I get that classic hymns are a music style of the past. Back then (many of the best were written between 1750-1910) they were the worship songs of their day. They were contemporary for the times, and many were based on popular, secular tunes. But today, I understand why they’re not so popular in the same way today’s worship songs will be less popular 100 years from now.
So the question becomes – in spite of today’s worship music often being meaningful, well done and engaging, what have we lost when a few hundred members of the congregation stand there watching 5 or 6 members of the worship team do all the singing?
Is it more important to have great music, or for the entire congregation to sing songs of praise to God? Is it either/or? Or can it be both/and? The bottom line is that if we don’t answer the question, we may be in a position where a generation from now, we’ll completely lose the idea of congregational singing at all.
And since the Bible tells us over and over again to sing praises to God, what will we have lost?
This article on the effect of church worship bands originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
