Worship Music?

Stop.

Close your eyes and think of a worship service. What instruments are being played? What kind of music are you singing? What if the music was a different style? How would you still know it was worship?

Listen. 

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord. – Psalm 98:5-6

Reflect. 

Each Sunday in worship, we’re talking about different elements of our worship services and what they mean for our life and faith. We consider how we might renew them in our current context and how they might renew us in what we believe and how we understand God at work among us. This coming Sunday, we’ll talk about music. Music is one of the most central, consistent parts of a Lutheran worship service – and one of the most contentious. 

If you haven’t heard of worship wars, consider yourself very fortunate. For years – indeed, for the entirety of the life of the Christian faith – believers have fought with each other about what kind of music was most godly and appropriate. Could it only be in Latin? Could instruments be used? Was organ music appropriate? Or guitars? Or drums? Should we sing hymns? Should they only be hymns from before 1900? Before 1500? Do we need to put the musical score in the song sheets or hymnals? Should songs have a repetitive melody to make them more accessible? Should they have a challenging melody to make them more respectable? Should it sound like what’s on the radio? 

If one of these suggestions made you cringe, it’s possible you’ve got a strong sense of what worship music should sound like. That’s okay. But we must each always remember that worship looks, sounds, and acts different in different places, services, and cultures. It always has. 

One of the things I love about the psalms is how they recognize the variety of musical instruments and styles in worship. Trumpets! Lyres! Melody! Plain old joyful noises! Worship doesn’t necessarily have to look or sound one way. What matters most is that it brings us together as a community, reminds us we’re in the presence of the one true God, gives us space for expression and reflection, and gives us courage to go back out into the world. For different people, at different times, in different gatherings, that will look different. And it should. God is present in all of it.

Pray. 

God, I thank you for the freedom to praise you openly, joyfully, earnestly, and meaningfully. May my worship always express my devotion to you. Challenge me to unite with all fellow Christians in worship, even when our music or format couldn’t be more different. I praise you for this variety. Amen.

Carry On. 

Try out a different worship style! It’s never been easier with so many churches still worshiping online in some form. Try even just listening to one song that isn’t your preferred style. What do you like about it? How did it feel like worship to you?