Linking: The Imminent Decline of Contemporary Worship Music

I have no interest in the ongoing evangelical "worship wars." However, the older I get the more I prefer the great hymns of the faith to modern praise and worship choruses. While the hymns generally have both beautiful tunes and theological depth, the choruses seem designed to whip the audience into some sort of warm fuzzy through repetition. This difference does not always hold true; I'm speaking in generalities. Churches ought to sing a variety of songs of differing styles, all with sound theology.

The church would do well to reconsider its current love affair with praise and worship choruses. Frankly, it may just be the latest fad. Twenty years from now most of today's popular choruses will be long forgotten.

About a year ago T. David Gordon wrote an interesting piece entitled The Imminent Decline of Contemporary Worship Music: Eight Reasons. Gordon offers some solid insights into why modern worship music is already fading. While I don't agree with some of his views on church life, I do believe this article is worth reading.

Speaking of music, a few years ago I wrote a post named (not too creatively) My Top Ten Favorite Hymns. While I do not know whether or not all the links still function correctly, the hymns I've listed remain my favorites.

One More Time

Please indulge me for once again posting this clip of my favorite hymn. The video is nothing special, but the audio is wonderful. Thank you Charles Wesley for penning this so many years ago. I love it!

I Love This Hymn!

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty is one of my favorite hymns. It takes a little while to get going, but it is wonderful. My wife Alice and I like it so much that we had everyone sing it at our wedding. What a powerful piece of music this is!

I Absolutely Love This Hymn!

What About Musical Instruments?

A few days ago I wrote a post entitled Hymns and Simple Church: Not a Simple Fit. Scott left an interesting comment to that post, asking, "I was curious do you know of any NT passages that prescribe or describe instruments being used to accompany singing in Christian worship gatherings?"

It's a great question because it's one that most of us never think about. We automatically assume that the use of musical instruments in church gatherings is fine. I grew up going to worship services that had beautiful organ music. Questioning that never came to mind.

Let's ask the question. What about musical instruments?

When we look at NT church gatherings we see singing. The most well-known passage describing this is Ephesians 5:18-20. Paul writes, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

What about instrumental accompaniment? We don't see it anywhere in the NT that I know of (please correct me if I'm wrong on this one.)

What about the Old Testament? Interestingly, we find plenty of examples of musical instruments when we look there. The book of Psalms in particular is full of references to the use of instruments. For example, the final Psalm (150) says, "Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"

This is an interesting situation. We see instruments in the OT but not the NT.

Let's ask a related question. What is the purpose of the church gathering? The NT's answer is clear: body edification. In light of that, we should ask whether or not musical instruments help or hinder edification. There is no easy answer to this question. On the one hand, many Christians truly enjoy listening to instruments as part of the gathering. However, these same instruments can be loud and dominating. They also have a tendency to create passivity on the part of the people. The active gathering can slip into a passive show of sorts. When church families sing with no musical accompaniment, more people tend to actually sing. Also, more folks feel free to bring songs to sing because no one has to know how to play the music that goes along with them.

What then is a good answer to all this?

It seems that musical instruments could be used some of the time when the church sings together. However, the biblical evidence suggests that this should be the exception rather than the rule. For example, during a gathering the body might sing four songs. Maybe one of those could be accompanied by an instrument. If a musically gifted person desired to share that gift, he or she could always sing a solo along with playing. The key is that the instrument(s) not take over the gathering.

Of course, there are all types of church gatherings. Some may be much more appropriate for instrumental usage than others. In the end, we should be careful to avoid the usual default of using instruments all the time in gatherings without even asking whether or not it is beneficial.

It's a question worth asking.

What do you think?

Hymns and Simple Church: Not a Simple Fit

In light of how wonderful hymns can be, how do they fit in the simple church? The answer is that it is not simple.

Because of their nature, hymns fit well with a piano and/or organ. The reality is that most folks don't have an organ in their home. Some do have pianos. As in all church families, the music playing is limited to those who have the skill to play the instruments. If someone can play the piano, this makes hymn singing much easier.

Small groups of Christians have, by definition, a limited pool of musical resources upon which to draw. It may be that no one has any musical skill (for example, me).

Of course, no instruments are required for singing any song of any type. Therefore, the possibility of hymn singing should not be discounted out of hand in simple churches. It can be done a cappella.

My encouragement to all churches, simple or not, is to strive for a variety of song types. This responsibility falls on all the people. One person should not be asked/expected to play all the music and select all the songs at every gathering. Frankly, it's not fair to that person to ask them to do that much.

Hymns often require teaching before singing. They are not generally as easy to sing as are most modern choruses. At first, it may seem like work and feel plodding. However, the reward is great.

If you have grown up in relatively large churches, you may have certain expectations as far as hymn singing is concerned. The performance-aspect of singing hymns in the home may at first seem lacking. However, the community side of hymn singing, at least in my opinion, more than makes up for this. I love to watch people's faces up close when they sing deep theology. I take joy in viewing others take joy in Christ in song.

Hymns require some effort. Regardless of how you gather, the effort will be worth it. Select good hymns, sing them repeatedly until they feel natural, and enjoy.

Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: A Great Variety

"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart." Ephesians 5:18-19

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16


I love the fact that God provides us with a variety of songs to sing His praises. He did not command us, "You shall sing the psalms and the psalms alone!" God never said, "Those hymns have deep theology. Sing only those and no others." He also did not demand, "I like those modern, hip choruses. That's all I want to hear."

God cares for what is in the hearts of His people. That's why He's provided us with a wide-range of acceptable music. If He limited us to one narrow form, it would be very easy for us to slip into an outward, works-based form of singing. Instead, God enjoys all sorts of singing from all cultures around the world.

The bible verses above show us that God has provided us with a variety of song types. He seems to desire this variety. After all, He created it. If we could travel the globe we would see Christians singing all sorts of praises to the King. While the words we use must be orthodox in nature, the music seems to be able to take on just about any form.

It is fascinating and sad that some churches continue to fight the so-called "worship wars." These wars are based on selfish preferences as opposed to anything in scripture. God likes variety; why wouldn't we embrace this as well?

Hymns: A Gift from God to His People

What a wonderful gift from God that we can sing. God did not have to make it this way. Singing did not have to be part of His creation at all. However, God is a God of beauty. I believe He created music because it reflects His infinite splendor and majesty. It provides insignificant us with a means (among others) to voice His praises.

Hymns are by no means the only type of songs. Like you - I'm guessing - I enjoy a variety. What I enjoy best about hymns in particular is the deep theology. The wording of the best hymns is simply wonderful. Most of the hymns on my top ten list are stunning in their depth and grandeur.

Hymns connect us with church history since so many of the best ones were written over 100 years ago. I admit to having a sort of "love-hate" relationship with church history. However, my relationship with the great hymns is simply love. They stir my soul like no other form of music. They often voice what I'm feeling but cannot adequately put into words.

As for the music itself, some hymns are great, some are adequate, and others are stinkers. I suppose this is true of any type of music. It is the great ones that contain both deep theology and wonderful music. I'm saddened that so much of the church in this country is abandoning hymns. Many folks my age and younger have little to no knowledge of hymns. I'd like to see all churches embrace both high quality hymns and high quality modern choruses. My opinion is that churches miss out when their music is lop-sided in any one direction (including those that sing only hymns).

When we look in scripture, we see singing throughout. God has implanted in His people a desire to praise Him in song. He has provided us with gifted song writers to help with this. Amazingly, God enjoys listening to His church sing. His gift brings joy to us and praise to Him. I thank Him for it.

My Top Ten Favorite Hymns

Yesterday I briefly posted about one of my favorite hymns. That got me thinking about other hymns that I love. After a moderate amount of time and effort, I've come up with a top ten list of my favorites. Each is in link form to a youtube video of it being sung.

Here's the list, from tenth to first:


10. Amazing Grace

9. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

8. Crown Him With Many Crowns

7. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

6. It is Well With My Soul

5. For All the Saints

4. There is a Fountain

3. A Mighty Fortress is Our God

2. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

1. And Can it Be?


I suppose it is appropriate in some way that my favorite hymn, And Can it Be?, was written by Charles Wesley. I was raised in the Wesleyan denomination and frequently attended church services in a college chapel named after John and Charles Wesley. Even through I now reject the Arminian bent of Wesleyan theology, I am thankful for the Wesleys' work for the Kingdom.

What do you think? What are your favorite hymns?