In our quest to refine “our utmost for his highest,” we still find ourselves wallowing in disagreement as to what constitutes music worthy of praise of an Almighty God. All too often, the discussions focus on our own preferences for a particular style of music, when in fact, our likes and dislikes should not serve as the differentiating factor for congregational participation because there are other more pressing worship concerns.
Here’s an example of a contemporary “worship” song I heard in church recently:
“Draw Me Close” (Words and Music by Kutless)
Draw me close to you; Never let me go
I lay it all down again; To hear you say that I’m your friend
Help me find a way to bring me back to you
[Chorus:]
You’re all I want, You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re all I want, Help me know you are near
You are my desire; No one else will do
Cause no one else; Can take your place
To feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help me find a way to bring me back to you
[Chorus:]
You’re all I want, You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re all I want, Help me know you are near
While the above lyrics read like a current pop-music pre-teen love song, they are actually from the Christian rock band, Kutless. This song is being performed by praise & worship bands in contemporary worship services around the country in both non-denominational and mainstream denominational churches. According to Wikipedia, Kutless chose their name because of a specific Bible verse. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NRSV). Because of this, the band says, “He took our cuts for us… leaving us ‘Kutless’.”
As seen in the above example, it is questionable how such music and lyrical content devoid of any explicit or implicit theology falls into the category of “worship music,” especially when Wikipedia places the band’s music in these genres: “Alternative rock,” “Christian rock,” “hard rock,” and “post-grunge.” Much of the controversy surrounding contemporary CWM focuses on the lyrical content, which often implicitly portrays Jesus Christ as some cool friend or boyfriend, or contains watered-down theological themes. Could it be by design, whereby such lyrical content devoid of an explicit Christian worldview can easily cross over into the pop music genre, where an even larger listening/buying market exists? After all, the primary motivation for CCM/CWM is one grounded in commercialism, and the recording industry and buying public do not want to hear overt Christian messages in their music.
Who is responsible for this pop-culture-sounding music finding its way into our Christian worship sanctuaries? There is plenty of it to go around—starting with an industry that packages pop-culture music with benign, pseudo-Christian lyrics, creating a marketing Trojan Horse that increasingly is welcomed into church sanctuaries—and ending with ourselves for swinging wide open the doors of our hallowed halls to usher in such a pop-oriented, post-modern cultural artifact.
Anyone purporting to hold a biblically Christian worldview must question the use of such music for congregational worship:
- How strongly does the music—and the lyrical content—promote a biblical, Christian worldview? Does it uplift the gospel?
- How strongly does the music avoid the influence of pop culture styles and the baggage associated with them? What is the “provenance” (origin) of the selection? Was it written primarily for use in the service of the Lord, or was the selection lifted off a music CD, where the primary motivation may have been a commercial bent?
- How strongly does the music selected complement the theme for the sermon, or the time of the Christian year? (Advent, Lent, Pentecost, etc.)
- Can the congregation fully participate in song? Are they familiar with the lyrical content and do they know the melody or are they struggling to follow along?
- How strongly do the music selections help bond the congregation together, to foster tradition within the church?
These are just a sample of the type of filters and portals that all practices should pass through before they are allowed into the hallowed halls of the sanctuary.
