Considering Anti-Music-part-part 6

Considering Anti-Music-part-part 6

        Lest I be misunderstood as a worshiper of musical tradition rather than  a worshiper of God, I am not purporting that all musical tradition is worthwhile.  That being said, those of us who believe and practice free worship must constantly guard against what I term traditional worship “rutual”.  Those of us who do not practice a formal worship ritual are in danger of getting in an unorganized rut.  If we would be the slightest bit honest we would have to admit that our patterns of weekly use of music in worship are far from free and worship would probably be much better if our patterns were organized and purposeful.  For instance, those who often pride themselves in the fact they have eliminated all, or mostly all, of the traditional hymns and gospel songs in favor of fresh new choruses, fall into the “rutual” of singing the same chorus sequences Sunday after Sunday until the worshipers do not need to look at the screen because they know what will be coming next.

          No doubt part of the reason that millennials are hocking their new strange musical wares on congregations of worshipers is that they are bored with traditional predictable worship music.  The answer is not the “hock and awe” of anti-music.  Although part of the answer must be discussed in another blog sequence, a fresh anointing on the worship leader will add reality, excitement and believability to musical worship.  Fresh new approaches to music used in public worship are not wrong in and of themselves.  The answer is reality and believability in the music that one uses in the context of public worship.

Scripture Thought for the Day

Psalm 144:9, “I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.”