Biblical Guidelines For Music

On a Christian musicians' message board, someone posted THIS article from a guy who lambasts modern Christian musicians, and in particular, those of the "CCM" persuasion. I offered my thoughts, reprinted below. Opinions?

It's certainly a provocative article. For one thing, the term "Christian music" can be confusing. This guy seems to think the only kind of music a Christian should make is praise and worship music (I'm speaking of lyrical content, not style or genre). I am primarily called to write music for the Church -- specifically congregational song. But I do write other songs, and I have wonderful Christian friends who, while they may write a worship song now and then, are primarily playing coffee houses and other "secular" venues. They do so with passion and moral integrity. Nothing wrong with singing a song about your girlfriend -- no need to feel the need to slip a "Jesus" in there so it will be "Christian."

On the other hand, I do feel that, speaking specifically of congregational worship music, many modern worship songs offer a very light theology as opposed to hymns that offered praise to God while also "teaching and admonishing each other" in song. I wouldn't accuse any writers I know or have heard of, in terms of "purposefully" watering down the gospel message. Nevertheless, there is a wonderful opportunity for modern Christian writers to address doctrines in their lyrics that are crucial to our faith and yet under-represented in modern music, such as the resurrection and the Second Coming.

The best worship songs combine objective truth with subjective response. Many modern worship songs are high on subjective response but low on objective truth. Let's, then, be the writers that speak to each other, in whatever style/genre we choose, and tell each other "the story of Jesus and His love."

But as far as Christian artists who do not feel called to position their music as music for the Church, performed in churches, I say they are no less Christians than, for instance, a skilled home builder. The builder isn't building "Christian homes." That is, he isn't carving "Christ" onto the structure of his houses, but he is building them as structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing as he can, giving thanks to God for the ability to do so.