Puritan said:
But the issue involves "everyone" in the church.
Jeff said:
The issue involves GOD and what HE requires of everyone in regard to how He is to be worshipped..... and not the matter of everyone's preferences.
Yes I agree, I wasn’t referring that a church should be governed by peoples
preferences. What I meant was that people in the church that are involved in the organization of the worship service will use the before mentioned Psalm references just like I did. They will at the church meetings exhibit the same type of argument that I did. So this is a matter of trying to discern God’s will in the matter of worship more then a mere matter of just preferences. In the PCA church I attend, people, especially the churches leaders takes worship, doctrine and their faith very seriously, so what I was referring too was more of a matter of how we interpret the versus that I had mentioned earlier in this thread.
Jeff says:
Well, I would ask you to show from the Psalms that those which you are referring to are actually dealing with corporate worship. May I strongly suggest that they do not but rather they are records of festivals, celebratory treks, etc. However, I am NOT suggesting that there should be no joy or praise in the worship of God. But my objection is to the "type" of expression, the source of it, and the methods employed to evoke it.
Ok, now this reply is a lot more helpful to me. Now I’m starting to see a reasonable defense against these versus in the Psalms. Now I have a direction to go in with my future study of worship.
Jeff says:
The fact is that is that there is a huge chasm between the "type" of music used in the majority of contemporary worship and that used in the old "traditional" form or worship. The issue of the lyrics is another matter again. Contemporary music uses, for the most part, a syncopated beat. Now there has been much written and scientific studies done to show the affects of syncopated beat on humans. Simply writing these studies off isn't an option. But the fact remains that the syncopated beat has adverse affects on the emotive element of humans; e.g., it has a observable effect in breaking down inhibitions and stirring sinful desires. Again, simply responding with, "It doesn't have that affect on ME, isn't a valid rebuttal. For it does have these effects on the overwhelming majority of people. Why do you suppose Rock & Roll became so popular? because it evoked a sense of the true worship of God among the populace? Speak out against contemporary musical forms and one might get the impression that one is arguing for pro-life. Taking away the average person's dose of pop music is like taking heroin away from an addict. The response is most always one of anger . . . it is undeniably addictive to one's psyche.
BINGO! Thank you Jeff, this is what I was looking for. I did not know this and now I understand why Joe and yourself are opposed to a more contemporary style of worship. I am in full agreement here with the both of you, but I just needed to know where to start when I, in the future, argue for a regulative worship style in my own church.
But I would just like to point out something here. As I have said earlier, my church does sing contemporary praise songs at the beginning of each service. But they are done in a more “classical” and “somber” way and I truly believe the songs that they select are very lyrically edifying and bring glory to God. What I mean to say is that they are carefully selected and I honestly believe that they are every bit as edifying as the hymns that we also sing. Yes there are a few of those in the pews and maybe a couple that are leading the singing that clap, but it is a very mild form of clapping. It’s hard to explain, the closest I can come is to say that, I left the PCUSA church because their worship service was completely dishonoring to God. But I don’t feel that way in my new church. I feel that even though they have added contemporary praise songs to the worship, that the focus is still on God and not in any way trying to evoke any “feelings” to stir up sinful desires.
Again, I believe our church has a very good “blended” service. There is still hymns and psalms being sung and there are still quiet times for reflection to prepare our hearts to hear Gods Word. There is a reverence and somber attitude during the whole service.
So even though, I still think that “some” modern praise songs can be reverent and acceptable as long as they are done rightly, I do have a better understanding of the regulative principle now. Jeff I read your link “Rock ‘n’ Roll, the Bible in Mind, and I concur that there are appropriate styles of music that are edifying for a Christian to listen too.
When I say “contemporary” I mean any modern song that is not from the classic hymnal or psalter. Or I mean the addition of a guitar or violin or a “worship team.” But I guess we would really have to be very careful of how we define “contemporary” in this type of discussion.
My argument during this whole thread was that I believe that the inclusion of a “contemporary” worship style along and keeping with the traditional style (a blend) if done right, seems to me, to be acceptable. As long as the contemporary style doesn’t over shadow the older traditional style and that it is done in a manner that is pleasing and reverent and somber in God’s eyes.
Again, I’m not talking about a full blown, loud charismatic praise production. I’m talking about a soft, slower melodious, God centered, reverent and somber contemporary style.
This is what our church does and so I what I would like to know is, should this be an acceptable form of worship or should I start to advocate a more regulative approach to our worship?
Thanks again Jeff for your help, this has been a great thread that has really answered some questions that I’ve had about worship. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
My only other question would be, are there any online resources and or books that you would recommend for essential reading on the topic of contemporary worship?
Y.B.I.C,
Dave.
