The Contemporary Christian Music Debate: Worldly Compromise or Agent of Renewal

I've been encouraged to see the warm (though occasionally heated!) reception to this book, both at home and abroad. It's been published in Dutch (currently in its second printing), Spanish, German, Romanian and Russian. It's also been used as a textbook.

Since its original publication in the early 1990's, much of relevance has transpired in both secular and Christian music. I could update the book with these changes in mind, but I believe that my arguments remain valid and can easily apply to similar issues facing today's church.

Changes in Church Music

From the 1970s to the late 1980s the controversy primarily surrounded Christian bands and performers who dared to wed their Christian lyrics to rock styles. Youth ministers often found themselves in trouble with pastors and church members who suspected that their youth ministers were corrupting their youth with the world's music.

While many still question the legitimacy of Christian bands using popular styles, today's debate rages around which styles churches should adopt for their congregational worship. Should your local church retain traditional worship, or adopt mainstream contemporary worship, or blend a hodgepodge of styles, or target niche groups with more specialized styles? Alternatively, should you offer several services, each using different styles?

I believe that the present book offers biblical ways to explore these options that are just as relevant today as 20 years ago. If you agree with my conclusions, I think you'll agree that most churches still don't get the underlying principles of choosing the most effective styles for creating authentic worship. Whether they're using old styles or new styles, most (in my view) still fail to understand the underlying principles that will keep them from being irrelevant 20 years from now. We largely use the styles that minister to us as leaders, rather than becoming all things to all men (I Corinthians 9) and diligently trying to identify the musical languages that both our members and potential members most naturally speak. Thus, the need to continually rethink our worship in the light of our changing culture and unchanging biblical principles.

Changes in Secular Music

Before the digital revolutions, you could pretty well guess the musical preferences of your congregation. Today, with satellite radio and web-based music stations, people develop preferences for niche styles such as Avant-Guard Metal, Ambient, Alternative Dance and Art Punk. And that's just a few of the many styles that begin with the letter A. This makes the work of youth pastors and senior pastors even more challenging. That song that puts me in touch with God may irritate my wife to no end. Although there are no easy solutions, a clearer understanding of music styles and how people interpret them can help.

Changes in Definitions

Defining rock. Around the year 2000, I recall listening to a song by Styx, one of the premier rock bands of the 1980's, with my teenage son. He commented that the song was OK, but he really preferred rock. That's when I realized that the meaning of rock had shifted. Many today see rock as exclusively referring to harder forms rock. In this book, you can typically substitute today's styles for the word rock.

Defining contemporary Christian music. Most disconcerting of all (since it's in my title), this phrase also shifted in meaning, so that many consider it to refer exclusively to a specific style of worship music. When I wrote the book, it encompassed the plethora of styles being used by Christian artists including mainstream rock, hard rock, country, rap, etc. So when you read the phrase, contemporary Christian music, substitute today's Christian music.

I hope that this book can continue to bring direction and harmony to ministries that struggle with their music, so that in the end we can encourage everything that has breath to praise the LORD!

Preface

For me it all began in 1974 when my Bible study teacher persuaded me to attend a Christian concert. Half expecting something resembling a church choir, I was overwhelmed by the excitement generated by a band that used a popular style to communicate spiritual truth.

I enjoyed the music, was drawn into worship with the sing-alongs, was motivated to make Jesus my first love, and took home the first of many contemporary Christian albums so that I could experience the same impact in the privacy of my home. In fact, the albums and tapes proved so beneficial to the renewing of my mind that Christian groups such as Love Song, Truth, and Maranatha soon replaced Led Zeppelin, the Stones, and other secular bands who cared nothing for my spiritual welfare.

Those were exciting days – serving the less fortunate, studying the Word, and seeing the lives of friends transformed by the power of the gospel. And the fruit remained – some friends landing on the mission field and many others faithfully serving local churches, even to this day.

Perhaps it was, in part, our youthfulness that later caused me to question the music that had become so central to the movement. Men of God under whom I sat, men who were older and by far wiser than I, dogmatically asserted that this new church music was a subtle form of compromise, a wolf in sheep's clothing designed by the enemy to infiltrate the church with the world. Now I was a sheep, but I had no intention of having the wool pulled over my eyes. As for compromise, I wanted nothing to do with it.

These men claimed that psychological studies had proven that contemporary styles weakened the physical body, promoted sensuality, and contained a beat used in primitive cultures for demonic worship. I was stunned. Could it be that they were right, and I had been deceived? I asked God for discernment, but my prayers yielded no inner caution from the Spirit. Yet I knew of others who had been sincere on issues, yet, biblically, they were sincerely wrong.

I decided that my only option was to prayerfully study both sides of the issue. But resources were scarce. Those that were available either failed to deal with major criticisms or fell short in their documentation. So, after exhausting the current literature, I moved on to primary research. I traced the history of our hymns, waded through every relevant psychological study I could find, and interviewed those who had utilized contemporary Christian music over the years.

The aim of my research was not to prove a point or set people straight. I just wanted to get at the facts and to follow wherever they led. Jesus was Lord over my music, and I determined that if I found Gregorian chant to be God's exclusive style of music, I would burn all else and acquire a taste.

In the early stages it was never my intention to write a book, but after my search drew to a close, my experiences in subsequent years of ministry proved that I was far from alone in my struggles over this issue. On every hand parents, educators, and church leaders were charting their courses in a land of few signposts and many contradictory maps. So to these fellow pilgrims I present the results of my labors in hopes that, even if you disagree with my conclusions, you will at least better understand the issues involved and be more fully equipped to chart your own course.

To reap the greatest benefit from the following pages, consider these suggestions.

First, strive for objectivity. Music and worship forms are emotionally charged issues that strongly resist rational analysis. Thus, discussions often generate more heat than light. If you find that your reasons for reading are more to stock your arsenal and beef up your position than to humbly seek God's face, please stop reading, close the book, and pray a simple prayer for objectivity and guidance. Here is a brief prayer that has expressed the desire of my heart as I have researched this book:

Dear Lord, You know that I come to this study with preconceived ideas, attitudes, and opinions. As sincerely as I hold my position, I shudder to realize that many sincere individuals have been sincerely wrong. Please grant me wisdom from on high and the ruthless objectivity that will allow me to drop my cherished beliefs should they conflict with your eternal truth.

Second, prepare yourself for a mental challenge. I take the objections raised by critics very seriously and believe that each one deserves a thoughtful response. This book seeks to bring order to the many issues involved, and the sources have been carefully documented. Part One examines objections that have been leveled at contemporary Christian music; Part Two searches the Scriptures for God's perspective on music and worship; Part Three views the present controversy from the fascinating, and often entertaining, perspective of the history of our hymns; Part Four moves from the defensive posture to an urgent plea for using contemporary Christian music.

I commend you for taking seriously one of the most compelling issues faced by today's church. My prayer is that this book will promote healing in a divided church and open doors for presenting Jesus clearly to a lost and dying world.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As I began this study, little did I know that I was embarking upon a journey. Sometimes the path led me through familiar territories. Often, though, I found myself in fields that were unfamiliar or even on paths that were apparently uncharted. At these points I dared not travel alone, so I sought out guides who felt quite at home in these unfamiliar areas. At yet other legs of the journey, I needed the input of friends and family. Truly, through presumption comes nothing but strife, but with those who receive counsel is wisdom (Prov. 13:10), and to these counselors I wish to express my gratitude.

To the professors and church leaders who offered their invaluable critiques: Dr. J. Robertson McQuilkin, chancellor of Columbia International University, for his theological insights; G. William Supplee, former professor of music and Dr. David C. Osterlund, chairman of the music department at C.I.U., for their insights on music and missions; Dr. Henry Virkler, professor of psychology and counseling at Liberty University, for his insights on psychology; Dr. Carl Wilson, for reading the history chapters and offering suggestions; Josh McDowell and Dr. Bill Jones, who encouraged me and lobbied for a more popular style; and Rev. Jim Burgess, for his pastoral perspective.

To all the family and friends who offered their insights and encouragement along the way: my mother, Ann Miller, who read through the manuscript at several stages, spotting typos, correcting grammar, and offering suggestions; my father, Joe Miller, for his wise counsel; my brothers, Philip and Richard, and their wives, Marilyn and Angela; Laurene's parents, Howard and Annie Laura; Betty Sue and Fornadia Cook; Bryan McIntosh, Jeff Stark, Jamie Hammock, Michael Bentley, and Erin Butterworth, for research assistance on a couple of occasions; and Harold Baker, John Joyce, Ken Walker, Tim Gunter, Delana Duckworth, Jeri Bruner, Rhoda Barge, and David and Judy Hadden, for reading and offering suggestions.

To my fellow ministers, pastor Bill Priester and minister of music Scott Davis, for their wonderful spirit as we have dealt with these issues in day to day ministry.

To all my new friends at Tyndale House, who have made the publishing process a joy.

Chapter 1

THE CHRISTIAN MUSIC CONTROVERSY

After years of research, I have reached this conclusion: Contemporary Christian music is a medium whose day has come for families, churches, evangelists, and, to an increasingly greater extent, foreign missionaries. Yet the hesitancy of the church to release the full potential of this tool demonstrates that many unanswered questions still plague the minds of believers. In addition, a heated debate continues to rage among Christian leaders.

Hailed by some as a fresh moving of the Holy Spirit, maligned by others as blatant compromise with the world, contemporary Christian music has become one of the most controversial issues facing the church at the close of the twentieth century.

The widespread use and apparent impact of this medium demands that the early opponents – who scoffed at Jesus Music in the late sixties and early seventies, brushing it off as a passing fad should take a second look at music that has become a major vehicle of both evangelism and discipleship. Christian bookstores carry a full line of recordings, from children's tapes with a contemporary beat to the Christian rock of Petra and DeGarmo and Key and the mellow soft rock of Sandi Patti. Christian radio carries the music into autos and homes. Accompaniment tapes and youth musicals take this music from individual use into the church.

Many rapidly growing churches incorporate contemporary choruses and music specials with a pop sound as the main course for their worship.(1) Church growth experts are taking note of the connection between styles of worship and church growth. James Emery White, leadership consultant for preaching and worship within the Southern Baptist Convention, observes that perhaps one of the most clearly observed marks of many fast-growing churches is their shift away from traditional hymnody toward contemporary music.(2) Award-winning journalist Russell Chandler observes that these new styles of worship are making an indelible imprint upon the way many churches integrate music and worship.(3)

Considered radical in its early years, contemporary Christian music has since been embraced by many respected Christian leaders and has recorded some remarkable accomplishments. Chuck Smith, innovative pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, reaped the fruit of the Jesus Movement and reported five thousand people were saved in one year through his church's concert ministry.(4) Josh McDowell, who through his books and extensive speaking has become one of America's premier defenders of the Christian faith, has teamed up with a contemporary Christian rock group, Petra (transliteration of the Greek word for rock), to pack out auditoriums all over the United States. There they challenge teenagers to receive the timeless message of the gospel and radically follow Jesus. Billy Graham has allowed such Christian pop singers as Kenny Marks and Cliff Richard to share his crusade platform.

This movement shows no signs of abating. Chandler predicts that the trend toward using contemporary forms in the local church's worship will play fortissimo beyond 2001, especially as new songbooks, lyrics, and Christian artists gain attention.(5)

Still, though this trend is the greatest revolution in the modern church, according to church growth specialist Elmer Towns, it "is also the source of the greatest controversy.(6) Opponents amass evidence to show that what, on the surface, appears to be a useful, even God-sent tool is actually a thinly veiled device of the Enemy. They maintain that the church's embrace of this tool merely demonstrates the appeal of the world to the flesh and the lack of discernment by the church at large. Opponents insist that the fruit being produced through this medium will not last and, at best, will have a worm in it.

In fact, the compromise is considered so serious and widespread that one author concludes: "I view this integration of rock music and the worship of God as clear evidence that the church has entered the final Laodicean age of apostasy.(7) This strong contention exemplifies the intense feelings on both sides of the controversy. The lines have been drawn, but the answer still is not clear. Is this music of the devil or of God, bane or blessing, worldly or godly?

The contentions are many and varied, and proceed not only from the vantage point of theology but also from the domains of church history, psychology, scientific studies, music theory, aesthetics, anthropology, and missionary strategy. The missionary strategist must determine whether accommodation to the musical tastes of other cultures is biblical compromise or simply wise mission strategy. The college president or trustee must decide whether or not to offer training in contemporary worship forms. Church staff members must give direction to congregations that are often divided over musical tastes and convictions. Parents must decide whether or not Christian rock is a viable alternative to secular rock for their children.

Perhaps because of the cross-disciplinary nature of the