What worship music should we sing and listen to, and what should we avoid?

I remember taking a class at seminary years ago that focused on "the worship wars." In this class, we looked at the development of church music through the ages and how churches have always been fighting about musical styles. After thousands of years, nothing has changed much - the Church is still fighting about music. You don't need to spend more than 10 minutes on YouTube or Google to see how people and churches are attacking each other about musical choices. You see everything in those debates: from theology to genre and everything in between. 

In response to this ongoing debate, I will give you four simple guidelines to help you responsibly navigate this topic. After that, I'll also explain how we choose music at Grace Church and how you can make music choices for yourself. 

1. The Bible teaches us that human beings are created in the image of God - that is, the image of an incredibly creative God. All our creativity comes from God. Music is part of the creative ability God gave us to express joy, heartbreak, pain, love, and, ultimately, to worship our Creator. Music is from God and for God. The Bible is full of songs, found in books like Psalms, the Gospels and even Revelation, that express the beauty of our God and how we relate to Him.

2. Music can be used to express both good and bad things. The instruments used or the genre doesn't determine if music is good or bad. Classical orchestras, organs, electric guitars, and drums have all been used to worship God, in genres like classical, country, rock, hip-hop, and even metal. Technically, if music is off-pitch or beat, it is terrible; and if music is on-pitch and beat, it is good, no matter the genre. Good music is good music, and bad music is bad music. In the same way, music with bad theology but written by churches/artists you admire is just that - bad theology. In comparison, music with good theology produced by churches/artists you don't like is still good theology.

3. I find it interesting how many people say modern worship music is used to manipulate emotions, and then they passionately advocate for their favourite worship music. What they miss is that they advocate for their favourite genre and instrument, not because the music or theology is better, but because it makes them feel something - for example, it brings back good memories of growing up. They feel strongly about their favourite genre because of their emotions - and nothing is wrong with that! God created us to be body, soul, mind and spirit. We are not just physical or intellectual beings but also emotional beings. The arts are the way we express ourselves both intellectually and emotionally. All music is emotional. And all music will elicit an emotional response in people. 

4. Another common issue people mention is that modern worship music is people-centred. I have only encountered very few worship songs that could be "people-centred", but most I have come across are God-focused. At the same time, you must understand that worship gives God glory and honour from our human perspective. Our worship will focus on how we relate to and understand our God as people reconciled to Him. Read through the Psalms to see how God is always honoured but through the Psalmist's understanding of His relation to God.

How do we choose music at Grace Church? When we select music to sing at Grace, we ask a couple of questions: 

1. We look at the topic we are preaching on and select music that prepares us to receive that message with open hearts and which reinforces what we are learning.

2. We go through the theology of the songs we have selected. We look for good theology that aligns with the Bible and identify words that could cause confusion. We then decide if we will still sing the song and explain those words/concepts, or whether we will not sing the song. All our music comes from good sources (see blog post #1 if you want to know how we relate to other churches/artists).

3. We consider the people God has called us to reach. It's impossible to choose music that fits each person's musical preference. Therefore, we decide if the music will resonate with the biggest grouping of people God calls our church to reach. We trust and pray that everyone will still find the music uplifting and sing wholeheartedly to honour God because, at the end of the day, worship music is not about our preferences but God's glory.

So, how do you decide what music to add to your playlist? 

1. Listen to the words carefully because what we allow into our heads and hearts will shape us. Music that dishonours God should probably not be in your playlists as it will influence your view of God negatively (note that I say "dishonours" - I listen to good music that isn't "Christian" music, but that is still beautiful artistic expression and doesn't dishonour God).

2. Add music that moves your heart because music is supposed to make you "feel" something. I prefer music that lifts my spirit rather than music that makes me feel sad, angry or depressed. 

3. Include music that glorifies God and builds your faith - aka. Worship or Christian music. Music is part of our worship expression and will ingrain God's truth in our hearts and minds. 

When it comes to your church - the current style of music your church is singing might not be your exact preference, so decide how important it is to you. If you cannot worship God through a different genre than your preference, find a church that sings music in a genre you better relate with, whether that is traditional hymns with an organ, hip-hop with a heavy bass line, or metal with sharp guitar riffs. All music can glorify God, and the music a church chooses to use will reach different people for Christ. 

Louis Scheepers