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There is hardly a Biblical reference that doesn't leave us with the impression that they sure do a lot of worshipping in heaven!! And if worship is central where God dwells (and we want to be with Him forever), we had better get our act together while we are here.
Does your heart grieve when you hear Christians arguing about the music worship in their Churches whether for or against it? When that which is designed to help facilitate and express our unity is used and abused in such a way as to drive us apart? This seems especially to be a problem cross-generationally.
“IN DEFENCE OF THE “OLDIES!”
Question: Has the subject of music worship ever been a problem in your church? How did the problem manifest itself? Did your church ………
Put it in the too hard basket and hope the tensions would go away?
Deal with it in such a way that it ‘split’ the church so that even today there is still residual pain?
Treated the whole matter as being of no consequence?
Approached the situation in a caring, mature manner?
In the first of these worship studies (Session 1), I made mention of a recent experience when a group of Christians sitting around a meal table found themselves discussing music worship in their respective churches. Different perspectives emerged quite quickly……..about the same rate as the tension level in that room!!
But, as with just about every subject, issues are not the problem: attitudes are the problem. We have yet to learn this critical lesson. Listen to a summary of how the “former” generation looks now upon the current generation when it comes to music worship.
Those of the older generation said things like: "The younger generation has hijacked the music in our Church. They act as if it's their way or no way. They insist that the music is not too loud. They want to set the agenda with total disregard for those of us who also want to worship but struggle to do so when the volume is so invasive, many of the words are shallow and self-centred and we feel marginalized, as though the way we did this in the past was all wrong”.
One of the ladies voiced her concern when she rang her Home Group Leader and said,
They’re putting choruses in hymn books and projecting hymns onto the screen. It’s getting so that I can’t remember what I’m not supposed to like
Question: To your way of thinking, are there any aspects mentioned above in which the older generation is missing the point? Is any of their criticism justified?
IN DEFENCE OF THE “YUNGUNS”
Those of the younger generation said things like: The older generation doesn't realize that their music and worship styles are culturally irrelevant and they create a barrier when it comes to reaching our generation. They want to hang on to their outdated words and worship style. We are only trying to bring our church into the 21st century so that non-church people can relate to the words and music.
Question: To your way of thinking, are there any aspects in the above statement which you think the younger generation is missing? Is their criticism justified?
It seems to me that this tension is, above all else, a relational issue. When one party says the music is too loud and the other party responds by making it louder (or making sure that it is not turned down), that is a relationship problem, folks! There you have an example of poor communication (at best) and destructive stubbornness (at worst).
The real problem is one of attitude. What really needs to be addressed is not the issue of worship but the attitude we bring as we seek to address the issue. While the various parties treat the problem as an issue to be resolved, they will never get to the heart of the matter. Not issues but attitudes divide people. So it is with Christians, too.
When relationships are worked on and improved, then the issue can be addressed with an expectation that reconciliation is not far away. A right attitude sets the scene for good outcomes.
Let’s conclude this session by reading together what many would say is the chapter in the Bible that deals most directly with prevailing attitudes in the family of faith.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)
Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.
Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Are there any of these “love attitudes” that might apply to the issues related to music worship?
Underline the ones you think have particular application to the subject at hand.
