In this final post on Church Growth Tactics Are Not Evangelism, I am going to wade into the contemporary music debate as it relates to use of such music in worship of God. As I wade into this debate, I freely acknowledge that I know next to nothing about music theory. Anything I have played or sung over my lifetime has been entirely by ear. I do not know how to read music, and many of the terms and concepts are foreign to me.
However, I am likely not alone, as we should not expect the majority of church-goers to understand music theory. This is, after all, why we have pastors, musicians and song leaders. They are to be the gate-keepers of music for use in worship and select music for its style, appropriateness, and theology.
Are they doing this in a manner which keeps our worship of God Biblical? Are we, as pew warmers, holding them accountable?
This post will not discuss particular instruments, as a variety of instruments were used in praise and worship of God in the Old Testament. When we first moved to Eastern Kentucky and Western North Carolina, the reality sunk in that not every church can afford a piano or organ, and people may not have access to piano lessons. We cannot be tied down to one particular form of instrument over another. The Old Testament itself does not aid in condemning nor endorsing a particular type of instrument for worship of God.
There are, I believe, instruments which detract from worship, and we should certainly consider this. We are also instructed to be set apart from the world and live differently than the world.
Instead, I am going to focus on the use of syncopated music and the question of whether it is appropriate in the worship of God. Let me be clear that there is nothing inherently wrong or bad about syncopated music. The only question we will deal with is its appropriateness in the worship of God, especially given its form today.
Let me also be clear that context is everything. Syncopated music is very old, with some historians claiming it dates back to the Middle Ages. Bach, Beethoven, Handel and other composers integrated syncopation into their music, although it was not similar in style to the syncopated music of today. Composers of time gone by were not necessarily writing church hymns or composing worship music.
What is syncopated music? “Syncopation is a rhythmic device that involves placing accents off the beat in unexpected places or playing two rhythms against one another.” (1) The two rhythms format was often used in old classical composition. “Syncopation in music is the concept of playing rhythms that accent or emphasize the offbeats. It shifts or displaces a standard rhythm by stressing beats generally not stressed. The time signature of a piece of music identifies a consistent pattern of strong and weak beats. A syncopated rhythm shifts this pattern by emphasizing weak upbeats instead of the strong downbeats. For example, songs with a 4/4 time signature usually stress the first and third beats. However, a syncopated rhythm may emphasize the second and fourth beats or notes between them.” (2)
How is syncopated music used, or what are the intended outcomes of syncopated music? “Syncopation brings excitement to music by playing with our expectations for where the beat should occur. This groove-inducing tactic breaks away from the strait feel when every note falls on the expected beat. Syncopation is also attention-grabbing. It surprises the ear by playing on our familiarity and expectations about straight rhythms. Unexpectedly switching the pattern or stressing offbeats adds variation, character, and groove to your music. Emphasizing notes outside a constant pulse also allows you to create interesting rhythms when recording or performing. It will also give your music a more human quality. Music that plays only on the beat can sound static, boring, and machine-made. It lacks imperfect aspects that make music relatable.” (2)
“Syncopation caused an individual to feel a propulsion, swing, and if played correctly, a musical looseness generally unknown to the public at large… The Midwest, particularly postbellum Missouri, was rife with saloons, brothels, and cabarets – all places where a pianist with a decent repertoire could earn a decent living.” (3)
As a person committed to believing in and following Jesus Christ, I will be the first to acknowledge that music itself originated with God. Music was, after all, employed in temple worship in the Old Testament. The temple was given to us by God and patterned after what is in heaven. Hebrews 8:4-5, Exodus 25:9.
The temple itself along with the specific prescriptions of worship in the temple were given to us by God as a copy of what is in heaven. Thus, I very much believe that there is music in heaven, that the music which originated in heaven was given to us by God, and that it is appropriate to employ music in the worship of God.
As the creator of the universe and all that is in it, God instilled in us the ability to sing, write music, and perform with musical instruments. God instilled in us a love for music, and I believe this is a key reason why music moves us. I also believe that God is orderly, creation is orderly, and worship is orderly. Mathematics, which are incorporated into music, science and other disciplines, are orderly. If God is orderly, how should our worship of Him be arranged?
Where we must be careful is how we define worship, who or what it is we are worshipping, and how closely we follow the model for worship given to us by God. If God expects us to worship Him, then what does He expect? How much liberty do we have in developing our own style of worshipping Him?
When I read such things as “feel a propulsion, swing, and if played correctly, a musical looseness generally unknown to the public at large”, “make music relatable”, “give your music a more human quality”, and “attention-grabbing”, I understand this to mean that we (the connoisseur of music) are the focus of syncopation. In other words, the music we perform and sing becomes more about how it makes us feel and how it moves us than whether it is pleasing to God. It can be a form of self-worship, at worst, or in the least, defining for ourselves how we want to worship God.
God has several things to say about our worship of Him. Specifically, adding a human quality to our worship of God was frowned upon. Exodus 20:24-25
Thus, God views anything that we alter and then use in worship of Him to be profaned. This is true because we are born in sin, and anything we bring to God will be tainted with sin and imperfect. God is pure and perfect, but sin can be brought into the temple or into our worship of God. Exodus 20:4-5, Deuteronomy 11:16, Psalm 2:11, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 96:6,9, Isaiah 2:8, Matthew 4:10, John 4:24, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Hebrews chapter 9
When syncopated music becomes about us, the human, it is no longer directing our attention to God in worship. If God is not the object of our worship, then we have violated the commandment to avoid worship of idols because we have made our own feelings or the music itself the idol.
Why the focus on syncopated music? That’s easy – because it is the main feature in Contemporary Christian Music which is deeply intertwined with the Church Growth Movement. In other words, it is embraced as a foundational component underpinning the Church Growth Movement. Syncopated music is also being pushed by current song writers such as Keith and Kristin Getty, who are part of New Calvinism. Syncopated music accompanies much of the new music being written and performed under the Christian label.
Syncopated music also often accompanies newer songs which have a distorted, weakened and self-focused theology. The point of both syncopation and repetition in such songs is to distract from the errors and omissions of the lyrics.
Syncopated music also emotionally energizes the person, and it is easy to manipulate a crowd of people who are on an emotional high. It becomes a sort of narcotic. If you recall, contemporary music was introduced under the justification that it will make our churches more seeker friendly, but we have fallen terribly far since then, especially in the bad theology and false teaching of modern music.
I write this not to oppose new hymns or new music. However, we can and should have music which is both correct theologically and appropriate for worship. By all appearances, modern syncopated music checks neither of those boxes.
(1) https://timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/syncopated-dance-music
(2) https://www.iconcollective.edu/what-is-syncopation-in-music
(3) https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200035811/
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