If you know me, you will know how passionate I am about wholesome entertainment. Moreover you know how picky I am and how serious I take it. I can pinpoint good quality productions from a mile away. And I bet you'd never guess all the ones I'd choose. That aside, I need to address a different area that I may not speak of often but is one of my biggest pet peeves. But moreover, I believe that it is an issue in the body of Christ not just my own personal preference. And that issue is the music of today. I know what you're thinking. "Yeah I know. Kids listen to way too much secular music. I agree. They should be listening to Christian music more." And while this argument is one hundred percent true, my angst is with Christian music not secular music. Yep, I said it. You see, the secular world is going to always be nuts and make filth. But last time I checked, Christians are supposed to be Christlike and show the difference in everything they produce. As a musician, you have a tremendous power to form a generation's stereotypes and make the mark of that time. And I say with sadness that Christians have come close to missing the mark here.
One of my biggest concerns is worship music. Today's modern worship fad puts a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like it, and I'm not afraid to say it. The wave of popularity that is modern worship music could ultimately be described as a dumbing down of intelligence and a moving away from the true connection with God's spirit. It is not right. I have to guard myself from getting bothered physically due to its distracting sound every time I hear one of these modern worship songs. And if I hear that same chord progression for the 458th time in a row for the next five minutes, I'm gonna throw something. And please stop rocking back and forth and back and forth saying, "We need your fire, Lord." with that same four-chord rhythm in the background. Nothing wrong with what you're saying, but...Ugh. There's just something about this music that gets my goat. I won't name specific names for courtesy's sake. And please just sing...Quit using your voice in a low, drawn-out tone like you're trying to pull something down from heaven. And every song on a CD shouldn't be a repetition and reinvention of the chord progression in the last eight songs with its simple, repetitive lyrics and lack of depth. Now, don't get me wrong. The messages in the songs are wonderful. Nothing about them is false in doctrine, so to speak. Yet my recent journey into the past by way of artists that paved the way such as Kathy Troccoli, Amy Grant, Rich Mullins, and others, makes me want to cry. There is little in our modern worship that looks to them with thanks for paving the way. In some ways I feel we have limited ourselves in the way we write music. Why are we swaying away from what has worked in the past? We've lost that true artistic touch that is truly connecting with the spirit of God and letting Him create a distinct masterpiece in each of our songs. I don't know. I have a feeling that most of you won't even understand me. Anyways....
Just the other day I had put on my wireless headphones, connected up with my phone and put Kathy Troccoli's discography on Spotify shuffle and started grooving around the house. And then one of my favorite worship songs of her's from the 80s/90s came on. I had to stop. Because the song stopped me. I couldn't help the smile that eased onto my face as I closed my eyes, lifted my hands, danced a little, and worshiped my Jesus. There's no feeling quite like a song that truly came from the spirit of God and was planted among us. And you could tell it had been written with such care and simple complexity that put deep joy in my heart and brought me straight before the throne of God.
Please...Don't forget the past as you create for the future! Don't water the sound down to please a modern audience. I know times change. But we don't have to change with them and conform to them. There's nothing about last century's Christian music/worship style that is outdated. Who knows...Perhaps it's time we returned to our roots and figure out what made their music great in years past. I know I've discovered it. And I pray you all do too. And you don't have to go very far back to discover it.
Here's a small taste of the past...I pray the anointing and sound of this comes back to our present and our future. Listen...and hear the difference. Moreover, know the difference. "...and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." - Revelation 4:8
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