Or, Why My Favorite Rock Group is Mount Rushmore
In my opinion, what passes for Christian music today has very little to do with the kingdom of God. It's slick; it's jazzy; it's fast. I am embarrassed by it. Surely we can do better than this.
A case in point. It escapes me what a saxophone arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy has to do with Christianity. It's not even good music. Yet, this is standard fare on Christian radio station which touts itself as being the "traditional choice." The fact that Henry Van Dyke put some great Christian words to this tune doesn't give us the right to pervert Beethoven.
And it is sad to see that Christians are taking the lead in offering contemporary (per)versions of Handel's Messiah.
Too, there is an awful lot of showy music. The 1990 Dove awards (the Christian Grammies) had a live performance of the Cathedral Quartet. The high tenor was either not good or he was having problems. Anyway, as usual, he was supposed to crown the song with a high note on the end. He splattered that note all over the auditorium. It cracked like an egg. The audience didn't care; they stood up and cheered anyway.
If a particular singer has a high C in their vocal range, you can rest assured that at least half the songs on their latest album include this note, even if it doesn't seem to fit the song. D- C-'s arrangement for S- P- of "The Star Spangled Banner" is an example of this tendency. After a somewhat subdued first verse, a rock beat is introduced, and then at the end the listener is not made to think of our great country, but rather how high is Miss P- going to go? If this rendition had been recorded twenty years ago it could have caused a national scandal. Again, it is sad to see Christians in the business of perverting "sacred" music.
There was a day when I thought God's kingdom needed big choirs, orchestras, special effects, lighting, 500-watt amplifiers, synthesizers, and the like. God dealt with my soul (I was converted), and have come to realize what God means when he says, "Not by might [of a 200-voice choir and a 100-piece orchestra], nor by power [400-watts sheer music power], but by my spirit, saith the Lord."
I think I know more than a little about music. I majored in music at college, have been church organist, choir director, and recently was a principal in a musical at a local college.
But I'm from the old school--the '50s, where Christian artists, except Ralph Carmichael, did their recording at the Lorin Whitney Recording Studios, accompanied by Mr. Whitney on the pipe organ. The Christian records weren't so slick back then, but they were performed with conviction, simplicity, and could touch a person's heart.
There's nothing sacred about the '50s, to be sure, especially when this is the decade responsible for rock 'n' roll. But now a lot of '50's rock 'n' roll seems tame and innocent compared to much of today's contemporary Christian music.
". . . and now I am happy all the day."
Most of you have probably sung these, the closing words to "At the Cross." Chances are, you're lying when you sing them.
Whenever I hear that song on the radio I usually hear some different words at the end of the first verse: "for sinners such as I" or "for such a one as I" instead of "for such a worm as I." I don't understand what is wrong with singing it the way it is. If they're going to change the words, why don't they change the "now I am happy" words?
The most blatant altering of good words I've heard in a long time has been in a new rendition of "Softly and Tenderly," "Calling, oh sinner, come home" became "Calling his children, come home." Obviously, someone out there doesn't believe we're sinners.
"Lord, here's another one that loves you."
These are words from some new song that came out in the past year I believe. It seems to promote the idea that God is upstairs wringing His hands because it appears that He's losing the conflict of the ages.
The flesh always wants more. This was demonstrated to me at a recording studio. The recording technician explained to us how you can keep adding more tracks to the music. He found that the tendency was to just keep adding more.
A casual listen to contemporary Christian music bears this out. It's just too much--too much superfluous noise that doesn't add to the thrust of the message. An example that comes to mind is the orchestral introduction to S- G-'s recording of "Joy to the World." A little too much, to say the least!
The president of our Bible college passed down an amazing edict : "No music `heavier' than `The Holy City.'" Shutting the door on serious music, he opened the door to pop music. His intentions were good; he didn't want high church music, or at least what he perceived to be high church music. I am here to declare that he was wrong. There is nothing wrong with `heavy' music in itself; it's all a matter of how it is presented, how it is performed.
I appreciate fine music. I get more spiritually uplifted by hearing a Tchaikovsky symphony than by hearing Joe Nostril and His Nosepickers and their rendition of the latest country gospel hit. I get more moved by some Joe Oratorio singing "Thy Rebuke Has Broken His Heart" from Messiah than by some Joe Spiritual singing "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now."
Another crazy legalism was at a Catholic wedding I attended. The priest would not allow Wagner's "Bridal Chorus" because it was from an opera, and yet he allowed the organist to play the theme from "Ice Castles," a movie! I ask you, is this not sheer hypocrisy?
It is easy for musicians to become proud. When a soloist stands up in church and begins "praising by proxy," he or she can easily fall into the pride trap. Even when they think they are immune to pride, it can snare them. The very thought, "I am immune to pride," is a sure sign of pride. Usually after the service, people come by and compliment the soloist. This is fine, but then the soloist sings again in a few weeks and begins to anticipate the accolades. Soon it isn't long until the soloist is singing for the praise that they know will be heaped upon them, rather than for the glory of the Lord. They will even begin looking for songs that, instead of glorifying God, display their voice, and thus sure to evoke compliments.
I've been there, so I know. I doubt if anyone this side of heaven is really immune.
Pride may even manifest itself in the manner of the performance. For example, we have a husband and wife who sing duets every now and then. The last time they sang, they had to stop in the middle of the song because they had made a mistake. The man casually whispered to his wife where to pick it up and they were back on track as if nothing had happened. If you used only the visual cues, you would have thought nothing had happened at all. Their pride wasn't wounded because they had none.
In contrast, we had an enormously gifted singer sing during the a.m. service several months ago. This singer suddenly forgot the words, and you would have thought that someone had killed their baby and was dragging the spouse off to jail. It all told in the face. Wounded pride.
It becomes an idol when you find yourself going to the latest release of your favorite Christian artist for inspiration instead of going to God and His Word directly.
"I want to cross over into campground."
This is a line from the famous spiritual "Deep River." The problem with cross-over hits is that they don't cross over into campground; they cross over into the world. I get the impression that many Christian musicians become jealous of secular musicians and want the best of both worlds.
Can we really have both?
While at a large Christian bookstore in California I was looking at the recordings and was asked by the clerk if my children would be interested in some Christian rap music. They had some there, right next to the Christian heavy metal.
Taped accompaniments distract me. Again, this is only my opinion and I certainly hope they don't distract everyone as much as they do me. Maybe they're "necessary," in a church that has no musicians, but God's people can get just as much blessing, if not more, from having Grandma Snazzy plunk it out on the piano. Efforts should be made to see that the piano is in relatively good tune.
You wouldn't think of going to a fully pre-recorded concert, would you? Did you realize that, with pre-recorded accompaniments, you're half-way there?
This is to say nothing of (1) the inappropriate sounds which usually emanate from the recording, and (2) the inevitable embarrassment as the performer waits for the accompaniment to begin.
When a man sings, he is supposed to sound like a man; when a woman sings, she is supposed to sound like a woman. The advent of electronics has changed all this. Now we can croon instead of sing, and be heard by millions (via recording). Women can have their sensuous lower register amplified and almost sound like men. Men can have their upper (falsetto) register amplified and sound like women. This is my chief complaint about a certain gospel singer, now in heaven, who, though he had a great zeal and a great message, did not sound authoritative when he sang. He sounded like a woman.
In college I knew a girl who had this sensuous lower register, with which she always sang. Then she had voice lessons. The difference was amazing.
Rhythm in music ministers to the body, not the mind or the spirit. Therefore, in accompanying Christian lyrics, rhythms should usually be understated, since it is not the body we want to reach. However, a "disco beat" has crept into Christian music, and though it may "sound neat," it does very little to convey the message of the words. In fact, it negates the lyrics. It gives a serious message a "laid back" feeling.
Just this past week I heard Bill Pierce, himself a fine musician, apologize for "some of the renditions" played on his radio program, Nightsounds, which didn't convey the correct mood. He was speaking on the subject "Blessed are they that mourn," and the musical selection in question was definitely in the category of "easy listening."
While no Christian musician would dream of getting up in church and singing "Wake Up, Little Suzy," or any other pop song for that matter, he or she seems to have no qualms about singing good words to music which elevates one's soul no higher than this.
Music should fit the words. If it doesn't, then it will negate, confuse, or otherwise destroy the message of the song. For instance, in this song,
"Jesus is Coming Soon,
Morning or night or noon,
Many will meet their doom . . ."
the jivy music makes light of the grave message of the words. Nothing wrong with peppy music, if that is what the text calls for.
Then there's another song ("He Died of a Broken Heart") I keep hearing, about the crucifixion, with the emotional level of a chewing gum commercial.
The emotional level of most of the "popular" Christian music today is just about that low. The music is cute; the music is sensuous; the music is catchy. But it probably doesn't enhance the message of the words.
It's not so much a return to a balance that's called for, but a return to sanity. If by contemporary music we mean music without a conscience, music for the purpose of tantalization, entertainment, and cheap experiments with synthesizers, then we better stick with the "old" stuff.
------David R. Heesen, 1990
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