Tonight's Agenda

Every couple of months, we have a church-wide meeting. Several different parts of our church are discussed. I, being the music director/leader/"music guy", was in charge of conducting our part of the meeting tonight. It's an area that many churches struggle with; trying to find the right music that fits everyone in your congregation. We aren't a mega-church. I have no issues with mega-churches, but I love the little country church my family and I attend. I've tried those huge churches in my lifetime, and they're just not for me. Our church is generally made up of families. Within those families are a few teen-agers. They have "their type of Christian music." I've heard everything from Sanctus Real to dc Talk in my time as music director. I never turn away someone who comes up to me and says, "hey, J.B., could you play this song some Sunday?"

We also have several older individuals in our congregation. Having grown up on the Gaithers and all the old hymns, I can relate more to them musically. Personally, if you asked me to sing "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" or some Christian rock song of today, I'd choose the former. But, I'd never admit that because worship comes in many forms. And, that's the problem with a lot of churches today; that I've seen and been associated with in the past few years. It's not the Sunday sermons, it's the music. I don't understand it. I sat there today and listened to a man I have respected for years (and still do) talk about how he doesn't want to see change in the music ministry. "The young kids should learn to respect these old hymns." I wouldn't use the word respect in that case, but I do agree that there is a generation of young Christians who've never really listened to the words of those old hymns carefully. In turn, I fully believe that there are some older Christians out there who could benefit from watching a 17-year-old kid completely lose himself in our Lord while listening to a Christian rock song.

In the end, it's not the music that really matters. Music is a great ministry, but there are so many people who treat it as if it should be a personal preference. I'm convinced that if I were to play every song that every member of our congregation wanted to hear on Sunday morning, I'd still be standing on the stage.

I wanted to desperately tell a couple people tonight, "look, the music is not about you. It's never been about you. It's about Him. And, who cares if we're lifting up our hearts to the rhythm of Third Day or the rhythm of the Gaithers, just as long as we're lifting them up?"