Music Musings

We have been on a “wilderness wandering” of sorts for the past eight months, and we have four months to go. It is not an entirely bad experience, to be sure. We have been able to see family and relax a bit. But being away from home and “out of pocket” for the most part is a tough thing. To make things even more symbolic, everywhere we go churches are studying Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy!

We clearly need this time. It has been a real treasure to be able to be close for the first year of our older children’s freshman year of college. But we also are coming off of a 12-year period of life without much down time. I occasionally notice how fragile we are. One of the big signs that we need this rest is the way worship music has impacted us this year.

I am neutral on worship styles. That said, the early days of the praise and worship genre were conceptually weak. But when the movement all but took over Christian music things got bad creatively and textually. And the past few times I spent time in US churches I was left empty with the performance nature of “worship.” And to top things off, the theology of worship went through a really bad patch. (It may not be out yet either.)

Much in the way that there is no power in prayer, but rather in to whom we pray (a vital and too often misunderstood distinction that leads to some of the worst paganism posing as Christianity today), the end goal of creation is not worship, but rather the glory of the One whom we worship. Worship is not about us. It is not warfare. And, ultimately it is so much more than the songs we may sing.

All that said, this year the music of worship has been speaking powerfully to my heart and compelling me to join in. I might even highlight some of the more meaningful texts in posts to some.