Music brings us together… right?
The whole world consumes music, and according to my latest Google search, there are 1264 genres of it. If your job was to serve dinner, and you had that many dishes, what are the odds that your entire dinner party would like what’s on their plate? Pretty slim!
At face value, music is a culprit for being divisive in the church. I’ve been at plenty of churches where 2 simultaneous services were happening; however, the only difference in them was the musical style. The welcome, the announcements, the preaching, and the theology were all the same. Music is what divided up the congregation.
Even though the big wave of “Worship Wars” has passed, there are still plenty of churches that struggle with which music is best. However, before landing that plane, it’s so important to understand music’s design in a worship setting. When you understand it’s design, you can better choose what music will work well in your church.
Music is actually designed to unite us instead of divide us.
Forget preferences for a second and zoom out. Look at how worship music is actually designed. You have melodies, chords, and rhythm combined with lyrical content. Music is structured by design; however, it also allows for expression of heart.
This structure of music is the reason it is so common in the Bible as a form of worship. It’s the most effective medium to affirm truths and express emotion as a congregation.
If a congregation just read the lyrics of a song in unison, you’d affirm the truth of the lyrics, but you’d lack any expression of emotion. There are Biblically appropriate emotions found all throughout the Bible, such as joy, gratitude, awe, reverence, and wonder. Music is designed to help express these emotions corporately.
There is a lot of work to be done in how to best deliver that music to a congregation; however, the starting point is to know that music’s design is not about catering to your personal preference. It’s not about giving the congregation what they want. It’s not even about sounding good.
Congregational worship music is designed to unite a congregation in it’s focus, its thoughts, its emotion, and its adoration to the Creator.
As a worship leader, music is your primary tool to unite.
-Stephen