Getting to the Heart of the Matter
Perspective on Musical Style Conflicts
Conflict over musical styles in worship seems like a commonplace complaint that every worship leader receives at some point in their leadership. Every generation of churchgoers comes face to face with a new wave of musical style that does not suit their preference or taste. Yet, if we were to examine the issue of conflict over musical styles, I believe we would see two misconceptions that lurk at the heart of this conflict. In order to understand and dispel these misconceptions, we must answer two questions: what is worship? And will you worship?
What is worship?
The first misconception that often leads to conflict over musical styles is our misunderstanding of worship itself. Worship can be simply described as our response to God’s self-revelation. Throughout Scripture, we see that God chooses to reveal Himself to people, and much like Moses and his experience with the burning bush, the response of those that “see” God is worship. Worship is dependent then on God’s revelation. He reveals Himself to us, and we find no appropriate response other than worship.
In the age of on-demand entertainment, it can be tempting to come to church with the same “on-demand” consumer mindset. Failing to understand the direction of worship leads us to assume that the musical style must first suit us so we can offer worship to God. In reality, worship is not about us at all; it is about God and Him alone. When we gather together as a church, a body of believers, we are to come with one purpose- to worship God. We worship God because He is worthy, not the musical style. If worship is about God’s revelation and my response, why would I let the music be a deciding factor in worship?
Will you worship?
The second misconception that revolves around the conflict in musical styles is that our worship is dependent on music. I grew up in India, where the musical styles are as varied as there are languages, and because of a lack of music education, there is a general lack of musicianship amongst worship leaders. This often resulted in music not being up to par with those of Hillsong and the other big names of our time. Despite this, week after week, I saw congregants pour out the most expressive, exuberant, and loud praise in response to an often out-of-tune guitar being awkwardly strummed in the same familiar couple keys. This taught me a fundamental lesson early on in my Christian walk- the quality or style of music has absolutely no correlation to my responsibility to worship. Worship is the responsibility, the duty of every believer, and something as trifle as the musical style has no bearing on whether I will obey my call to worship. When I hear someone say, “I just did not feel worship today” or “worship was awesome today,” I realize they have forgotten two important things- worship is about God, and worship is not about music. Whether you thought worship was “awesome” or “terrible” really is a window into their private worship life. When your heart is set on God, you WILL worship. It does not matter what is going on musically; it becomes about your heart’s intent to offer God what is rightly His- worship.
When the leaders of the church help the congregants develop their understanding of worship and its purpose and direction, the conflict over worship styles will take a backseat to the fundamental responsibility of every believer to worship. Worship styles are as changeable as they have ever been; every generation invents a new style of music, which inevitably influences church music. The one constant throughout history is God’s worthiness to receive the worship of His creation.
