To this day I don't know why.
When I was in High School, I decided I wanted to join the band. I wanted to play the drums.
"No" was my Dad's answer.
Now in some houses "no" means just keep bugging Dad until he gives in. The house I grew up in when Dad said "no", it meant the discussion ended.
Period.
So I picked the trombone, which I must say is not nearly as cool as being a drummer. My heart really wasn't in it. I played for a couple of years until basketball became my focus. Then I quit the trombone.
I wonder why Dad said "no". Was he worried about the noise? Did he think I would end up in some rock band with long hair and ear rings?
I mean I really enjoy the rhythms of songs. My taste in music can range across a lot of different styles. Forget the lyrics, how cool is the rhythm.
Growing up in a VERY conservative church, all that we sang was hymns. There was nothing called contemporary worship. You had your song book. That's it.
During my teen years there wasn't a lot of cool Christian bands, in fact I think there was just a handful. None of which interested me in the least.
Christian teens today can enjoy a wide range of bands and styles that have a Christian message, shoot I've found that I even enjoy some of them.
Growing up I tried my hand at writing music, playing the guitar, and of course playing the drums. I played the drums for my friend Brian who played the guitar and sang. Lets just say our band never got off the ground, although I really enjoyed playing the drums for Brian.
That brings us to today.
Being the leader of a Jr-Sr high youth group I have rediscovered how important music is to the younger generation. What they like and don't like. I can tell you this, and don't get upset about this, but they have a really hard time with traditional worship music.
Why?
I think first it is a generational issue. Look I'm sure somebody's Grandma started breaking somebody's Elvis albums. Young people think older people are out of touch. This is not new, as a kid I thought older people were out of touch. Young people think they have most of the answers, although they find out when they get older that older people were sharper than they thought.
The second, and I think more important, issue is that young people are not blind. They see adults sing hymns with about as much passion as a sit in a doctors office waiting room. They watch people worship God in a hollow, perhaps zombie type way. Young people, for the most part, are about life. They are looking for a real, genuine worship experience. That means the music has to be a little more upbeat.
At my church we try to mix hymns with more contemporary music. I know Barna says not to, but I think it is a good thing. It makes the church grow by stretching some of the older folks and letting the younger ones feel more comfortable in worship. We try to make worship better for everyone, which has worked for us, your results may vary.
I have a confession however. Every once and awhile the church turns the Sunday evening service over to my youth group. They have the freedom to do whatever they want in the service. Their music 100%.
Guess what.
I find myself tapping my foot and really enjoying the worship music they pick. Is there any hope for me?
I wonder if they will let me play the drums for them?
Hmmmmm.
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2 comments:
I haven't said it anywhere else but I've been wondering about something. We've thought for a while we need to change the music to reach the lost. Today's problem is what music do the lost like? With sites like pandora.com and such, everybody has their own headphones (earbuds) on (in). Do we do worship with everyone getting their own customized worship? Not possible, at least not easy, and doubtfully corporate. But I'm also convinced that even though I want to crowbar the church out of their current culture, that they have to land somewhere. Where? Perhaps there are other art forms that are more broad in the culture. Video? Paintings? Drama? Perhaps we can bridge some cultures by doing certain music to different styles? Going contemporary may be going from bad to bad. I have a lady in my church, early 30's, her father was a preacher, she said she needed a song for the youth group about friendship, the lesson suggested Michael W Smith's "friends." She had never heard of him. I couldn't believe it. She said, "I listen to country."
True enough, it would be an impossible task to find a style of music that made everybody happy. I guess I am more concerned with the shallowness of worship in many churches. It doesn't matter to me the music style, as long as you really believe what your singing about. If we really believe all the great things we are singing about, should we at least smile?
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