Worship Music: Traditional Or Contemporary

WORSHIP MUSIC: TRADITIONAL OR CONTEMPORARY? (Part One)

by Samuel Ling

SHOULD WORSHIP MUSIC DIVIDE THE CHURCH?

For many Christians, particularly those who live in the West, contemporary Christian music is part of their lives-they love it, they listen to it every day, and they incorporate it into their ministry. English worship services among overseas Chinese churches (and Chinese ones as well) increasingly use a worship team, featuring contemporary worship music. However, many church leaders, raised on the traditional diet of "gospel songs," often harbor questions of doubt concerning contemporary Christian music. Others trained in classical music or in the liturgical traditions of the church voice even stronger objections. For them, contemporary Christian music, like rock music and all other post-rock forms, is meaningless noise. Parents shudder when teenagers turn on their radio. They can hardly wait until it is turned off. "It gives me a headache!" many complain. They even wonder: do the rhythms of rock music come from the Devil?

When the English congregation wants to organize a worship team and bring contemporary worship music into the church, often the board or the congregation is divided. Is contemporary worship music legitimate worship music? Is it only suitable for evangelism, but not for worship? Some lovers of classical music (and I count myself one of them) may lament that we are witnessing the death of classical music, classical sacred music, and traditional hymns? Is civilization going down the tubes?

Another very serious question is where do we draw the line between sacred music and secular music? What makes sacred music "sacred"? Should Christian musicians break into the world of secular music? What is our response, when see that while 20 years ago it would be a remote dream for Christian singers to appear on the top 40 charts, today it is a reality? Is this a good trend?

In the West, English-speaking Christians often form worship teams, and they are able to find ample resources for training, as well as in selecting new music. In Los Angeles, a very helpful website is Training seminars in contemporary worship music have spread outside of the West. An example of this is the visit of Don Moen in Hong Kong. Asian churches are catching the fire of "praise and worship," and many leaders are worried if not alarmed.

Music is very personal, therefore a very sensitive subject. Sparks fly, debates often arise out of what kind of music to use in our church services. Can we have peace and harmony and at the same time honor God with our worship music? More importantly, can we discover biblical guidelines and abide by them in our worship?

THE BASIC ISSUE:

IS OUR WORSHIP GOD-CENTERED OR MAN-CENTERED?

What is worship? Biblical worship is God-centered, directed toward God, not toward ourselves. Fellowship, teaching, intercession, serving those in need-these are ministries directed at each other. Evangelism and mission are directed toward the world. But worship is directed toward God. Worship is also about God: praising God for who He is, what He has done, what He has said. Thirdly, worship is for God: we worship God and praise Him solely for His pleasure, and for His glory.

The Chinese church has much to learn about God-centered worship. In many traditional evangelical churches, we often make our worship services so man-centered, cluttered with announcements, celebrations, thanksgiving (not to God, but to each other), and other man-centered elements, that God's glory and majesty is often hidden. The style of music used, and more importantly, the words used in our hymns and songs, should also be scrutinized. Are we concentrating on God? Do the words of our hymns and songs encourage the singer to direct his/her heart toward God, about God, and for God? Or are we too preoccupied about our needs? We often are very concerned about what we get out of the worship service. We ask ourselves if we feel emotionally fulfilled as a result of attending worship? Have we put ourselves at the center of worship, rather than God?

An important challenge for the Chinese church is restoring God-centered worship, God-centered preaching, God-centered thinking, and God-centered living-and in that order! We live out what we think; and what we think can be heavily influenced by preaching and worship.

In the Old Testament, praise is an integral part of worship. The so-called "full-time workers" in the Old Testament included not only priests, but also Levites, temple servants and singers. We can see that

1. Music was an important part of worship.

2. Professional musicians took care of the ministry of music.

Worship team members for contemporary worship services need to take their calling seriously. A person needs personal preparation and maturity. Just because someone is talented in singing contemporary music, does not mean that he/she makes a good worship leader. A good worship leader directs people's hearts toward God. (This principle applies to traditional church music as well: a church musician's spiritual maturity is more important than his/her musical qualifications.)

New Testament worship followed the form of synagogue worship, which arose during the period between the Old and the New Testament. Synagogue worship included four elements: the reading of the Torah (God's Word), teaching, singing, and prayer. The Lord Jesus worshipped in the synagogue "as was His custom." As our Lord and Savior, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and baptism; Christians have observed these ordinances/sacraments through the centuries. These are the non-negotiable elements of Christian worship. Praise and singing are very much an integral part of Old Testament worship, and New Testament worship!

WORSHIP MUSIC THROUGHOUT HISTORY:

APPRECIATE THE GREAT MASTERS

The style of music used in worship has changed a great deal through church history. Almost always, worship music reflected the culture and the worldview of their contemporary generation. In every generation, Christians have sought to bring the best of their music and poetry to the praise of God. In the Middle Ages, the collection of ancient songs now known as the Gregorian Chant (named after the Pope who ordered the compilation) has lasted to our generation. The chant became a part of music history-some love it, some think it is old-fashioned. In any case, it has influenced the music of later master-composers. The church in the Middle Ages developed the concept of the "Church Year," which may be very helpful for evangelicals not brought up in the liturgical tradition. (We may learn a lot by consulting the Book of Common Prayer! I often make this recommendation in my church history classes.)

In the 16th century came the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther wrote hymns such as "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," calling Christians to spiritual battle with Satan and assuring victory through Christ. During Luther's time, some of the hymns compiled used tunes from songs sung in bars as people drank their beer. Today, these are called "classical hymns." We can see that the music of the common people can be offered, as their best, a gift to the praise of God. The question is do these "popular hymns" direct people to God?

The greatest classical music composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, was deeply influenced by the theology of Luther. He was a devout Christian and for many years a church musician who, for a living, wrote cantatas, oratorios, and anthems. Bach composed music to the glory of God. It has truly stood the test of time. Bach wrote a piece each week for church; he would write "SDG," "only to the glory of God," on top of his compositions. He was a diligent worker and a devout believer. He thought that anyone who worked as hard as he did, could write the same kind of music-and better! Bach's contemporary, George Handel, wrote the oratorio, The Messiah, while isolated in his room for three weeks. He wept at the glory of God's majesty; his music is so majestic that King George stood to hear it. (Thus the tradition that we stand when the "Hallelujah Chorus" from "The Messiah" is sung.) Bach and Handel were not only masters of music, but believers who prayerfully took a glimpse at the glory and majesty of the infinite, almighty God, and wrote music as a response. They reflected the worldview of the 17th century: God is the creator and deserves our worship; God's world reflects the order and structure He has designed in the universe.

In the 18th century, the Pietist movement grew in Germany, calling Christians to a real, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Its leaders were Spener and Francke. The roots of the German Pietist movement lay in the Puritan movement in 17th century England. Pietist ideas traveled from Puritan England to Reformed Holland to Lutheran Germany. The Puritan movement (1558-1660) sought to reform the worship and the entire ministry of the church thoroughly, so that it would be consistently biblical. They thought there was too much tradition, ceremony, and hierarchy in the Church of England. They believed that only the Lord is King and Lord of the church, and He had given His people a book of hymns through the Psalms. Therefore, Christians should sing it! Following the example of Calvin and his colleagues in 16th century Geneva, the Puritans set psalms to meter. Today we can sing "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun" as a New Testament rendition of Psalm 72; or "Joy to the World!" as an adaptation of another psalm. There are many versions of Psalm 23 and Psalm 100 ("Before Jehovah's Awful Throne," and "All People Who on Earth Do Dwell" are two). Isaac Watts was the master of Puritan psalmody; he asked himself, if David had lived in the New Testament, would he have written the psalms differently? Watts went on to transform many of the psalms, setting them in New Testament perspective. Not only did he write psalms, he also wrote what we call classical "hymns," such as "Alas! And Did My Savior Die," and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," bringing Christian devotion to focus on the cross.

Chinese churches will be enriched by returning to the singing of the Psalms, perhaps set to both traditional and contemporary melodies.

In the 18th century, Charles Wesley, working closely with his brother John Wesley in a period of revival in England and America, wrote many hymns centered on the experience of God's grace in the soul of the individual believer. We know his "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," describing how God's love suddenly comes upon the believer and floods the soul with light and delight. Or take his deeply theological hymn of praise, "And Can It Be That I Should Gain." We often do not sing the second verse, which celebrates God's infinite wisdom and eternal plan of salvation. Listen to the wonder and awe with which Wesley meditates on God's eternal plan:

'Tis mystery all! Th'Immortal dies;

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the first born seraph tries

To sound the depths of love divine.

'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;

Let angel minds inquire no more.

God is beyond even the comprehension of the angel (seraph)!

Who writes words like Watts and Wesley today? No wonder these two are called the greatest masters of English hymnody. Christians who love contemporary worship music may not appreciate the melodies of Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley. They may not appreciate any form of classical music. However, we lose something of the richness and depth of God-centered worship, if we let the current generation forget the words penned by Watts, Wesley, and others such as William Cowper and John Newton (Newton wrote "Amazing Grace"). If we fail to pass on the rich tradition of God-centered worship to our grandchildren, we fail to pass on a precious treasure-store, a virtual gift of the Holy Spirit to the global body of Christ.

Why not write new tunes for these timeless lines?

ROOTS OF CHINESE CHRISTIAN CULTURE:

19TH CENTURY RURAL AMERICA AND GOSPEL SONGS

What the Chinese church often calls "traditional hymns" are not hymns in the strict sense of the word. Hymns reached their peak with Watts and Wesley. Later, many Anglican writers wrote beautiful hymns in the 19th century. What we call "traditional hymns" are technically called "gospel songs" by historians of church music. Hymns usually have no choruses; they usually focus on the three persons of the Godhead: Father, Son and Spirit, and their work of creation and/or salvation. Gospel songs, on the other hand, usually come with choruses; the masters of gospel songs in the 19th century included Fannie Crosby and Ira Sankey. They focus on the individual's personal relationship with Jesus Christ, including salvation and sanctification. Often they are more songs of devotion, fellowship, encouragement and evangelism, rather than worship. (Songs of evangelism are appropriately sung at evangelistic meetings, and songs of fellowship at fellowship and prayer meetings!) A few gospel songs, however, call the church to a Godward gaze of worship; a grand example is "How Great Thou Art":

O Lord our God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hands have made;

I see the stars; I hear the roaring thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior, God to Thee:

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

"How Great Thou Art" comes to us from Scandinavia, but most gospel songs were written in the United States. Some of the melodies of gospel songs came from folk songs sung during the national-building period in American history, just prior to and during the Civil War (1861-1865). Other melodies were originally set for songs which described the soldiers as they left home for the battlefield of the Civil War. Today we have adopted these melodies for church use. American missionaries brought gospel songs to China in the 19th century, making them the "standard." We must recognize that this is a particular period of music (the proper name is "romanticism). And the words of many gospel songs are directed toward the Christian rather than the worship of God. There is a difference between devotion and worship. Consider the following gospel song celebrating the precious experience of the believer's fellowship with Jesus. However, in my estimation, "In the Garden" is not a song of worship:

I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses;

And the voice I hear falling on my ear: the Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am his own;

And the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.

Christians are enriched, encouraged, and empowered through devotional gospel songs. But we must distinguish between this form of "loving God" (devotion) and God-centered worship and praise.

Why has the Chinese church taken the form of the gospel song, and enshrined it as her "traditional music"?

This was partly due to the historical context in which the Chinese church initially grew. The development of the Protestant church in China really did not take off until after the Treaty of Tianjin (1858) and the Treaty of Beijing (1860), two "unequal treaties" signed after the second Opium War. After 1860, thousands of Protestant missionaries came to China from Europe and North America. After 1900, more missionaries came from the United States than from any other country. By 1926 there were 8,000 Protestant missionaries in China. Most of the American missionaries came from rural towns and villages in central and southern U.S.A. Most of them received four years of liberal arts training in a small town Christian college (note: many did not go to seminary). They took a few Bible courses. Many of them responded to the appeals of Mr. Dwight L. Moody and Mr. John R. Mott, and dedicated themselves to become missionaries to China, India and Africa.

When they got to China, many of the evangelical-minded missionaries worked in rural towns and villages in the hinterland. The gospel message they brought to the Chinese people was often packaged in 19th century rural American culture. This culture included many gospel songs beloved by Chinese Christians today. Even though these tunes and words were not created by Chinese, the Chinese church has passed on the tradition of singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," "I Love to Tell the Story," "The Old Rugged Cross," and "It Pays to Serve Jesus."

Once the Chinese church "received" this tradition of gospel songs, she maintained it until today. The American evangelical music of the 1950s and 1960s by and large confirmed and reinforced this "tradition." John W. Peterson, for example, rejoices that "Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul." In the 1960s, young people in Hong Kong's churches and fellowships loved the 12 volumes of Youth Hymns, later compiled into three volumes, I (the revered navy blue), II (the red) and III (the green). Many Christians who are mature adults today have these gospel songs engrained in their souls! Hong Kong in the 1960s was evolving from a refugee culture to a modern, urban culture. Many young people rebelled against what they saw were the unfair and hypocritical practices of their church leaders. They left and formed new "gospel chapel" churches (fu ying tang) in Hong Kong. Yet these young people maintained the music of late 19th century rural America: the gospel song tradition lived on. Although Watchman Nee, a Chinese Christian leader, wrote many hymns, these were set to gospel song tunes.