Burning Down the House

No, I’m not going to break into the Talking Heads’ 1983 pop hit.

I’m tempted, but I’m not going to. You really don’t want to hear me do that.

But nothing raises the temperature in a local congregation faster than any suggestion we change the music. Countless battles have been fought, and whole congregations have divided over that sort of thing.

That’s really a pity.

A Story

So there was a church. It had a lot of older people in it, but also a lot of younger people. The elder folks who ran the show looked around at what was going on in other congregations and saw how many churches were losing the younger generation. This worried them.

The signature problem always seemed to be music. Invariably, the younger people wanted to move to modern instrumentation and arrangements, and the older generation wasn’t comfortable with that.

The oldsters got together. “We have to do more for our young people, and find a way to make church real for them,” they decided, “but it’s going to be hard, because we’re going to lose our old, familiar hymns, and with them a lot of important doctrine.” So what to do?

They got the young folks together for a big meeting. “We care about you and want you to have what you need in order to become the next generation of committed Christians,” they said, “so we’re going to let you bring in the new instruments and some of the new music. All we’re asking is that you remember us and keep some of the old stuff we cherish so much.”

“Wow”, responded the young people. “Do you mean you care about us that much? We couldn’t possibly say no; but we’ll tell you what — why don’t we have both? We’ll add in a few new songs that you like, and we’ll make a place every week for some older hymns as well.”

And so the older people showed charity to the young people, and the young people showed charity back to their elders; and everybody continued in church together in peace and mutual respect.

True story. Not a fairy tale. It happened, and I can name the congregation. It just doesn’t always play out that way in every local church.

Of course, the point is not to have new music or old music: it’s to have the right music. But who knows what that is? After all, doesn’t everyone have different tastes in music?

Maybe. But the question is not one of taste, but rather of scripture. We need to care more about having the right kind of music than about having the music we prefer. That’s the Christian attitude.

Right Singing

Fortunately, the Bible does not leave us at sea on the question. In my last post, I listed two important features that the right Christian music for congregations always has: firstly, it is celebratory — it rejoices; and secondly, it does so in the truth — that is, it expresses good content with the good music.

“Rejoicing in the truth”: that’s the little phrase I suggested sums up the right focus. Singing is supposed to be an exercise of mind and intelligence. It’s a form of teaching. While its primary focus is on rejoicing, it is always about rejoicing in something particular — and hence it must be true to the word of God. But singing is also an exercise of the heart. It’s a form of thanksgiving and praise. Singing must also be pleasurable and delightful to our hearts. Sad singing is not usual in the biblical pattern. Singing is ordinarily intended to come from a thankful, rejoicing heart. Enjoying our music is not evil — it is intended by God.

And really, who could argue with that?

Songs Without Substance

Well, apparently some people could. Some people still think that one or another of these two features is actually dispensable.

Let’s start with those who value the sound of singing above the substance. Afterward, let’s think about those who prize the substance but forget the sound.

I’ve noted a common practice in some congregations of singing songs which are not directly wrong or heretical, but which are insubstantial in content. There is certainly a vogue in our day for “praise songs” which excite emotional enthusiasms but deliver little or no intelligent substance.

Now what people who promote such songs need to understand is that the hymns that we ask the congregation to sing must express some real truth about the Lord’s character or deeds, not merely excite our emotions by meaningless repetitions of “praise words”. To fail to recognize this is not merely wasteful, it is actually dangerous. What we must understand is that rejoicing is normally a product of something. We rejoice because something has happened.

I admit it is possible to generate excitement over nothing at all. But I would add that it is very hard to sustain enthusiasm that is not tied to any particular thought. Those who love enthusiasm for its own sake soon find themselves seeking new means for inducing excitement, and the tendency is to wander into false doctrines that may be rich in sentimental energy but are also deficient in truthfulness.

In the absence of sound-minded doctrine, enthusiasm will attach to well-intended but false ideas. For example, it is common for people to become drunk with enthusiasm over immoderate notions of the Lord’s humanity, and sentimentally attribute fallibility to him. Reinforced by emotional experience, these disastrous doctrinal notions become unassailably locked into the affections of the Lord’s people.

The weak and young of the church are particularly susceptible to this mistake. Sometimes the young love the doctrines that make them weep but ignore the doctrines that demand careful thought and emotional control. And the song leader who stokes enthusiasm without content leads the Lord’s people down a short road to error.

Bad move.

Words Without Passion

On the other hand, one of the mistakes of older congregations is to prefer hymns that might be fairly sound, but in which not much attention is given to the quality of the music. Their thinking seems to be that if the words are right the music does not matter.

But they’ve failed to grasp the celebratory contribution of good music. Indeed, why sing at all, if words alone matter? Why not simply read or chant? I think that the answer is that the Lord wants us to express our gratitude from the heart as well as from the head, and music has a wonderful power to consolidate the affections and to focus them on the Lord.

I would argue that because of this we should give very careful attention to the quality of the music. It should be so chosen and so performed as to enhance the words in every possible way. So, for example, a careless, quick tune can hide the solemnity of profound words — and in just the same way, a slow, miserable tune can rob joyful words of their joy. The lyrics must be enhanced by the music, not hidden or contradicted by it. Some words should be sung slowly, perhaps even without accompaniment. Others should be sung with verve and enthusiasm. It all depends on the words.

Form Follows Function

We need to remember that new songs are not all evil, nor are old songs all good. Good songs are those which teach the truth well. When the music and the lyrics are working for the same purpose, then singing is working the way it should.

Beautiful words should be beautifully sung — at least as far as our means allow. But music cannot be beautiful if the arrangement selected is too far beyond the abilities of the congregation.

Whatever music we choose should be functional for the people who will sing it. Some music is pretty but awkward in pitch, timing or sequencing. Hymns that are hard for a group of normal folks to sing should be reserved for personal singing, not inflicted on the congregation. The goal is for all to be able to sing with unity, conviction and passion.

In the End

Music rightly holds an important place in our gatherings. It is a divine gift for the unifying of the saints in the truth and for the outpouring of their gratitude to the Lord. It is fully deserving of our greatest care and our most enthusiastic participation.

It also has a unique ability to raise strong opinions. And having strong feelings is okay, so long as we remember Whose house we are, what we’re supposed to be doing in light of that, and who these other people around us are to him.

Yes, together we Christians are the Lord’s house. We’re his people, his bride, his beloved. And all that we do is to glorify him and edify our brothers and sisters, with whom we will spend eternity. Fortunately, the Lord has not left us without the principles to make our music what he wants it to be. So we really needn’t fight. We can just turn to scripture and see, and reconcile over that.

We don’t have to burn down the house.