To God Be The Glory?

 

Almost every church in the world includes music in their worship gatherings.  The style of music, of course, varies from church to church but, with few exceptions, music is a huge part of worship gatherings.  

I am not going to re-visit earlier conversations on music styles - you can simply read back through this blog and see previous comments.

That said, I do wish to pose the very basic question: WHY do we include music in our worship gatherings?  And what purpose does it serve?

A quick place to start is to simply refer to God's Word and see how music was described in Scripture.

In a very general sense, it seems there are only a few ways music is "used" in connection with anything Godly or "worship" minded.

We see examples in the Old Testament of the musicians (Levites) going out ahead of the armies entering into battle.  This is like a bold proclamation of, "Hey, watch out, our God is great and we will proclaim his mighty power by blasting trumpets and singing and shouting!"  It is both a warning and a battle cry; a call to recognize the power of God.  

Another way we see music used in worship gatherings are when, for example, in the early church, after the proclamation of God's word, after the miracles performed, after the sharing of each other's belongings with others, and more - these early Christians sang songs of praise (though it is not 100% clear that they sang - it could have been shouts and prayers, too.) 

And, of course, we see examples of people like David, alone, with his lute, singing (and composing) songs of praise to God.  Take a walk through Psalms if you have not done so in a while.  

Somewhere along the line, churches brought in organs and choirs to aid in their singing.  Hymnals were created to offer per-sitters the opportunity to sing-along.  All of this was great - but it causes me to wonder if, by doing this, we began to lose touch with the intimacy we enjoyed in previous eras? 

Then - in rushed the Jesus Movement which led to what we now call Contemporary Christian Music which, for the most part, is even further removed from an intimate connection with God and more connected to the performance of "God-themed" songs in front of spectators.  

Yes - there are churches where the intimacy is still strong.  But it seems that the modern way of approaching music in the church is to create something for the congregation (audience) to watch, rather than engage in for the purpose of encountering the presence of God.

So - I ask again - what is the PURPOSE of music in our worship gatherings?  

Is it to simply remind everyone that there is a God?

Is it to entertain?

Is it to create a space for intimate connection to God through the Holy Spirit?

Is it to give a platform for musicians who would probably not work in the "real world?"

Is it to show off our talents to the masses?

What is the purpose of music in our worship gatherings?

Ponder that.,,