A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine, Greg Gilbert, posted a blog on the 9Marks site called Against Music. The title was more an attention grabber than a statement of Greg’s attitude toward music in general. He was cautioning Christians against becoming spiritually dependent on music in their relationship with God. He wrote:
The bottom line, I suppose, is that it would do every Christian well to do some honest heart-searching about what makes them feel “close to God.” Can you feel close to God just by reading or saying the words, “In Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”? Would you be able to function in a church that’s great in every way except the music? If
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Steve left a comment on a previous post, asking about the validity of a secular music “ministry,” referencing a comment Phil Keaggy made years ago about the lack of spiritual Christians involved in the secular music field. I received an e-mail recently asking a similar question about the legitimacy of Christian musicians pursuing a career in secular pop music. How should we think about it? Is it always wrong? It is something we should encourage?Here are some thoughts I’ve shared over the years with individuals who were trying to determine God’s will for their lives in this area.
The most important question to ask (and sometimes the most difficult to answer) is, “What are my motives for wanting to be involved in secular music?”
While I never assume someone’s motives will …
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This past week we recorded some of the lead vocals for our upcoming project, Come Weary Saints, due out in April. It’s a project of congregational worship songs designed to encourage faith and hope in the hearts of those who are going through trials.
Each of the vocalists who came to sing was clearly there not to promote themselves, but to serve those whoever would be listening. It was evident from their preparation, the way they joyfully received comments, and their gratefulness for the opportunity to participate in the project. Grace abounded.
It reminded me of a message I gave at the Sovereign Grace WorshipGod conference in 2002. I was seeking to answer questions like, “How do we know whether we’re successful as a musician or not? What standards do we use? …
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Here are two more outlines from messages I gave at the Christian Musician Summit in Overlake, Washington.
On Saturday morning, I had the privilege of speaking to the entire group on the topic of “Does God Even Like Our Music?” I figured in a conference of almost 3000 musicians, it’s important to know whether or not our music is actually pleasing to the one we’re there to worship. The answer has little to do with style, generations, or beat. It has everything to do with our hearts and life.
In the second seminar I addressed the subject of “Worshiping God While Making Music.” To start things off I gave away a number of CD’s, and met a couple that had come all the way from Singapore to attend the …
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I’m getting questions every week now on topics related to worship and music. I wish I had time to answer each one, but I can’t get to them. But thanks so much for writing and assuming I might have an answer to your question. I received this question from Stephen:
What effect do you see the “PowerPoint driven church” and American pop culture having on the musical literacy of your instrumentalists, and potentially on the future of the church? Being a worship pastor in a somewhat “emerging” church (AKA rock band and candles with historic Christianity), I am beginning to see the great need for “reproducing” musicians who are musically literate. For two reasons: 1) efficiency of the ensembles and 2) the legacy of music left to future generations.
I …
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I’m currently in the middle of moving my office from Covenant Life Church to Sovereign Grace Ministries. The two buildings are actually connected, so it’s not that big a deal. As my responsibilities at Covenant Life have been assumed by Ken Boer, it’s released me to give more time to writing, training, and overseeing music for Sovereign Grace. We’ve also needed more office space at Covenant Life, so it was the right time to make the move. Right now all my books and CD’s are boxed up in an empty office as shelves are being installed. I should be in my new office next week.
There are plenty of things I’d like to be blogging about right now, but haven’t been able to carve out the time. So …
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