Musical Mush

Chuck Colson is a man after my own heart. His commentary today is on musical mush. Colson begins his short commentary by recounting an incident in which a particular “worship” chorus – somewhat short of theological content - was sung and sung in a morning service repeatedly. When the cheerful worship leader suggested it be sung yet again he, unable to contain himself, shouted “No!” (How many times have you secretly wanted to do that! When I told of this incident to my wife, she burst out laughing.) But he points up a trend that has bothered me for many years, that much of what passes for Christian worship music is weak music with even weaker theology.

I have to confess, I have been a worship leader and battled with the inertia of this era of church history. Though I sought to select songs with content and depth, decisions are often made by committee, and song selections are often made out of habit and familiarity rather than content.

Colson correctly sees the trend in worship music as leaning toward entertainment and “needs meeting” rather than worship and instruction in sound doctrine. And Colson connects the dots to trends beyond the local church worship service.



"The trend is also true of Christian radio, historically an important source of in-depth teaching. Many stations have recently dropped serious programming in favor of all-music formats. For example, a major Baltimore station dropped four talk shows to add music. A respected broadcaster recently dropped “Focus on the Family,” claiming it had become too focused on 'moral issues.'"

I find this amazing. I find this alarming. James Dobson’s organization has been on the front lines of battling about essential moral issues – things that should be non-negotiable in Christian morality, not arguing about legalistic disagreements about hem lengths or movie ratings or social drinking. How can a Christian radio station drop a program for being too focused on essential moral issues? Has morality suddenly gotten in the way of our vague, happy Christian “experience”? Is it now the accepted norm that we should not let some inconvenient notion of morality affect my “relationship with Jesus”?

Colson is more diplomatic than I am as I write. He continues,

"The decision by Christian broadcasters to avoid moral controversies could result in the Church withdrawing from the culture as it tragically did a century ago. The great strength of radio, as with books, has been to present in-depth teaching that engages Christians cognitively. Unfortunately, thinking analytically is something Christians find increasingly difficult. According to a government study, the average college graduate’s proficient literacy in English has declined from 40 percent in 1992 to 31 percent ten years later. The study defines proficient literacy as the ability to read lengthy, complex texts and draw complicated inferences.

"This is horrifying. The Gospel above everything else is revealed propositional truth—truth that speaks to all of life. Sure, the Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand. But if you want to study doctrine and worldview, you need the capacity to engage ideas cognitively. Doctrine and biblical teaching does not consist of dry, abstract notions. It is the truth that must be carried to the heart and applied. And there is no escaping that it is truth that must be learned."

I know that the postmodern ideas which now infiltrate the church tend to downplay the notion of “propositional” truth. I acknowledge that truth can be perceived in ways that are not cognitive and absolute objectivity is not humanly possible. Yet Colson’s point must not be missed. Words matter to Christianity, words that communicate ideas. From Mount Sinai through the Psalms and Prophets to the Gospels and Epistles, to the Creeds and doctrinal formulations of countless denominations, words are the most essential tool for the passing along of the Christian faith. The ability to “read complex texts” and “draw complicated inferences” means, to the Christian, the ability to discern truth from error. And the overemphasis on experience, feelings, at the expense of content is, like a steady diet of sugar candy, rotting the teeth of the evangelical church.

There is a parallel between the endlessly repeating choruses devoid of content, and the mindless repeating of the errors of the mainline churches -- jettisoning theological truth and in the process losing their moral compass. Far too many evangelical leaders are smiling and saying, “shall we sing it again?” I want to stand with Colson and say “No!”