so, what's up with worship music anyway?

I often share my philosophy of worship music with the worship team, but I've never shared it with the GFMC community at large, so I thought I'd do it here. That way, you'll have some idea of the thought process that drives me...'the method to the madness,' so to speak. Well, first, I see the purpose of music in our weekly worship experiences as serving two purposes: (1) to lift up the name of Jesus and (2) to encourage and/or challenge people in their relationship with him. As with everything else, I believe the music (both the wording and the sound) has to be relevant to the culture we are trying to reach. Just scan through the FM dial on your radio and you'll hear what that sounds like. I wouldn't want the music, which is often the first thing a visitor might hear, to be what closes the door for us to have opportunity to be taken seriously in introducing them to Jesus! After all, our purpose isn't to make people be like us or even like what we like; it is to help them meet Jesus! I try to put myself in their place, realizing that they may not have the categories that I (or other long-term churchgoers) have for understanding 'church.' I feel that's what Jesus would want us to do in all things. As I've often told people, I don't use the very subjective and divisive categories of hymns vs. praise songs. There really is no difference to me. They are all simply songs written to praise Jesus or teach about him--some newer, some older, some much older. The message of a song is what matters to me most, followed by its sound. If the message of the song is just simply fluff, I generally won't use it. I look for depth, but also simplicity in the message--if you have to explain a song in order for it to be understood, I'm probably not going to use it. Songs are basically poetry set to music. Most modern worship songs, which are sometimes labelled 'shallow,' look pretty much the same as older 'hymns' when the words are placed side-by-side. As with most things, we have to continue to speak about God in the language of the people or we lose opportunity to connect with them. So, just as most people don't speak in Elizabethan English, so the music of modern worship shouldn't either. That's why we don't use a lot of the older hymns. It's not that they aren't good, solid ways of expressing who God is and what he has done, it's just that there are more relevant-to-our-culture songs that express the same things just as well. When it comes down to it, whether someone likes or dislikes our worship style is really just a matter of personal preference. So, what do I tell people who would like to hear more of a certain style in our worship experiences or hear more of the older songs? Well, I realize that we can't please everyone, so my suggestion is to purchase a few CDs of the style of their choice and listen to them as much as they want at home. I don't say that to be insensitive; it's just that it's simply not possible to make everyone satisfied. Besides, as I've mentioned already, that's not the point of worship. It's about Jesus and making him known. As worship leader, I will strive to do that with everything that is within me, with God as my strength and guide.