This is my first inter-blog dialogue. My Twitter friend, Tami (a worship leader from
MUSIC IS POWERFUL. Music is wonderful. Music is inspiring. Music is an instrument of worship.
As powerful and useful as music is, however, it is not the object of worship. It is man using God-created notes, and utilizing our God-reflected creative ability to sing about the Creator and His work. Any time it becomes more than that we have to step back and ask “who is really being worshipped through this music?” Unfortunately, the conversation about music usually talks more of the music (its uniqueness or creativity) or the musician(s) than the Creator. That is problematic – especially in “Christian music.” See Romans 1:25.
“Worship music,” as it is labeled (and a topic worthy of its own blog postings), is the musical section at a Christian bookstore. A true musician who is transformed by God knows of no other type of music. If they write and sing a “love” song, it is based in and reflects upon real love that is given by God for man and wife to share together. If they write a song about “What a Wonderful World” they rejoice in God’s Creation. The motivation for the songs they produce, the intended audience and their hearts as musicians are all founded in the same place – God, Himself. Music written solely as “worship” is odd to me because I did not know I was to classify or categorize my musical listenings, singings, and enjoyments. Worship is our attitude and response to God, not a musical selection.
Musical style is highly subjective. As Tami points out – what one person likes, another may loathe. I am not a major fan of K-Love for the same reasons as Tami; however, I know that my reasons for not liking it are because of my taste in music: (I like) indy-rock type music, some alternative, some rap, and not a lick of country (sorry country fans). I like music that sounds different, not cookie-cutter. I like deep lyrics that lead me to think and ponder. I also like fun songs that sing of true love, beautiful creation, passion, and that tell wonderful stories. I do not like much of K-Love-type music for two main reasons: (1) they seem to play the same music (or types of music – stuff that sounds the same) repeatedly, (2) I do not like a lot of the style(s) of songs they play (as I stated before).
To respond a little to Tami’s post, specifically…
“Now I know I’m coming off as a music snob; but music tastes are, you must admit, quite subjective.”
A danger indeed (sounding like a snob or pretentious) for all people in giving their opinion, especially since she conceded the fact that tastes are subjective (different from one person to the next). For Christians, however, being pretentious not only turns people away from us and our music, but away from the God we sing about and desire others to know.
“…I find what’s out there to be (overall) lyrically trite, musically lackluster and monotonous, and somewhat “un-anointed”…to be perfectly (and probably shockingly) frank.”
This is a pretty tough statement to make. I understand (and agree in large part) what she is saying, but to call music “un-anointed” is a slippery slope and all together problematic. Only God and His Spirit know what is anointed, we as fallible people can only guess. We do know what we like. We also know what moves us, but to call something “anointed” or “un-anointed” simply because it inspires or speaks to us (or doesn’t) is a conversation we are not capable of having because we are not objective beings.
“We need to starve in our hearts the notion of consumer Christianity, take the stars out of our eyes, stop wishing for Dove awards and seek the reward of knowing this Man who knows us so well.”
What a powerful conclusion! How different would much of Christian music look (on the radio or *gasp* in the church) if this happened?!?!
I appreciate your heart Tami – to serve Him, to love Him, to know Him and to help Him be known. I appreciate your passion for this subject. I just pray that as this dust settles, music or no music, we are all satisfied with and moved by the King of Splendor, the God of Wonders, the Great God, the Awesome God.
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5 comments:
Hey. I read Tami's blog first, and came here 'cause she Twittered a link. I love that the conversation is moving all over the interwebs. :)
Couple thoughts to add to the dialogue:
1. I think as Christians, we sometimes over-analyze what does and does not turn people away. I think non-Christians have attitudes and preferences, and they know (despite our best efforts sometimes) that Christians have attitudes and preferences too.
I clearly remember being on the verge of handing my life over to Jesus several years ago, and - this is going to sound weird - part of what held me back for a while was the music. I was a non-Christian music snob, and thought that if I "became a Christian" I would have to listen to KLove (and the music like it, it was all I knew of Christian music). As trite as it sounds, the Dogwood CD that a friend of mine got me was a huge push toward giving up my life.
All that to say: I think it's okay for Christians to publicly express their preferences and artistic snobbery, as long as it's done respectfully. I think our striving to be completely unoffensive and politically correct can be as much a Jesus-turn-off than a little musical snobbery.
2. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that we, as people, can only guess at what is as is not "anointed." God knows. Holy Spirit knows, and the same Holy Spirit that rested on Jesus at His baptism is alive in me.
In John 14, Jesus said His Spirit would teach me all things. In Romans, Paul writes to the church about living in the Spirit. Surely, if the Holy Spirit knows what is anointed (because He anoints it), and we're living in each other, I should have some idea.
It's also easy to confuse emotion with a move of the Spirit at times, so we should be careful not to jump to conclusions, of course.
Just a couple thoughts. :)
i think this post/conversation is awful, bashing christian music and christian radio. downplaying christian music in any sense is just wrong, better to listen to klove than other trash on the radio. you said chrisitian music is repetitive or it all sounds the same, but thats the point of it. God is steadfast, His love for us NEVER changes no matter what we might do, so i dont mind listening to music that points that out. that's the message of God, so should it be the point of chrisitian music. most secular music serves the purpose of self or idolizing/glamourizing sinful behaviors which is why people like listening to it. i think christian music/radio is great evangelism tool and encouragement, you shouldnt bash it.
It seems that this is a hot topic among Christians - is Christian music good just because it's Christian music? This arguement actually reminds me of the debate over church music - traditional versus contemporary. Who is right? Who is wrong? Does it matter as long as we are truly worshpiping God if the song was written 200 years ago or six months ago? This debate is the same - KLOVE does play the same music over and over again and, as an avid music fan, I do get tired of hearing the same music when there is sooooo many other awesome Christian bands out there. But I guess the importance of the message is, what is the point of a radio station like KLOVE? They are trying to reach listeners who have not heard the gospel, or who need a "positive message" through the day instead of the other crap that is on the radio. For that, they do meet their goal, because the radio station does lift many people up - I know a lot of people listen to KLOVE, they are a wonderful ministry to many people. I really really wish they would play different music sometimes, but I don't want us, as Christians, to get wrapped up in debating about types of music (isn't that happening all over the country right now anyway in churches?) and start praying for stations like these that are bringing the message of God to people that may not hear it otherwise.
if you'll actually read my blog post, you'll find that i was not "bashing" christian radio or KLOVE, in the end. i was making a plea for the christian musicians and songwriters (including me) to more accurately reflect who God is as a creative God who LOVES variety and created us to do the same, to actually do a better job at creating. that's all.
and i do agree with theestherproject: we certainly should be able to discern what is and is not anointed because the Spirit of God lives within us. in fact, we are admonished to do so.
why can't we, as christians, acknowledge the fact that not everyone is "reached" by this kind of music? this isn't a debate...or God help us if it is, over something so non-essential as music style...it is merely something we need to consider. we're not here to encourage and coddle ourselves. we're still here so that we can snatch as many out of the fire as possible. why not consider using all the tools we have in our possession to do that? He certainly made us capable of more. Jesus thinks mankind is worth our best efforts, and we need to think that way too.
I apologize for the delay in my response to the comments... I have been away from the computer since Friday. Here's my follow up:
EstherProject: I agree about the over-analysis, not to mention the fact it is impossible to meet all the tastes of music (some people don't like music to begin with). In worship (a side step from the Christian radio discussion - and as I said in my post, probably worthy of its own post), our heart's desire should always be three fold: (1) Praising God (2) leading others to do the same (3) teaching (by example and lyrically) what is/how to/why we worship for those who do not know. To put the focus on the people's eclectic tastes and desires in music leads me to ask the question "who is really being worshiped?"
I agree with you about preference... I think it is perfectly ok to discuss our tastes and preferences for music - especially consumer music (radio, CD's, etc.).
Anonymous #1 - I think you misunderstood the nature and tone of the post. first, i do not believe I ever "bashed" Christian music (I did say I was not a fan of the style of music played on most popular Christian radio). Second, I never criticized the message of any of the songs (though, to be honest, some could and should be for various theological reasons).
Remember, this music is not the voice of God. It is made by fallible people whose motivations (I pray) are solid - they seek to worship God and lead others in the same endeavor. However, we as people DO get things wrong sometimes (there is so much that goes into music that a constructive and detailed conversation of lyrics, musical progression, tonality, etc. could easily be misunderstood by the layperson). THIS IS WHY THE ANOINTED CONVERSATION with Esther and Tami is key (see below).
When I talk of KLove and other such radio stations I do it from a position of love and appreciation. I personally do not like listening to those stations for long stretches of time, but like ANONYMOUS #2 appreciate their ministries and often do listen to it/them as a way of guarding my heart from that which is on other stations.
TAMI - I believe we (you, Esther and myself) may have a different idea for "anointed." I believe by anointed you mean something that stirs or moves the soul (as a result of being blessed/inspired/spoken by God). While I do not disagree entirely with that idea, I have heard and seen music move many people that had no desire to worship God what-so-ever (this is the case with much of popular music and the MTV culture). Non-believers then speak of that music in a spiritual sense saying "I can't explain it, but that Good Charlotte/Bush/Eminem/Evanescence/etc. song really spoke to me." Neither the artist nor the listener in that case would call that song anointed by the Spirit, but Christians who hear "Christian" music that does the same for them call it anointed. Only Scripture is God breathed and inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:14-17)... when we put music on that same level we venture into territory, theologically, I think we dare not go. Plus, I'm not really sure what the qualifying mark of anointment would be because if you and I started naming "Christian" songs we'd eventually find one that we disagree as to whether we would call it "anointed" or not (not to mention the fact that I do not believe that is our place to give the anointed seal of approval). To inspect the fruit (or musical artistry) of a project/song I think is safe territory for conversation (maybe not on a public blog or website, though I would hope so), but whether or not something is breathed by God is dangerous.
Tami, my sister, I rejoice at our conversation! I pray we (and others) are able to have similar conversations in the future (whether about music, culture, family or what-have-you)! Thank you for endeavoring in this inter-blog experiment and I look forward to doing it again! I praise God that we crossed paths! :-)
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