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SPEAKING OUT

Memo to Worship Bands

Five sound reasons to lower the volume.

John G. Stackhouse Jr. | posted 2/02/2009

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Now, I like Palestrina and I like good Christian rock. So, church musicians, if you want to perform a fine song that requires advanced musicianship, by all means do it. We will listen and pray and enjoy it to the glory of God.

But when you are leading us in singing, then lead us in singing. And turn it down so we are not listening to you—or, even worse, merely enduring you. I know that is not what you want to happen. But I am telling you that's what is happening.

Sorry, again, for shouting.

John G. Stackhouse Jr. is the Sangwoo Youtong Chee Professor of Theology and Culture at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada. His most recent book is Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World (Oxford University Press).

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Karrotcat

Posted: February 15, 2009 10:06 PM


I have left in the middle of church services when the music is too loud. No one who loves me is going to hurt my eardrums.

Greyone

Posted: February 13, 2009 12:11 PM

My family has left the contemporary evangelical church due to the fluff worship mentality. We now attend a litugical service, with hymns, a lector, and choir. How do we dare look at a population, assuming we did this well (which we do not) and then base our church worship on their present interests? Is worship something that we "do" during church? I have heard this debated over and over, with the same lack of outcome. Many parents do this with regard to their children, too. Children can learn WAY more than we allow them, and instead we cram them full of TV, sugar, indigestible diets, and wonder why our kids are getting worse, sicker, more behaviorally challenged, and further and further from educational standards that we believe (somehow?) we are getting closer to... How long will we chase the latest Britney Spears trend for our church worship? Should SACRED worship reflect a historical yearning for heaven OR a desire to sing songs, maybe about God, that sound just like the radio?

marc	Posted: February 13, 2009 11:27 AM

Looks like this article and some of the comments I have read seems like the Lord is answering part of the prayers of us who want church unity and revival, but also know the need to be 'prostate' before the Lord and be 'repentant' of letting whatever our self-pride, or worldly trends, damage our Christian message to those of us in the church and to the rest of this world. When Christian songs tell us to 'turn up the music-turn it up Loud!' are popular and win awards, something is spiritually amiss. I have attended ministry meetings and conferences where I stay outside the main meeting halls until the music worship is over and then go in for the message. I listen to Christian radio in my car. Sometimes I catch a song in the middle of it playing, and I can't tell if I'm tuned into a Christian station or one of the rock stations by mistake. Many recorded songs have such a heavy bass/percussion beat that it ruins the singer's message, even with tone level adjustment attempts.

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