29 March, 2024

More Than Music

Features

by | 14 September, 2008 | 0 comments

By Danielle Frankland

For many churches worship has become largely about what happens on Sunday, and specifically about music. We may not want to admit it, but the amount of time, attention, and resources given to the musical portions of our gatherings suggest this.

Furthermore, our language betrays us. When we are “led in worship,” we generally sing.

The Bible, however, in no way equates worship with music. There is very little singing mentioned in the Old Testament until the time of David. Because music was important in ancient cultures, Israelite gatherings probably included it, but they were centered on remembering God”s great act of redeeming his children from slavery. For the nation of Israel, the covenantal relationship between God and his people was at the heart of worship, manifested in sacrifice, offering, and obedience.

This absence of references to music in the early years of Israel”s history does not mean music is not important to God. He commanded that David use music in the ministry of the temple. These musical offerings were designed to support the sacrificial system””they were a means of offering praise and thanksgiving to the God who had rescued his people from Egypt and who continued to provide a means for forgiveness. Temple musicians were also given the task of prophesying, suggesting that music could be used as a way to express a word from the Lord.

Psalms, the “hymnbook” of the Bible, certainly makes a case for the use of music in worship. These beautiful works of poetry were, and continue to be, vehicles for various acts of worship such as thanksgiving, praise, confession, lament, and a myriad of other responses to Almighty God.

The use of music by early Christians is also somewhat obscure. We can deduce because of their Jewish background that singing continued to be a part of their praise and gratitude. Paul reinforces the appropriateness of singing to the churches at both Ephesus and Colossae (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16) and reminds the Corinthians to sing with both mind and spirit (1 Corinthians 14:15).

Paul and Silas sang in prison, an unconventional worship gathering that resulted in several conversions (Acts 16:25-34). (Of course, the earthquake likely had more of an impact on unbelievers than the singing!)

The gatherings of believers recorded in Acts are never called “worship,” but give us a description of the activities of the early church. What they “devoted themselves to” was teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer (Acts 2:42).

They probably sang as part of these actions out of the overflow of their hearts. They may have sung their prayers, which was a Jewish custom. Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn following the last supper, which was customary at the Passover (Mark 14:26). Music, while not removed from the gatherings of the early church, was not at their core.

It is worth mentioning that our practices today have evolved from centuries of tension between the church and culture. Some early church fathers, for example, suggested doing away with music altogether because of its association with pagan practices. Liturgies that developed in the first several centuries of the church were filled with sung and recited Scripture and prayer. Martin Luther insisted that music was a gift from God, and that it should be accessible and understandable by all worshipers.

Every generation has produced its particular kind of song for its particular place in time. Musical style will never remain static. Therefore, its use must be monitored by its fidelity to biblical teaching.

Scripture teaches that music is important to God, but that it is only an instrument through which we express our praise, gratitude, and allegiance. There are dozens of other equally valid means of expressing worship. How then, are we to develop a holistic purpose for the use of music in the Sunday gathering?

WORSHIP EXPERIENCED

First, we can reclaim the scriptural totality of worship.

The prophets took exception to worship practices that were devoid of sincerity, pointing to obedience and acts of mercy as true worship. The keeping of festivals, the offering of sacrifices, and even prayer could be rendered unacceptable to God if not offered with a pure heart (see Isaiah 1:10-17, for example).

What matters most to God are not the particular songs we sing, or offerings we bring, but the state of our hearts. Paul speaks of joy and thanksgiving, enabled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as hallmarks of the Christian life. He tells the church in Rome that the worship God desires is that of a living sacrifice””a total surrender to him. In Revelation the center of worship is God on his throne and his Son, Jesus, seated at his right hand. Worship there involves music, but also complete loyalty to the Lord God.

WORSHIP DESCRIBED

Second, we can adjust our vocabulary.

It would greatly benefit us to stop using the word worship to describe only the musical portions of our gatherings. Paul exhorts us to do “all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17).

Therefore, preaching is worship, as is listening to a sermon. Scripture reading is worship. Partaking in the Lord”s Supper, praying, and giving offerings are worship. Being hospitable to visitors is worship. Serving each other and our community is worship, which may involve giving up our own desires for the needs of others.

WORSHIP RECONSIDERED

Third, we can rethink the elements of our gatherings.

For various reasons, many churches have abandoned several biblically appropriate actions and weakened others while elevating the status of music. The reading of Scripture, for example, dates back to ancient Israel and was fundamental to early church meetings. The same is true for prayer and offerings. The Lord”s Supper, which we have rightly maintained as a weekly celebration, has in some instances lost its intentionality, depth of meaning, and communal impact. When baptisms are performed they should be the highlight of a community of faith.

Interestingly, these activities are multigenerational and multicultural in nature. They have reached across the pages of time, and are not bound by style.

WORSHIP IN PERSPECTIVE

Fourth, we can examine our priorities.

Perhaps we have spent too much time arguing and dividing over musical styles and allowed ourselves to be seduced by the world in our various worship practices. Some of us have lost the spirit of joy that should burst forth from our grateful hearts every time we gather. In some instances we have spent more time complaining than worshiping, which must surely be neither a pleasing, acceptable, nor appropriate offering to God. In fact, it is not an offering at all.

We must ask ourselves, “What does God think of our worship?” If we really believe he is measuring our responses to him by our choice of music, then we should certainly continue to view it as the center of our corporate gatherings. If not, we should consider how we can continue to grow in our relationship to God while offering praise, thanksgiving, and our very lives to him, enabled by the magnificent gift of music as well as other important, God-given acts of worship.


 

 

Dinelle Frankland is associate dean of student formation and professor of worship at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary.

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