Christian songs are supposed to be unto the Lord and not unto men. Christian music should be Godward and not manward. The psalmist says we are to sing praises “to the Lord.” (Psalm 9:11). Christian music should glorify God, as opposed to entertaining men.
Churches now do telemarketing surveys, asking: “What would you like in a church?” In effect, many churches are made to measure, according to the greatest demand, and not according to God’s prescriptions.
Some pastors even go further and play it safe. They have surveys asking our members what kind of messages they would like to hear. This is a standard operating procedure in the world of business marketing. You find out what your potential customers want, and you give it to them. But it is inappropriate for the kingdom of God, which is based on the will of our Father in heaven.
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The modern day pastor is determined to change man’s perception of God and to make Him more desirable and appealing to the flesh, all in the interest of expeditious church growth. The flesh hates holiness, so, many pastors do all they can to make the church more like the world. Frankly, holiness is hard on the numbers and has a way of annoying the ambitious and offending the profane.
Instead of hating evil, as scripture commands (Psalm 97:10), today’s Christians are being taught just the opposite: to hate holiness. This is achieved by zealously removing from churches anything that encourages fear, respect, reverence, and awe toward the Almighty.
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The trend is now towards promoting a casual, even cavalier attitude and atmosphere in and around churches to make people feel more comfortable and relaxed. The truth, however, is that we cannot entertain men into the kingdom: but we can convict them.
Churches are now the jack of all trades. They use such non-spiritual activities as gymnastics, rock n roll, comedians, and a host of other gimmicks to entertain their congregation. The church service is often a carefully crafted and choreographed production designed to please and impress men and not God. Many churches put on shows with worldly celebrities to increase their numbers.
Now we see the next logical step in the process of marketing the church to the world; offer a free inducement to get them into your establishment. Put on a show, offer a free trial, give away something of value, and entice them with things to get them in the door.
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Today, it is a regular practice for churches to offer some sort of inducement for newcomers. In one American church, they offered to pay for a portion of the visitor’s petrol in exchange for visiting the church. Another preacher offered non-members a certain amount of money for just sitting through a Sunday morning service.
I suppose you might call this “avant-garde evangelism.”
That Is Entertainment
I walked into the parish of a major Lagos church for the very first time and was surprised to hear the choir playing the theme song from the blockbuster movie “Mission Impossible III.” Do not get me wrong; the choir was excellent. But you start to wonder if you are not actually at a pop concert, as opposed to a church.
Another church in Anderson, South Carolina (USA) even upped the ante. It was reported that they started a church service with the song “Brick House” by the Commodores. Who could blame them? After all, they were purpose-driven, determined to attract the world.
Just take a look at some of the words of the song and judge for yourself whether it agrees with the virtues of Jesus Christ:
She knows she got everything
a woman needs to get a man, yeah.
How can she use, the things she use
36-24-36, what a winning hand!
The clothes she wears, the sexy ways,
make an old man wish for younger days
She knows she’s built and knows how to please
Sure enough to knock a man to his knees
How in heaven’s name can anyone think such a song is appropriate in a church of all places? But then churches are no longer what they used to be.
According to The Telegraph, the pastor of a big church in Kyiv, Ukraine encourages his congregants to “shake their booty and praise the Lord.” Reporting on one of his services, the newspaper observes that:
“As he prepared to make a grand entrance, the choirgirls shook their pompoms, the disco lights started to flash, and a fanfare sounded. The lights cut out, and (he) emerged from a shroud of dry ice. Children holding flags of the world wafted around him and the choir bellowed ‘Sanctus!’”
What exactly is happening here? Is it a worship service or a rock concert? Is Christ the bright morning star or is the pastor the superstar? I dare say some churches have gone astray because of their preoccupation with attracting and retaining new members.
Babylonian Songs
In the single-minded pursuit of size and numerical growth, new-generation churches have reconfigured the church service into a show business where men come to be entertained on Sundays for the “gate fee” of an offering. The thinking is that by spiritualising popular music, the church becomes more attractive to unbelievers.
The danger in this approach is that the modern church becomes increasingly worldly.
The playing of secular music in churches does not facilitate the conversion of the lost. Indeed, music is never used in scripture as a means of reaching the lost. Instead, music is primarily used as a means of reaching God, because the Lord inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3).
God is not likely to be reached through the “urban contemporary gospel music.” Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24).
God’s mechanism for reaching the lost is through preaching. Jesus directs His disciples to: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15). He does not say we should go into the world and organise beautiful concerts.
But while the gospel may no longer be preached in many churches today, they certainly strive to play good popular music that is very attractive to the people.
“Give Jesus a wiper!”
Christian Pop and Rap
Is it appropriate to recast popular secular songs into Christian ones by changing the lyrics?
I do not think so.
Worldly music is inappropriate for conversion into “gospel” music. Jesus says: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6).
James asks rhetorically: “Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus, no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” (James 3:12).
There is a spirit that holds the copyright to every song we sing. Changing the lyrics does not change the copyright. This means a worldly song cannot be converted into a godly song. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused to bow down to a god worshipped “in symphony with all kinds of music.” (Daniel 3:14-18).
Rock music, for example, is naturally wild; designed to stimulate the flesh. This makes it inappropriate for worship. Indeed, the rock of the rockstar is not the Rock of Ages. Moses says: “Their rock is not like our Rock.” (Deuteronomy 32:31).
Rap music is also vulgar and fleshly. At its most fundamental, it is characterised by foul language, and videos glorifying pimps and “bitches.” These types of music cannot be converted into spiritual music because of what Jesus calls the “good fruit” principle: “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18).
Rap music emphasises the drums. Spiritual songs, on the other hand, emphasise the melody as opposed to the beat. (Psalm 33:2; Isaiah 51:3). Indeed, the Bible makes no mention anywhere of drums.
New Songs
Christian songs should be “new songs;” not reworked popular songs. New creatures should sing new songs, not the same old songs we were singing when we were still in the world.
The psalmist says: “He has put a new song in my mouth – praise to our God.” (Psalm 40:3). He enjoins believers repeatedly to: “Sing unto the LORD a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints.” (Psalm 149:1). “Sing to Him a new song; play skilfully with a shout of joy.” (Psalm 33:3).
If church music appeals to the world, then it must be unacceptable to God. Jesus says: “What is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15). The world is not interested in music that genuinely glorifies the Lord. Therefore, many so-called Christian artists end up laundering their lyrics to give them a “cross-over” appeal.
After the children of Israel were carried into captivity, the Babylonians requested them to sing for sport. But they refused to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. (Psalm 137:4). Observe that it is the Lord’s song and not the world’s song. It is not even Israel’s song.
Christian songs are supposed to be unto the Lord and not unto men. Christian music should be Godward and not manward. The psalmist says we are to sing praises “to the Lord.” (Psalm 9:11). Christian music should glorify God, as opposed to entertaining men.
Saturday Night Fever
Pastors play church a lot. They fill their choirs with gifted musicians who are singularly unspiritual. They hire them for a fee. As long as they play good music, they are acceptable in the beloved. These musicians play in discos on Saturday night and then are in church on Sunday morning. Pastors are particular about how well they play: they are not concerned about their anointing.
But God is not impressed, and He would not be mocked. He says through the mouth of Amos:
“Away with your hymns of praise – they are mere noise to My ears. I will not listen to your music, no matter how lovely it is. I want to see a mighty flood of justice – a torrent of doing good.” (Amos 5:23-24).
[email protected]; www.femiaribisala.com
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