You realize, worship is so much more than music. We are made to live our lives as an act of worship. Every breath we take is an opportunity for us to praise our Maker. Every time we read His Word, we have a chance to bow our lives to Him. Every time we gather is an occasion for praise. But, for our purposes today, we are going to talk about music.

Every generation wrestles with this topic. Change is inevitable and good, but it is not always welcome. Every song we sing had a beginning and every generation is blessed with song writers. Isn’t that awesome? God never leaves a generation without a voice to praise Him. It was a struggle when pianos were introduced in worship because they were typically a saloon instrument. Now a worship band is empty without a piano. We can remember a day when drums were not so welcome in the worship band, but our brothers and sisters in Africa cannot. From the earliest days of the Church there, drums have been an integral part of their worship. In the 90’s, we called new music “Contemporary Christian,” but in reality, every generation has had its worship contemporaries. Today, the worship spectrum is broad.

I grew up tied to the hymnal. I love hymns! Songs like “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “Only Trust Him” will always be at the top of my list, and I could easily include 50 more. The generation that penned those songs was wonderful, but they’re gone now. The generation writing songs and hymns today is awesome. Many incorporate the older tunes and words into their songs and I love that. Many of the newer authors are writing straight out of Scripture, and I love that. Not every song is for everybody, but I can promise, if you listen, you’ll discover some wonderful new music inside this generation of worshippers. The Getty’s, CityALight, Shane and Shane, and Charity Gayle are some of my favorites. Who are you listening to and singing along with?

The only reason tension should exist in the Church over music is if the songs have bad theology. Not every song is created equal. Sometimes bad music appears, but this isn’t the norm. Style should not be something we argue about. We are hurting the Church when we argue about traditional music vs the worship choices of the next generation. The burden is on the older generation to encourage the next group to worship, not to stifle or force them to sing songs they don’t necessarily like. Praise is so necessary Jesus says the rocks will cry out if we choose not to. I’d hate to know that a rock has a stronger voice than I do!

I can learn a lot in this area when I listen to sister denominations. The African-American Church has a strong heritage here. The Pentecostal community has a freedom in worship that many of us would do good to learn from. The Hispanic Church brings a Latino flavor that is awesome in worship. My favorite is when all of these cultures and traditions are present together in the same room with the freedom to worship as they please. Wow! Multiply that times a million and we can get an idea of what Heaven’s worship will sound like. Can you imagine, not just our contemporary sounds, but the sounds of every generation of worshippers that’s ever lived? Mercy! What a beautiful compilation that must be!

I encourage you, believer, to make a choice today to encourage worship in the generations after you instead of stifling it. Give them the freedom to sing the songs you love and encourage them by listening to and singing the songs they love. Strife over worship is harmful to the Church and stressful for those involved. Worship should never be a source of conflict. Instead, it should always be a place of joy. Sing yourself hoarse this next Sunday in worship and see how your heart feels afterward. You and I are called to worship. Let’s get on with the task at hand.