The 1st Century Church vs the Contemporary Church
I think that first I must identify myself. I'm a pastor who has 2 church music degrees and spent the better part of 20 years as a Minister of Music and Youth. As pastor of a fairly "traditional" church (we have a choir and sing hymns from hymnals) I often get "suggestions" from people that they would like to see more "praise and worship" (meaning choruses or JOY-FM music) Let me hasten to say that I like it all from classical to contemporary (which varies depending on where you live) to hip-hop to rap. I decided to look in the Bible to find what I could about worship.
Interestingly enough, I found very little about music, except in the Psalms and in Revelation. The defining words about the "new" church in Acts 2 are fellowship, praising God (which incorporates more than music) and meeting needs.
To steal a phrase from Rick Warren, "It's not about you!" We are to worship God...not a genre of music or a style of preaching. Since He created all music and all musicians, I think He must have a broad spectrum of preferences concerning worship music. So many of us get holy "chill bumps" when some of our favorite songs are sung without paying much attention to the message. We just like the beat or the melody. God listens to the content regardless of the medium.
While I'm on a "rant", let me say a word about appropriate dress for the pastor & staff. Before Levis, Khakis, sneakers and untucked checkered shirts, there were robes and sandals (in both the OT and NT) I found nothing in Paul's letters to Timothy that addressed how he should dress as a pastor. Again, it is the message, not the medium that is important. My friend, Joe McKeever, recently posted on his Facebook page about the difference in the appearance of some pastors and the sportscasters on Sportscenter. His point was that it is not necessary to "dress down" in order to communicate to the younger generation. Evidently he got a lot of flack in the comments because he has since deleted the post.
Well there you have it. So far as I am concerned you can dress any way you please so long as it is not distracting from the worship of God. As for me, I want to point people to Jesus not to the latest clothing fad. I'm all for bringing back robes. (tongue firmly planted in cheek)
Interestingly enough, I found very little about music, except in the Psalms and in Revelation. The defining words about the "new" church in Acts 2 are fellowship, praising God (which incorporates more than music) and meeting needs.
To steal a phrase from Rick Warren, "It's not about you!" We are to worship God...not a genre of music or a style of preaching. Since He created all music and all musicians, I think He must have a broad spectrum of preferences concerning worship music. So many of us get holy "chill bumps" when some of our favorite songs are sung without paying much attention to the message. We just like the beat or the melody. God listens to the content regardless of the medium.
While I'm on a "rant", let me say a word about appropriate dress for the pastor & staff. Before Levis, Khakis, sneakers and untucked checkered shirts, there were robes and sandals (in both the OT and NT) I found nothing in Paul's letters to Timothy that addressed how he should dress as a pastor. Again, it is the message, not the medium that is important. My friend, Joe McKeever, recently posted on his Facebook page about the difference in the appearance of some pastors and the sportscasters on Sportscenter. His point was that it is not necessary to "dress down" in order to communicate to the younger generation. Evidently he got a lot of flack in the comments because he has since deleted the post.
Well there you have it. So far as I am concerned you can dress any way you please so long as it is not distracting from the worship of God. As for me, I want to point people to Jesus not to the latest clothing fad. I'm all for bringing back robes. (tongue firmly planted in cheek)
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