Is it Appropriate?

Many times in the great music debate we get tied up in whether or not a certain style or song is “good” or “wicked”, right or wrong. We want to be able to categorize all music into two categories; that which a Christian should listen to, and that which a Christian shouldn’t listen to. The problem with this approach (which is used by many on both “sides” of the “worship wars” debate) is that it completely ignores and misses the the importance of appropriateness when considering the issue. We want to be able to make blanket statements about the moral nature of music styles/songs that apply across the board to all uses of music, whether in the church or in the home. Because of this tendency we end up falling into one of two camps: either we condemn all styles of music (or songs) we do not believe should be used in church, or we accept for use in the church any music style/song that we like to listen to and enjoy outside of the church. This ends us in one of two extremes: either we have a narrow view of what music a Christian is allowed to listen to, or we end up thinking that anything goes when it comes to music and worship. Both of these extreme views come about because of this false dichotomy that puts all music into only one of two categories.

The problem is that there are two different issues that are being lumped together and this results in this false dichotomy. The issues are:

1. what music should a Christian listen to vs. what music he should not listen to.
2. what music we should or should not use in the worship service.

Each of these issues has two categories that all music falls into, and the problem arises when we begin to merge the two issues. The categories are:

1. Music/Songs a Christian can listen to.
2. Music/Songs a Christian should not listen to.
3. Music that is appropriate for use in the Worship service.
4. Music that is not appropriate for use in the Worship service.

While it is safe to say that  all music (song) that is appropriate for the worship service is okay for a Christian to listen to, we must realize that not all music that is okay to listen to is appropriate for the worship service. In addition while it is true that there is no music that  is wrong for a Christian to listen to that is appropriate for the worship service, we must be careful not to think that music that is not appropriate for worship is not okay to listen to. This means that there is some music that is okay to listen to that is not appropriate for the worship service. Therefore in the context of this discussion if we want to merge these two issues we end up with 3 categories of music, instead of 2.

1. Music a Christian can listen to that is appropriate for the worship service.
2. Music a Christian can listen to that is not appropriate for the worship service
3. Music a Christian should not listen to.

I would be neither surprised nor upset to walk into a preschool sunday school class and find the teacher leading the children in a rousing rendition of “Father Abraham” or “I’m in the Lord’s Army”. However, I would not feel it appropriate for the very same songs to be used in the Sunday Morning Worship Service. Why? Because while these (and many other songs) are great for use with small children, it would not be appropriate for the worship service.  This holds true as well for much music that is not “children’s music”. A question we must ask ourselves when deciding what music to use in the service is what is the purpose of music in the church service?  (Which first and foremost ought to be bringing the congregation together (fellowship) through corporate worship of our God). If a song does not serve this purpose, then it is not appropriate for the Worship Service. This however does not mean that the song/music is not appropriate for listening to in the car, at home, or even at a church picnic. Just because certain music/styles/songs are not appropriate for the worship service does not inherently make them wrong. The clothes I would wear to a formal dinner/event would not be the same clothes I would wear to build a fence. Why? Because of appropriateness. If you saw me nailing boards to a fence while wearing a Tuxedo you would wonder what was wrong with me. There’s nothing wrong with wearing a Tuxedo, but wearing one while building a fence just isn’t right!

Appropriateness is a very important part of the discussion when considering what music should be used for corporate worship.  I would even go so far as to say that the context of the church’s culture should play a role in the appropriateness discussion. Now, I am not saying that we are to choose our music based on what the people like. Rather I am positing that we need to be careful that we choose music that does not speak a foreign language to our audience. While I personally love Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion and find it to be very conducive to worship, I understand that most people in the churches I have attended/attend would not find it worshipful because they would not understand it. So therefore while it may be appropriate for worship in some contexts (such as worship services during Bach’s day) it would not be appropriate in other contexts (say a country church in Kentucky this upcoming Sunday) where the people just would not find it worshipful to try to sing a Bach Cantata. (Perhaps if one felt led to they could try to get their church to the point where it could sing a Bach cantata and find it worshipful, but that is another discussion for another day). The discussion on Christians and Music too often becomes a two dimensional argument when in reality there are many other dimensions that must be considered such as the appropriateness factor.