Biblical Christianity and Evangelicalism
Live from the Mecca of Mormonism (and the Factory here in Salt Lake City, Utah) this is Heart of the Matter, where…
Biblical Christianity meets American Evangelicalism Face to Face…
Show 17 Worship and Worship Music
June 25th 2013
And I’m your host, Shawn McCraney. We praise the True and Living God for allowing us to participate in this, His ministry. We pray His Spirit upon you – and us – tonight.
After the show last week I was informed that the LDS church was going to make an important announcement within days. Peggy Stack Fletcher of the Salt Lake Tribune reported on the announcement yesterday with the headline of her article saying:
Mormon missions: Door-to-door approach is out; Internet is in
By Peggy Fletcher Stack
The Salt Lake Tribune
Published: June 24, 2013 12:16PM?Updated: June 24, 2013 12:33PM
Mormon Missionary Work Shift
SAID FLETCHER STACK… The LDS Church is moving further into the digital age, unveiling plans to do less door-to-door missionary “tracting” and instead do more social media networking to find potential converts. In what was billed as a “historic” meeting Sunday, Mormon apostle L. Tom Perry announced that the Utah-based faith’s largest missionary force ever — more than 70,000 strong — will tap online tools to help them connect with and teach their “investigators.”
“The world has changed,” Perry said. “The nature of missionary work must change if the Lord will accomplish his work.” People today are often “less willing to let strangers into their homes,” he said. “Their main points of contact with others is often via the Internet.” So it seems (according to Apostle Perry) that during the slower times of a missionaries days (like in the mornings) the LDS missionaries are now authorized to use the Web.
The article reads: “Mormon chapels, which have typically been locked during the week, will now be open so that missionaries can go there to give tours to interested outsiders and to use Wi-Fi to receive and contact interested investigators, to confirm appointments, access mormon.org, Facebook, blogs, emails, and text messages.”
This announcement was made from a meeting on the campus of Brigham Young University where 173 newly called full-time mission presidents gathered in the Marriott Center.
One thing about Mormonism – they are organized, progressive, and aggressive in their missional efforts. We said this before (and were mocked for saying it) but in a non-literal sense, they OWN the internet. We also said they long to rule the world. I’m not sure if they will as they stand today doctrinally – believing the doctrines they believe – but if they are able to overcome their history in this information age – I would suggest they are well on their way. This is truly an interesting development to me.
Local Media Dynamics
Over the past month or so I have had conversations with the owners of KTMW TV20 about bringing Heart of the Matter Mormonism back to TV20 which airs here in Utah. I explained to them that even though we are on National Television through Direct TV it means nothing compared to being on a local television station right here in the state. She agreed. I promised that if we started back on TV20 I would refrain from speaking on American Evangelicalism – which was very satisfying to them.
Yesterday I was informed that upon meeting with station management their ardent opinion there was NO WAY Shawn McCraney should ever be allowed back on television here in Utah. So here we have a multi-billion dollar religious-conglomeration getting SEVENTY THOUSAND (beat) young men and women to steep themselves in social media outlets every day of the week and our little hour-long live program (which reached more people through social media than any other effort) has forever been banned from hitting the local airwaves… because some local level Christian “sisters and brothers” do not… like me and my style?”
It is astounding how little true Christian principles abide in people who ardently claim a relationship with the King. Pray for us… and for them. In fact, we’ll do that now.
PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER
So we have talked for a few weeks about the elements for “doing Church right.” In the conversation I have said that the soteriology of a faith typically dictates the methodologies by which churches “do church.” Once saved always saved Jesus experience only churches reflect this stance in how they do church and churches that teach saved by grace through faith and kept by grace through faith approach doing church in an all together different…
Music and Worship in the Church
Along the same thread of elements to "doing church right," we are going to embark on one of the most incendiary topics Christians face today: music and worship within the church.
This is a topic that resides right under the surface of almost everyone’s skin which says to me that there are ways to approach Christian music and worship and there are things that ought to be avoided. Ought to be avoided? "Based on what?" you might ask? "I mean, aren’t we all free in Christ? Doesn’t He use all manner of ways and means to reach people? Who do you think you are to suggest how music and worship should be done?"
I am nobody. All I have are opinions. But I try and base my opinions on what I see around me relative to what I read in the word, and what I understand about human nature. Last week we received a telephone call asking me about my opinion of Christian music and worship and I shared some of them.
Definition and Challenges of Christian Music
In light of these opinions, we received this email. It’s a little lengthy but worth the time. It’s from Kev (who first says):
"I am a bit perplexed by things you have said regarding 'Christian music.' I do not understand your obvious disdain for it."
Okay. First of all, what is with this title, “Christian music?” Is that music that Christians listen to? That Christians make? Music that talks about Christian things? I’m a Christian and I don’t listen to it? I’m a Christian and I don’t make it. I’m a Christian and I find much of it does not speak of Christian things. So how is it Christian music? Is it the official music of the Lord or is it what American Evangelicals have embraced and call their own? Is there a Christian automobile too? Christian floorplans for building homes? Christian articles of clothing? Christian painters?
Look, Kev, we all have personal tastes, affinities to certain aesthetics and (shall we say) “resistances” to certain things we find ugly. Culture (with all of its tentacles) has dictated and produced a type of music that has come to be called Christian music but I’m not so sure Jesus would consider it His. I don’t consider it mine. So when you think Christianity has “music” you make the first error in judgment.
The Broader Spectrum of Artistic Expression
In fact, as an example, let’s forget music for a minute and talk about another art form – oil painting. Are there “Christian painters” out there who paint “Christian art” and what does it look like? How is it defined? Some suggest the painter Thomas Kincaid, AKA, the Painter of Light, best represents Christian fine art. I say shoot me in the head. Am I evil for this rejection? And as a believer and follower of the Lord, do I have to embrace Thomas Kincaid and his little hobbit scapes in order to prove my faith?
What if most of the American Churches sort of came together and said Thomas Kincaid is our unofficial painter – and then hung his paintings in churches everywhere. Would that be okay? God-pleasing? What about all the art out there that others have produced, and maybe more importantly, all the other art out there that others RELATE to, art that inspires them, that would never make it inside the church? Do you see (just one of the problems) when Christians decide to apply certain art forms to church or worship to the exclusion of others?
Can I be just as inspired and uplifted by Jackson Pollock or a Van Gogh and if so will the churches hang these too? My distain, as you call it, is the result of a life-long personal relationship to music at large, to personal preferences for types of music, to an abiding appreciation for truth in everything I see or do, and my desire to worship God in the clearest and least manipulated way possible. When Christianity has adopted “a music,” (so to speak) the mistake is not so much in the music that is presented (though I personally find the majority of it repulsive), it’s the fact that so many other forms of music have been excluded that inspire others as the music presented.
Kev continues, "You have said that it's all about emotionalism and that you can achieve that same emotionalism through Metallica. You continue saying the lyrics within the Church should only be directly from scripture."
Church and Secular Music
There's nothing wrong with singing scripture but how can you promote secular while demoting Christian? I feel this position is extreme and zealous. Should we advise against Christian writings or poems put to music while suggesting the equal from non-believers is fine? Okay, I am NOT promoting listening to Metallica for people seeking God nor am I saying secular music ought to be pursued by believers or used in church.
Just the opposite. SAME. I think artistic expressions have a place in this world and in all people – Christian and not – but we are talking about a HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE subject area and because of its subjectivity these expressions do NOT belong in the church. Again, emotional experiences are emotional experiences.
Emotive Experiences in Worship
When Christianity has embraced elements and methods of the world (which produce emotive responses) and call them “worshipping God” I am going to differ. Listen! THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH CHURCHES APPEALING TO CERTAIN MUSIC TYPES TO APPEASE and APPEAL TO their audiences. It’s all emotive and is not one whit different than attending a rock concert. Let’s strip music from the discussion and just use painting as an example. Both are art forms. Both appeal to topics. A painter could paint landscapes, people, still life, seascapes or pictures of what they think Jesus looked like on the cross.
Would you think some paintings ought to be embrace and promoted as “Christian” paintings over others? I am personally awed and drawn to God by the work of John Singer Sargent, Cezzane and Picasso – should their paintings be used in church? Or only those painting that depict something about Christianity? Are you getting my drift? Why and when did Christianity get to carve out its own special music style for the world to receive?
The Purpose of Church Music
It should never have happened (LISTEN) for church. Can and should Christian people perform music, write music, etc. By all means. For Christian radio and Christian television and Christian concerts. But Church has a different standard and it is this argument I intend on making over the next few weeks. So painters (who are Christian) ought to paint. And poets who are Christian ought to pen poems. But when the Church or Christianity as a whole has a “type of style of music” that is even called “Christian music,” we have a problem . . . because it does NOT automatically appeal to all Christians.
Same is true of a Christian political party – there is NO Christian political party, or a Christian car, or a Christian diet. Or a Christian set of clothing. No, no, no. This argument (among many to come) will help us form how music and worship ought to be done IN CHURCH. But more on this in the future.
Kev adds:
“If your concerns lie with the industry itself and their greed for money, I can relate.” (Good. But that’s just one point of many) “But,” (he says) “if it is with Christians expressing God, biblical beliefs, personal Christian struggles, justice or mercy, or even the worship of God put to music then I do not understand nor believe that this is sound teaching.”
Okay, again Kev, even the way you have expressed yourself here is problematic –and you don’t even realize it. You wrote “But if you have concerns with Christians expressing God, biblical beliefs, personal Christian struggles, justice or mercy, or even the worship of God put to music then I do not understand nor believe that this is sound teaching.”
What if I, as a Christian (which is a highly subjective) write music (which is highly subjective) decide to express (which is highly subjective) the way I relate to God, what really strikes me in my biblical beliefs or detail my personal struggles in music . . . is this okay? Oh, it is? So I can write a biblically based song about my lust for whorish women? Or about God wiping out women and children using Old Testament stories, or can I write a worship song about David sleeping with Uriah? Do you see the problem with the arrogance of today’s so-called Christian music? And what if I put these lyrics to music I enjoy? Death metal jazz? You and I both know such worship music would be rejected.
HERES THE POINT. IT SHOULD BE REJECTED.
I do not for a minute think the secular music I like and that leads me to worship God should be used in church . . .
Understanding Worship and its Purpose
ANYMORE than the music you enjoy ought to be heaped on me or others either. Get it? Much of this comes back to: What is worship? What is church for? What is the best method for accomplishing its purposes? Are there slippery slopes to avoid? Why? And what are they?
Kev goes on, throwing in a giant red herring: “How do you feel about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? You have said that ministers should not be promoting personal justice(s) in this fallen world. This leaves me wondering your views on the Rev. King. If you feel he was teaching in error, then I can see where you would not support thought for thought songs about injustice, mercy, and the love of God.” Well. Let’s see how I can answer this? “Reverend-Doctor” Martin Luther King Jr. was…a man. An influential man but a man. A sinful man. A man blessed by God with abilities. Whatever he accomplished by his own intellect and abilities is nice, and good – like the good the Mormons accomplish socially is good and nice. But if you think what he did was Christianity in action, I would disagree. It was work done by a Christian, but it was NOT Christianity at work. Christianity at work is defined by the life and work of Christ… (that’s why we call it Christianity).
Influence and Creativity in Christianity
Kev asks: “Do you believe that God can influence individuals to write books, poems, or literature?” Sure Kev. I believe this. But the point is where should those books be used and sold and employed? Kev added: “Did God influence you to write a book entitled "Born Again Morman"? If so, how can it be claimed God does not influence those in which He has given the gift of music to do the same? How about the writings of C.S. Lewis, Oswald Chambers, the Church fathers, or contemporary authors like Dr. Hugh Ross or Dr. William Lane Craig? Is it only in books, literature, or writings that you feel individuals are influenced by God and He doesn't use other media? Again, my points are only made clearer and clearer by your rhetoric. Are only the books written by Christians inspiring? No. Enlightening? Not in the least.
So why take the books and sanction them “as Christian” when I draw close to God reading many, many books by non-Christian authors, and am inspired by paintings by non-Christian painters, and am uplifted and drawn to worship by non-Christian musical acts? Should Born-Again Mormon ever be used in Church? Never. We have a Bible. That is the Christian book. Others can be written and used but Church has its book – one that can never end in teaching us. No other book is needed. So let the Christians create – and let those in the marketplace either buy or reject their creations. But DON’T you dare consider those books or works of art Christian.
Emotional Appeals in Worship
He adds: “To compare Metallica against the ministry of artists like Keith Green or Rich Mullins who gave incalculable benefits to Gods people is immaturity.” My point is to show that appealing to emotions is all the same, no matter what emotion an artist is trying to tap into. Tapping into anger or feelings of gratitude are emotive appeals. And while part of the human experience, when such appeals become what we call worship, we have made a mistake. Is a C chord played by Metallica any different than a C chord played by Rich Mullins? All the same. Are emotive lyrics sung by Hetfield any different in the part of the brain they appeal to than the lyrics that cause people to cry when Keith Green sings? All the same.
So first, it is an inferior form of genuinely true worship because true worship is focused on Him, not us – not our emotions. Again, more on this later. I could compare other Christian artists closer in style and show the fruits of their labor. I, for one, felt the Holy Spirits conviction on my life and accepted Christ at a Christian Rock concert. Do not take away from the goodness and rightness of gifted and inspired Christians expressing themselves through their God-given gift of music AND writing. Again, Kev, your communication only serves to once again prove my point. You TIE the feelings of the Holy Spirit to your being at what you call a Christian Rock Concert. Not to your search for truth or willingness to
Evaluating Worship Practices
Receive it NOR the work of the Holy Spirit but to what you call a Christian Rock Concert.
There are people who are saved sitting three sheets to the wind at bars – should we install bars in churches too. (Don’t answer that Alan). Frankly, your saying this undergirds my point that modern American Evangelical worship is more about the subjective me, the self, the “what it does for me,” than the honor and worship it really brings to God. But again, more on that later. Kev wraps up his email with:
“I am not advocating for “Jesus is My Boyfriend” but you appear to me to doubt all Christian music and expect it to be word for word when nothing that you have published or accomplished has been word for word.”
Defining Christian Art
Hear me again:
I do not doubt the artistic value Christians who perform in the arts bring. But what they create is art made by Christians, NOT Christian art because to label something Christian art is no different than saying the Republican Party is the Christian party. It’s not. Additionally, I’m happy you are not advocating “Jesus is my boyfriend music,” but how do you define this? What lines do you draw in the sand? Would you agree that some standard ought to exist when it comes to music in church?
Is it okay to play Metallica in church or can we all agree that would not really “fit?” And if that doesn’t fit, what else can be disqualified? And why?
Beginning of Christian Music
Where did all this so called “Christian Music” begin? Are there legitimate dangers to their practice? Where and when do we say enough is enough and who gets to say so? What is worship? How does the Bible define it, and how do stadiums filled with swaying people singing worship songs meet or fail to meet it by definition?
Finally, what should a person leaving the Mormon church look for when attending a Christian Church for the first time when it comes to worship? Is over-amplification acceptable? Light shows? Worship leaders repeating, “Thank you Jesus,” twenty five times? Fog machines? Acceptable?
This (and so much more) in the next few weeks to come.
Let’s open up the phone lines:
(801) 590-8413
