On the positive side, men no longer feel pressure to sing in church.
Men who are poor readers or poor singers no longer have to fumble through hymnals, sing archaic lyrics or read a musical staff.
But the negatives for when men worship are huge.
Men are doers, and singing was one of the things we used to do together in church. It was a chance to participate.
Now, with congregational singing going away, and communion no longer a weekly ordinance, there’s only one avenue left for men to participate in the service—the offering.
Is this really the message we want to send to men? Sit there, be quiet and enjoy the show. And don’t forget to give us money.
There’s nothing wrong with professionalism and quality in church music. The problem isn’t the rock band, or the lights, or the smoke machine.
The key is familiarity. People enjoy singing songs they know.
How do I know? When that super-hip band performed a hymn, the crowd responded with gusto. People sang.
Even the men.
