Christians Rock Too!

Jesus may be different things to different people, often depending on your culture and background. If you are partial to Rock, you may believe Jesus rocks or rather can rock; however, if you love the Classics, you may be inclined to believe Jesus loves orchestras, and so forth!  Listing to Johnny Cash, I believe Jesus may speak Country! Many of the classical composers were devout Christians and I can say personally, that God has given me a great degree of appreciation for the Classics, now that I have His Spirit.  I sense the Holy Spirit especially when I hear the organ music of J. S. Bach, written as a prelude to worship services.  Haven't you ever heard the oratorio, Handel's Messiah and recognize the glory of heavenly choruses singing the "Hallelujah" in harmony? He claims to have seen a vision of God while composing it.  In my opinion, heavenly music is beautiful and doesn't have to carry a beat.  Is Jesus in a choir? Truly, Jesus is different strokes for different folks.  There is no one-size-fits-all type of worship or musical genre that pleases believers or God.

It is dangerous to put God in a box and claim that Jesus exclusively endorses a certain genre of music--some may rightly claim that Jesus has a soul, or that Jesus raps, too.  God is out to reach as many people as possible and can use any medium He chooses, but that doesn't mean we have to like any medium against our nature or culture. If you liked Rock & Roll, you are bound to feel an affinity to "Christian Rock."  What we need to do is find the genre we can relate to and not think that we have cornered the market on Christian music with it--as they say:  "To each his own." I do not see the heavenly choruses of angels rock and roll myself, but that's my opinion.  It seems that heavenly music is of a different dimension!

It is a dangerous doctrine to interpret an enthusiastic gathering as meaning that God endorses it in any special way, or that "Jesus is there!"  Christ wants us to learn to walk with Him wherever we go and to find Him in all our situations, not just at a concert.  According to Scripture, whenever two or three are gathered in His name, Christ is present.  He warned against saying, "Christ is here," or "Christ is there," to mean a blessing or sanction on the music genre or a special presence.  We believe Christ is present in a special way at the Lord's Supper--not at concerts (you shouldn't feel that you have to go someplace to be filled with the Spirit, as it is written of David, who "strengthened himself in the LORD his God), because concerts often feed on emotions and not truth.

I take issue at some of their lyrics; however, music often rules and you can get people to believe almost anything by putting it to a tune. Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, according to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Today's phenomenon is that the musicians seem to be dictating the doctrines of the church.  Truth still matters!

If you are not musical, meaning, by definition, you cannot carry a tune, sing in key, or even sense rhythm, then how can you agree that Jesus fits into your box or you know what music He favors or blesses?   Are we at the mercy of the musicians to decide for us or can we find our own way that God speaks to our souls? Before the dawn of Rock & Roll, was Jesus musical, or was He silent?  Has God changed?  I decry the way the Christian music scene today has become so dominated with professionalism and musicians out to hold concerts, charging for admission--you shouldn't have to pay to worship God! Have we witnessed the professionalization of worship?

And so, one must say that "his Jesus" (Jesus as he knows, relates, and sees) rocks, but others may take issue and posit that "their Jesus" has the preference for soul, raps, or personifies the ageless appeal of the classics. When you say, "Jesus rocks," you should make it clear what you are saying, because those are loaded terms, easily misconstrued.   There is no such thing as "Christian music" because God transcends our limits and cannot be defined musically (i.e., put in a box), who invented it:  it is not the music that is non-Christian, but the lyrics in many cases.

Case in point:  I get goosebumps every time I hear the "Star-spangled Banner," or "God Bless America." Does this mean that Christ is a patriotic American?  There is so much unnecessary confusion in the church due to not saying what we mean, and leaving it open to private interpretation. Just because drums and guitars are used, doesn't define it as Rock; but merely contemporary--we should never limit ourselves, nor God!  Soli Deo Gloria!

I Write The Songs...

"Beautiful words stir my heart.  I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet" (Psalm 45:1, NLT).   "You are always on their lips but far from their hearts (Jer. 12:2, NIV).  "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." (Psalm 29:2, NIV).  "To sing is to pray twice."  --Augustine

Barry Manilow was known in the '70s for his song that assumed the personification of music.  "I wrote the very first song.  I write the songs that make the whole world sing,  [I am music]..."    Music is symbolic language (NB:  musical instruments are symbols too and music isn't mentioned until Gen. 4:21) and those who speak the language know that it can be interpreted in many lights too, it can soothe the savage beast and lift the spirits, as well as arouse to patriotism and warfare readiness.  They used to march into battle at the sound of a trumpet or horn's ram.

Music is essentially worship in essence and we all have this inclination to express this because our God is musical and invented it.  As man is the religious creature he is--hard-wired for worship, he will worship someone or something (even himself), if not God, to fill this gap and need of ours. Hero worship and celebrity enchantment or fascination are two examples prevalent today.

The Scripture, especially the psalms, exhort us to "sing unto the LORD," but not everyone has musical ability to carry a tune or sing in key and some may feel embarrassed at their voice handicap.  That's all right, because not every believer is called to be the voice of God or to bring Him praise in the same way.  We all must find our niche by virtue of exercising our gifting and make ourselves useful in God's service as unto the Lord (we must try out to test our gifting).

One thing I want to point out about interpreting the psalms is that poetry is another type of genre than teaching or didactive type found in the epistles.  And the principle is to interpret metaphoric poetry in light of didactive portions, not vice versa.  Don't try to base your doctrine solely on a poetic phrase.  When the psalm says to sing unto the Lord, it may mean in a symbolic or spiritual sense--singing in the Spirit and with one's spirit--which is much better than going through the motions and memorizing the song and dance routine of the pious!  After all, if the mountains can break forth into song and the seas can roar, we know it's metaphoric and not necessarily to be taken literally  The hermeneutic principle is that we take the Bible as literally true, but not everything is literal!

Everything we do is to be as unto the Lord and in His name; for instance, the writing of a hymn requires the filling and anointing ministry of the Spirit.  In that case when someone pens a song unto the Lord, he is the hand of Jesus that is worshiping God and not being inhibited.  In a sense, writing is a form of singing in the Spirit, just like playing an instrument is, and whistling and humming are, and one's spirit is singing aloud the praises of God realizing fulfillment in song.  That's why we believe in the freedom of expression.  A song is incomplete until sung!  A poem is incomplete until read.   That's what brings life to them and satisfaction and fulfillment.  The Jews used to believe that they had to read aloud to bring life to what they were reading.  We don't want our thoughts to remain that--just something in our head as head belief!

We must be careful not to judge another's worship or expression of it by whether he's audibly singing or voicing aloud his worship publicly. There are those who are inhibited and refrain from verbalizing their praise, but often to their regret:  One dying man said, "If I had the strength, I'd shout praise to God!" The reply by the chaplain, "It's too bad you didn't praise God when you had the strength!"  God doesn't look at the outward appearance, but the condition of the heart--He alone is in a position to judge and we don't have enough info to do it; for instance, it says to sing a new song, and they may not like the song it's not new to them and they would be just giving mere lip service hypocritically. Some are very discretionary as to what they will sing, and agree with.  But it's better to be silent than to pretend worship or do it without a heart after God or being after God's own heart.  

Corporate worship is complicated and involves input from instruments, writers, worship leaders, and even choruses--it's not a performance, but service and ministry of the Spirit.  Worship is done throughout the service (offering, the preaching, sharing, fellowship, gift usage) and when people know their niche, are edified, and feel part of the fellowship, they are worshiping in spirit and in truth. Singing unto the Lord is not just vocalization, but also instrumentalism and instrumentation, silent reverence and awe, and finally, even singing in one's spirit.

We don't need a list of dos and don'ts, for our faith is not a to-do list, because God wants us to want to sing unto the Lord, and not do it from compulsion. He wants it to be a natural response.  He seeks joyful and glad adoration from the heart; it's paramount that we be ourselves and act without hypocrisy--how you act alone might be indicative of your real identity.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Christians Rock, Too!

Jesus may be different things to different people, often depending on your culture and background. If you are partial to Rock, you may believe Jesus rocks or rather can rock; however, if you love the Classics, you may be inclined to believe Jesus loves orchestras, and so forth!  Listing to Johnny Cash, I believe Jesus may speak Country! Many of the classical composers were devout Christians and I can say personally, that God has given me a great degree of appreciation for the Classics, now that I have His Spirit.

I sense the Holy Spirit especially when I hear the organ music of J. S. Bach, written as a prelude to worship services.  Haven't you ever heard Handel's Messiah and recognize the glory of heavenly choruses singing the "Hallelujah" in harmony? He claims to have seen a vision of God while composing it.  In my opinion, heavenly music is beautiful and doesn't have to carry a beat.  Is Jesus in a choir? Truly, Jesus is different strokes for different folks.  There is no one-size-fits-all type of worship or musical genre that pleases believers or God.

It is dangerous to put God in a box and claim that Jesus exclusively endorses a certain genre of music--some may rightly claim that Jesus has a soul, or that Jesus raps, too.  God is out to reach as many people as possible and can use any medium He chooses, but that doesn't mean we have to like any medium against our nature or culture. If you liked Rock & Roll, you are bound to feel an affinity to "Christian Rock."  What we need to do is find the genre we can relate to and not think that we have cornered the market on Christian music with it--as they say:  "To each his own." I do not see the heavenly choruses of angels rock and roll myself, but that's my opinion.  It seems that heavenly music is of a different dimension!

It is a dangerous doctrine to interpret an enthusiastic gathering as meaning that God endorses it in any special way, or that "Jesus is there!"  Christ wants us to learn to walk with Him wherever we go and to find Him in all our situations, not just at a concert.  According to Scripture, whenever two or three are gathered in His name, Christ is present.  He warned against saying, "Christ is here," or "Christ is there," to mean a blessing or sanction on the music genre or a special presence.  We believe Christ is present in a special way at the Lord's Supper--not at concerts (you shouldn't feel that you have to go someplace to be filled with the Spirit, as it is written of David, who "strengthened himself in the LORD his God), because concerts often feed on emotions and not truth.

I take issue at some of their lyrics; however, music often rules and you can get people to believe almost anything by putting it to a tune. Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, according to Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Today's phenomenon is that the musicians seem to be dictating the doctrines of the church.  Truth still matters!

If you are not musical, meaning, by definition, you cannot carry a tune, sing in key, or even sense rhythm, then how can you agree that Jesus fits into your box or you know what music He favors or blesses?   Are we at the mercy of the musicians to decide for us or can we find our own way that God speaks to our souls? Before the dawn of Rock & Roll, was Jesus musical, or was He silent?  Has God changed?  I decry the way the Christian music scene today has become so dominated with professionalism and musicians out to hold concerts, charging for admission--you shouldn't have to pay to worship God! Have we witnessed the professionalization of worship?

And so, one must say that "his Jesus" (Jesus as he knows, relates, and sees) rocks, but others may take issue and posit that "their Jesus" has the preference for soul, raps, or personifies the ageless appeal of the classics. When you say, "Jesus rocks," you should make it clear what you are saying, because those are loaded terms, easily misconstrued.   There is no such thing as "Christian music" because God transcends our limits and cannot be defined musically (i.e., put in a box), who invented it:  it is not the music that is non-Christian, but the lyrics in many cases.

Case in point:  I get goosebumps every time I hear the "Star-spangled Banner," or "God Bless America." Does this mean that Christ is a patriotic American?  There is so much unnecessary confusion in the church due to not saying what we mean, and leaving it open to private interpretation. Just because drums and guitars are used, doesn't define it as Rock; but merely contemporary--we should never limit ourselves, nor God! I am reminded that Little Richard became an ordained minister!    Soli Deo Gloria!

I Am Music

"Music can name the unnameable, and communicate the unknowable." --Leonard Bernstein

This song by Barry Manilow from another generation tells how much we owe to music. God actually "wrote the very first song," not Manilow's composer.   The Bible doesn't mention the usage of music until the days of Jubal, "the father of all those who play the lyre and the pipe" (Gen. 4:20, ESV). Music predated man because Job mentions in Job 38:7, "[W]hen the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"  There obviously have always been heavenly choruses, just like the one that greeted the shepherds at Christ's birth. The Greeks of antiquity studied music under the aegis of the Pythagoreans, who "held music in high regard" and was "therapeutic for the soul." The modern scales owe their development to them and their studies.  They thought music "soothes the savage beast."  Everything to them was ratios, proportions, harmony, and mathematical relations.

Actually, all music is of God, it's the lyrics that may be corrupt or inappropriate.  That means every genre!  I don't appreciate Country, but that doesn't make it bad music.  I do not judge people who do, they just relate to it and I don't.  Some people take to Soul, Rhythm, and Blues, or Rock and Roll because of their culture, DNA makeup, or the people they hang out with.  No music is of the devil or evil per se--only lyrics and a love song are of "good report" no matter what genre it's in. Music can be used by the devil for evil purposes like stirring up evil passion or lust, but it depends more on the lyrics than the musical genre.  As I mature in Christ, I become more fond of classical music because I just love music per se, and don't care to get too overstimulated by Rock anymore.

As far as church music goes, it is advantageous to have an understanding that it must be biblically sound and not just have a catchy tune. We tend to remember them, but they may not be uplifting, edifying, and/or doctrinally sound.  I think it is vital to the health of the church to respect all manner of holy music as Col. 3:16 says (songs, hymns, and spiritual songs), and not get uptight over who it appeals to--we must all cater to each other and not monopolize the music scene with our favorites, but let all the people feel included and part of the celebration and worship service on the Lord's Day.

There are some hymns that I just love and will never forget, and remember singing them to a pipe organ or in a choir and they bring back sentimental feelings; however, worship is more than sentiment!  The passages must delineate the truth and proclaim praise to God: "Blessed are the people who hear the joyful sound (Ps. 89:15)."  The Psalms say, "Shout to God with a voice of triumph! (Ps. 47:1)."  I have been in churches where they really make use of clapping to keep the beat and this is an effective tool (however, it's just a tool or gesture to aid in worship).

The most important thing is that our hearts be right before the Lord and we are not just giving lip service and worship from a pure heart.  Sometimes people just memorize the Dance of the Pious (cf. Matt. 15:8) or go through the motions because they've done it umpteen times:  As Isa. 29:13, ESV says, "And the Lord said:  'Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men....'"  Again it is written, Jer. 12:2 (NIV) says, "You are always on their lips but far from their hearts." Religion that only goes lip-deep is not up to par nor spiritual--"He that worships God must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

The Puritans were very legalistic and published the first book in America known as the Bay Psalm Book to be used as their hymnal.  They didn't believe in singing anything that wasn't in the Bible! Some churches actually rule out forms of accompaniment such as instruments and singing a cappella. Today most churches that are "with-it" have drums, acoustic and/or electric guitar, and bass with a possible piano or organ to boot.  Worship leaders are the fad and some believers are especially gifted at getting the Spirit going and livening the church up.  This is not just a passing fad or phenomenon, but the future of worship, and if you are only into singing the old standby hymns, there is a church for you that is that conservative, but most evangelical churches today get inspired by the music industry and their members like to sing the popular songs they hear on the radio or at concerts.

Music is a powerful conductor and medium of worship and an actual vehicle that helps make God's Word come alive in us--we can remember things better when set to music, for number one.   Personally, I used to be addicted to religious radio stations because I thought that was the spiritual thing to do; however, now God has just given me a love and appreciation for music in general and instead of worshiping vicariously by listening, I can study and read the Bible to classical music that seems to fit the mood and relax me.

There is a time and there is a place for all genres of music. Johann Sebastian Bach wasn't the only profoundly spiritual and religious man who was very prolific musically in the classical genre:  Felix Mendelsohn, a Jew,  became a devout Lutheran like Bach.  I believe God has given me this spiritual awakening to have a taste for the classics.  Some would swear that Jesus speaks "Country."  After Whitney Houston passed, I realized her gift of music and no one could sing "Jesus Loves Me" quite like her, yet she was largely known as a pop star.  Amy Grant was the first gospel crossover star to make it big in the pop genre. Elvis, the so-called "King," actually started his career with Gospel and had a Christmas album.

In sum, it is paramount that all worship music be biblical, regardless of genre, while all other music (and we must not be so sanctimonious or pseudo-pious, legalistic, or holier-than-thou (cf. Isa. 65:5) that we can't even listen to it at all) must just be good music and uplifting to one's soul per Philippians 4:8, (ESV), says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things [even if secular and what I mean is that some people limit God to spiritual things]."  Soli Deo Gloria!