When Music Hinders Worship

We are a music-driven generation. We have the ability to have music playing 24-7. We have ipods, podcasts, radios, i-tunes, and etc. In church we have praise teams. At conferences and retreats we have worship bands with lights and big speakers. God honoring music played with excellence is an awesome thing. But have you ever wondered if sometimes the music takes the spotlight when in reality it should actually be the spotlot pointing to something greater? Here are a few questions posted by Gilbert Greg on the 9Marks blog that every Christian should read and consider. Let us always strive to put Christ and his Word in the spotlight, and everything else in its proper place in relation to Him.

Questions to consider:

- Do you get bored when someone reads a longish passage of Scripture in your church? Do you start wishing they’d get on with the music?

- Do you need music playing in the background for the reading of Scripture to affect your emotions?

- Does a prayer seem too “plain” or “stark” to you if it doesn’t have music playing behind it?

- Do you feel depressed a few weeks after a worship conference because you haven’t felt close to God in a long time?

- Do you desperately look forward to the next conference you’re going to attend because you know that, finally, you’ll be able to feel close to God again?

- If you’re in a big church with great music, are you able to worship when you visit your parents’ small rural church?

- Do you ever feel worshipful in the middle of the week, at work, at school, etc. just because of thinking about God and his grace? Or does that only happen when the music’s playing?

- Do you tend to feel closer to God when you’re alone with your iPOD than you do when you’re gathered with God’s people in your church?

- Do you feel like you just can’t connect with other believers who haven’t had the same “worship experiences” that you have? Can you only connect with other believers who “know what it feels like to really worship?”

- Is your sense of spiritual well-being based more on feeling close to God, or knowing that you are close to God because of Jesus Christ?

Theological Tongue-Twisters

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the words "rap music?" The glory of God, the Reformation, the doctrine of Justification, propitiation, sanctification, the sovereignty of God? Probably not!! But if you listen to this new generation of Christian rappers those themes just might resonate in your head!

Even though Christian rap had in years past been a breeding-ground for horrible beats, cheesy rhymes, and even worse theology, there is a great movement of Christian rappers in the urban community who are ruthlessly committed to good, sound theology and doctrine such as justification by faith, biblically inerrancy and sufficiency, the sovereignty of God, and even regenerate church membership and restorative church discipline. The days of lyrics such as "poppin' caps into demons" has given way to song titles such "Justified" and "Lyrical Theology" These guy are pastors and theologians before they are rappers.

Here are a few you should check out:

1. Timothy Brindle. This guy is too good to be true. He basically rhymes systematic theology. He's a white dude that was gaining alot of popularity in the underground free-style rapping world. He was saved in 2001, and by the time 2004 came around, this guy was a theological powerhouse. Rock solid. And not only did He know his theology, but he was able to put it to a beat.





2. Shai linne - His best known album is "The Solus Christus Project" and he's got a new one coming out called "The Atonement."





3. Curtis Allen (aka "Voice") This guy is a pastoral intern at Covenant Life Church in Washington D.C. (where C.J. Mahaney and Joshua Harris serve) He grew up in the hip-hop community, and was radically saved when during a rough season of his life a Christian friend stuck by his side and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. This guy went from being a criminal, drug dealer, convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. And I just realized that one day when I visited Covenant Life Church, Curtis Allen actually performed some of his songs. This guy is hoping to plant his own church one day.



Read more about Voice: http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/06/i-hear-voice.html
Listen to some of his stuff at: www.ihearvoice.com


I praise God for anyone who seeks to spread good theology for the glory of God.

Matthew Smith and Indelible Grace

Hello again,

I wanted to introduce you to (or at least remind you of) yet another worship leader that you would do well to listen to. His name is Matthew West and he sings with the group Indelible Grace. We actually went to one of their worship sessions at North Wake Church last spring. They started off leading worship on college campuses and with campus ministries, and their ministry has really had an underground effect on many churches and how they view worship music, especially in the midst of the "contemporary" vs. "traditional" debates.
This is what is so great Indelible Grace - they take the beautiful, deep, rich, poetic, gospel-centered, God-glorifying hymns from the past century or so, and they simply re-arrange the music and play them in a way that a modern generation might identify with them. These songs aren't good simply because they are old; they are good because they are theologically rich and right. These songs are good simply because they are played with guitars and drums; they are good because they are not only theologically rich but they are also played well, in a way that would not distract the average worshipper.
Just in case you were wondering what "Indelible Grace" means:
"Indelible" = something that is permanent, or impossible to remove, erase, or wash away.
"Grace" = Is God's freely giving us his love, forgiveness, favor, and salvation though we do not deserve it.
"Indelible Grace" = That free gift of salvation which cannot be taken away from us!

I don't know about you, but that is a pretty great name. It really tells how great of a band they are.

Listen to what Indelible Grace has said concerning their ministry:

"We want to be a voice calling our generation back to something rich and solid and beyond the fluff and the trendy. We want to remind God's people that thinking and worship are not mutually exclusive, and that not everything worth knowing happened in the last three years. We want to invite the Church to appreciate her heritage without idolizing it. We want to open up a world of passion and truth and make it more that just an archaic curiosity for the religiously sentimental. We believe worship is formative, and that it does matter what we think. So, we hope this site will prove helpful in encouraging and nurturing a growing movement. We want to provide resources such as chord charts, CDs, and useful links. But we also want to share with you the stories behind the authors of the hymns, and in many cases the stories behind the writing of the hymns themselves, as well as theological reflections upon the hymns. We believe that this theological poetry is supremely suited for expressing the seeming paradoxes of the faith that drive us to worship. Our prayer is that Jesus would be made more beautiful and believable, and we have found few things better suited for this than hymns. "O Love incomprehensible, That made Thee bleed for me The Judge of all hath suffered death, To set His prisoner free!"

Check them out at www.igracemusic.com

You might recognize some of these songs . . .

"And Can It Be" -- I still love the original version, but this one is so good!
Originally written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788)


"Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go"
Originally written by George Matheson (1842-1906)

Music for the Ride . . .

Today I stumbled over a CD that I think I will be playing on my I-tunes for a good while. I've been kind of frustrated for the past few years because I haven't been able to find alot of music to listen to that I really love. For one, I haven't had the money to buy CD's and so I haven't bought any. But even the CD's that I have bought have seemed to leave me wanting. For example, alot of the Christian CD's that are out and that are popular never seem to be theologically deep (or even accurate), or centered around the gospel or Jesus. Alot of them seem to be kind of shallow and centered around Man and not God. And so continually listening to music that is shallow might really affect the way that I view things. It is true that what we listen to really can affect what we think and believe. But lately I have really wanted to buy some good music. I think I found a few good CD's.

1. Miles Davis & John Coltrane - Greatest Hits. This stuff is classic jazz. and its awesome. Don't snarl at it just yet - give it a chance. These dudes can really play their instruments. And each song is like 8 minutes long, because it tells a story. I love this CD.


2. Caleb Collins - Self Titled CD. This guy plays the piano like no other and has a string section behind him. His voice might be likened to Michael Buble'..