just as Jesus did. For instance, Jesus spent nights alone praying and emphasized the need to pray in secret. Nevertheless, he also frequently attended synagogues where he took part in corporate worship. The juxtaposition of corporate and personal worship was also exemplified during his time with his disciples whereby besides dedicating personal time to worship, Jesus and his disciples gathered for fellowship and to receive the teachings of the apostles. Thus, individuals can turn corporate worship into personal worship by immersing themselves in prayer while ensuring that personal worship does not become a substitute for corporate worship. Also, corporate worship should be viewed as an avenue for facilitating personal worship while being centered on Jesus Christ. Further, individuals ought to realize that personal preference should be subjugated for the sake of living and worshiping as the body of Christ.
Understanding the Minister’s Duty in Corporate Worship
For a minister in corporate worship to be effective, he or she has to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit. Subsequently, he or she is tasked with combining biblical truth with music to magnify God's worth and the redemptive character of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, he or she motivates the church to cherish and proclaim God's truth while seeking to live life for God's glory. The minister is thus engaged in various ways besides singing. For instance, he may be reflective or prayerful. Apart from being engaged, a minister is expected to teach the congregation. In this case, the minister must teach about corporate worship. Thus, the minister is expected to teach about and lead worship in his or her respective church. The minister is also expected to interact with the worship. In this case, he or she should be sensitive to what is taking place in the worship service's flow. In the same light, he or she should intentionally and carefully steward all the moments of worship. Thus, a minister acts as the primary worship leader, communicator and team builder. 22 All these roles are critical in shaping a particular church’s culture of worship.
Understanding of Corporate Involvement, Church’s Responses to Music and the Psychological Application to Church Music
The Minister should also work closely with the worship leader. The latter is tasked with leading the congregation into the presence of God. The two should, therefore, work as a team to ensure that the church responds appropriately to the music. For instance, the worship leader should be able to access and recognize God's vision and communicate it through the chosen music and lyrics. It should be noted that the primary audience of worship music is God. Song and music play a crucial role in the lives of believers. Consequently, the church today is characterized by greater access to music and is open to the wide variety of available music. This diversity is a reflection of the richness that characterizes God's creation. Music acts like God's gift and is part of the created order. Singing can thus be conceptualized as a form of worship and is aimed at glorifying God and edifying the believers. Further, the emotional power of music cannot be overstated. This acts as a crucial tool in worship.
Churches Should Follow God's Commands Regarding Evangelism
Following God’s Command on the Church's Role in Evangelism
Biblically, every Christian is expected to evangelize. This is in a bid to ensure that they all testify to the goodness of the lord. 23 Believers achieve this by spreading the news of salvation to people in different parts of the world. In doing this, it is critical to recognize that God's character is displayed in people corporately. For instance, according to Jesus, Christians are the evidence of his love. However, this can only be manifested if Christians love one another in a way that can be conceptualized as supernatural. To achieve this, the church is tasked with developing a culture of evangelism. In this case, both the mindset and practice of the church ought to be interwoven into a culture of evangelism. 24 For churches to achieve this, they have to be led by faithful ministers. However, the first step is to recognize that God intended the Scripture to be the primary tool for use in fostering evangelism. The Gospel thus has to be central to the functioning of any church. This way, the church becomes an assembly of individuals who are aware of and appreciate God’s great deeds.
Using Music to Reach Out to All Nations and to Share the Good News While Targeting Both Believers and Non-Believers
The mission of the church is not only to evangelize but also complete the task of spreading the gospel to all corners of the earth. This task calls for the use of evangelistic music, which is synonymous with gospel music. 25 This kind of music without a doubt plays a significant role in the evangelistic and revival campaigns of numerous churches. However, it is important to note that evangelistic music is not limited to only one kind of music. 26 This is because evangelism does not follow a similar and definite pattern. As a result, the vision of evangelism should be enlarged to include other traditional approaches. For instance, an essential principle in spreading the gospel is the fact that people should be reached in individual ways. Thus, the individual differences in for instance believers and non-believers should be taken into consideration when spreading the gospel. 27 Consequently, different varieties of sacred music can be used to appeal to the different personalities. Since gospel music has proven to be successful in complementing various evangelistic efforts, it is common for the proponents to fail to recognize that this kind of music does not bear a universal appeal. Specifically, evangelistic music might not reach to all people. This is because some perceive it as being too sentimental or evocative of the popular folk song. Thus, it is critical for gospel workers to bear in mind that gospel music is not universal. This acknowledgment helps them to strengthen their work by making use of other types of music to reach out to the masses.
Representing Christ as a Church
Separating Church Music from Worldly Music and Using Music to Evangelize and Motivate Believers
There is a broad range of music that may be recognized as sacred as opposed to evangelistic. 28 Inherent in this are various forms that may be deemed useful in carrying out evangelism. For instance, while some people may be touched by gospel songs, others may prefer hymns or oratorio. 29 Therefore, it is erroneous to brand all music that is not gospel as non-evangelistic. For instance, over the centuries, many people have changed their ways owing to music by such composers as Handel, Mendelssohn, and Bach among others. While such music is primarily meant for concert platforms, it is indubitable that this kind of music has been used to reach out to souls, motivating them and thus evangelizing to them. Thus, sacred music, irrespective of the platform it is used in, may be useful in evangelizing in which case it aids in turning sinners to God. This is especially the case when it is consecrated to God’s service. Nevertheless, it is essential to distinguish church music from worldly or secular music. In this case, for music to be declared sacred, it has to be solely intended for religious purposes. While it may not be used for worship, it has to be associated with a particular religion. Worldly music, on the other hand, is characterized by exultation in a worldly view of life. In this case, the music leaves God out of the equation and promotes what he disapproves. Likewise, the music treasures the world above the creator and promotes self-centeredness that ultimately results in misery.
Conclusion
The important role of Christian music worship and spreading the gospel cannot be overstated. It is therefore vital for churches today to pay attention to this component of worship in a bid to ensure that evangelistic, as opposed to worldly and secular music, is incorporated in the day-to-day efforts of spreading the gospel. This is a concern particularly in the contemporary church as the line between gospel and secular music becomes increasingly blurred. Music has become a controversial and divisive issue in the modern church. This is particularly the case owing to differences in the taste of music and the fact that music influences the heart, mind as well as the will of the listeners. Subsequently, the kind of music that one listens to results in a particular type of response. Thus, given the power of music, it is essential for churches to follow God's commands regarding the role of music in personal worship in the service, congregation involvement, and evangelism.
Bibliography
Bowler, Kate, and Wen Reagan. "Bigger, Better, Louder: The Prosperity Gospel's Impact on Contemporary Christian Worship." Religion and American Culture 24, no. 2 (2014): 186-230.
Chryssides, George D. "Subject and Object in Worship." Religious studies 23, no. 3 (1987): 367-375.
Cray, Wesley D. "Omniscience and worthiness of worship." International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 70, no. 2 (2011): 147.
Davis, Horton. “Corporate Worship in the Reformed Tradition by James Hastings Nichols.”
Church History , Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jun., 1969): 278-279
Drage, Sally. “Hymns and Hymn Singing: A Popular Guide by David Baker and JoanWelsby.” Folk Music Journal , Vol. 7, No. 1 (1995): 104-105
Harrison, Douglas. "Why southern gospel music matters." Religion and American culture: A journal of interpretation 18, no. 1 (2008): 27-58.
Kim, Kirsteen. "Evangelism Today: New Ways for Authentic Discipleship." International Review of Mission 103, no. 1 (April 2014): 129-134.
Monson, Craig A. "The Council of Trent Revisited." Journal of the American Musicological Society 55, no. 1 (2002): 1-37.
Olford, Stephen F., Stephen Olford, and David Olford. Anointed Expository Preaching . B&H Publishing Group, 2003.
Park, Charles E. "Possibilities of Beauty in the Congregational Order." The American Journal of Theology 23, no. 1 (1919): 87-102.
Pirog, Enola. "The Power of Music." Journal of Religion & Psychical Research 29, no. 1 (2006).
Yoon, Sunny. "Tuning in Sacred: Youth Culture and Contemporary Christian Music." International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music (2016): 315-342.
