Music has played an important and often controversial role in the church. We often talk in terms of “traditional” versus “contemporary/progressive”. The traditional style focuses more on hymns and reading from a hymnal, the accompaniment often performed on an organ, while the contemporary style centers around memorizable repetition accompanied with drums, guitars, and often faster tempo.

I recently came across an article on The Gospel Coalition’s website, where three pastors discussed the various worship styles of music in their own church, and they made several points. First, worship music is contextual. The style played in one church to a particular congregation looks very different than another church in another part of town or the country.

For instance, I worship at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Center City Philadelphia. What style of music do you think we use? Completely traditional. We sing hymns while the organ bellows the notes and the choir sings in the loft. However, there are many contemporary churches in the city, even in our own denomination.

Secondly, and asking a more important question, what makes music memorable and transformable? One of the pastors calls it the “Bono Effect”. You may not be able to sing one of Bono’s songs, but if you were to go to one of the concerts, you would find yourself trying to sing along, simply because of the atmosphere. What does that look like in the church? What grips people and their emotions and offers a deep, heartfelt worship service?

Thirdly, there is a need to stretch ourselves and grow in our maturity; music can help us do just that. Singing new hymns/songs even when we don’t like them opens us to a broader picture of the beauty of singing. There are hymns that I love to sing and know by heart, packed with an amazing understanding of God. However, my knowledge of hymns is very limited. Singing new hymns opens me to a deep and fuller understanding of God.

When we pair our heart to our mind through singing, the content becomes more than just written words to memorize. There is a joy in reflecting on the truths of God through music. I particularly like the hymns because often they are far more thought provoking. They force me to take a deeper look at my own understanding of God. There are times that I will stop reading often to just reflect on the words.

However, I haven’t addressed some of the more important issues in worship. What do you think is essential to a worshipful hymn or song?