1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

MMF - Biblical Principles for Church Music

Discussion in '2000-02 Archive' started by rlvaughn, Jun 9, 2001.

  1. War_Eagle

    War_Eagle New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2001
    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    0
    DHK,

    I know that this thread is "Bibical principles for Church Music". I never changed the topic to CCM, or mainstream music, I was just following the natural progression of the posts that preceded mine.

    I am aware of John 13:35, thank you. I even did a study of it just for the purposes of trying to understand your posts better. Since I know that many people here are KJV only, I used a KJV.

    There isn't any indication in any of my books or commentaries that loving "the bretheren" and loving pagans are mutually exclusive.

    Therefore, I will continue to show Christ's love to non-Christians.

    Just as I didn't say that I was in a Christian band, I never said that I disagreed with John 13:35, just your interpretation of it.

    I also never said that any song I wrote for my wife (not married, that was just for the sake of the argument) was or wasn't suitable for congregational worship.

    In fact, I think you might even be surprised by some of my views on "congregational" music.

    I can't stand "worship choruses", I think most CCM is just dumb and I keep an old Baptist hymnal by my bed and read it sometimes for a devotional or just because. I love the great hymns of the faith. (Didn't see that coming, did you?)

    I don't think our problem here is a disagreement over "being in the world but not of it" (I'm sure we both agree on that), rather what does it mean to be "in the world" as opposed to being "of the world".

    I think that's great that you pass out tracts and go door to door. There's a need for that but that's not my ministry. God has called me to build relationships with people who need to know Him, be they Christian or not.

    Who else needs a friend more than someone who is lost without Christ? Having been there, I can tell you, it's a lonely place to be.

    In an earlier post you said something to the effect that if I sing mainstream music as well as Christian music, non-Christians will say "what's the difference between Christians and us." (I hope that's right. For some strange reason I can't review your past posts so I'm going from memory.)

    It's interesting that the only people who seem to care are other Christians. It's been my experience that Non-Christians
    are much more concerned with how Christians treat them than and couldn't really care less with the music we listen to.

    The one exception being the non-Christians who tell me how cool it is that I feel secure enough in my walk with Christ that I can get up in a bar full of people and express my faith. A couple of people have even come to Christ because of that, one being my piano/keyboard/accordion player, Tommy Owensby. (One down four to go!)

    Again, I'm not trying to change the topic here but you brought this up and I felt it should be addressed.

    [ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: War_Eagle ]

    [ August 01, 2001: Message edited by: War_Eagle ]
     
  2. War_Eagle

    War_Eagle New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2001
    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    0
    By the way, evidently BaptistBoard's censorship software is a little overzelous. The word it blocked out wasn't dirty at all. Nor was it directed at anyone. In the context of the post, it was perfectly appropriate.

    Weird, huh?
     
  3. DHK

    DHK <b>Moderator</b>

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2000
    Messages:
    37,982
    Likes Received:
    137
    "In an earlier post you said something to the effect that if I sing mainstream music as well as Christian music, non-Christians will say "what's the difference between Christians and us." (I hope that's right. For some strange reason I can't review your past posts so I'm going from memory.)
    It's interesting that the only people who seem to care are other Christians. It's been my experience that Non-Christians are much more concerned with how Christians treat them than and couldn't really care less with the music we listen to."

    However, the non-Christians do care, very much, about what music you listen to. Recently the news reported the fastest growing segment of the music industry is CCM. It now has a good share of the market, whereas just a few years ago, it was almost an unknown in secular circles. Perhaps "Christian" artists are getting more professional at imitating the world's music! Perhaps there is no line any more as to what is Christian any more and what is not, after all-- "who listens to the words anyway, it's the beat that counts." And there are many that don't care what the words are, so long as the volume is turned up high and there is a good strong beat.
    Does the world care? See for yourself. Take that old hymnal of yours and sing those songs instead to your band members. Suggest that for one week all the radio stations that play CCM play just those hymns that are in your hymnal. How much business do you think they would lose? Would they attract the world? That is the unsaved crowd and the saved that enjoy the "things of this world."
    "What can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus" just doesn't seem to be most people's favorite today. I wonder why.
    DHK
     
  4. War_Eagle

    War_Eagle New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2001
    Messages:
    113
    Likes Received:
    0
    DHK,

    When you said the first time that non-Christians care about the music we listen to, you were speaking of judgement. This time you're talking about a marketing label. Two different things entirely.

    When some of my unsaved musician friends and I get together for bluegrass "sessions", we often play hymns. In fact, in bluegrass music they're a must. "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", "What Would You Give in Exchange for You Soul", "Who Will Sing For Me", Are You washed in the Blood", "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood", etc.

    Obviously, they view these from a much different perspective than I do but if they're as powerful as you and I believe they are, I think that they'll speak to my friends. I've had more than one "do you believe that stuff?" conversation as a result.

    The problem with the radio station idea is that radio stations are in the business of making money, not ministry.

    One of the reasons that non-Christians might not realate to the songs in my hymnal is that the most recent song is from the thirties.

    Going by your logic, how many people do you know who listen to "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover" or "In the Good Old Summertime"?

    The problem isn't the message, it's the music itself. After all, Randy Stonehill and Steve Taylor have huge non_Christian followings and their songs clearly present the Gospel as well as other Biblical themes in plain, modern language.

    "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" is a wonderful song and I enjoy singing it in church but how many people today know what a bullwhark is?
     
  5. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2000
    Messages:
    30,285
    Likes Received:
    507
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I just spent 19 minutes going through all 9 pages of the "wanderings" of this thread. We cannot handle 10 pages, so I am LOCKING this thread at this point.

    HOWEVER, there are a LOT of good points. I would encourage some of you to start a thread on ONE SPECIFIC ASPECT of the discussion. This will allow more to read and participate.

    Okay? Well, even if not, this is over. :eek:
     
Loading...