Invariably a student would say “I only listen to it for the beat – not the lyrics”. First of all, I would point out how often they would quote lyrics – at length from a song and then I would point out how they learned things from the beat or tune. For example, they learned their alphabet by singing the little song. They learned their multiplication tables to a beat. I then pointed out how the communists in Korea and Viet Nam would brainwash their prisoners by blaring rock music at them all day.

The article does raise question, though.

For one, I doubt any of our churches use music as it was played and sung in the days of Jesus. Thus, our music styles have changed over time. The Catholic Church did try to keep one style, the chant, but even that was not completely static, and while that type of church was stuck on that, the styles in the world were changing.

Another thing I would question is why a label applied by one man to the style of music is itself justification enough for the church to reject it. Granting that Freed did apply ‘Rock n Roll’, I still question whether that in itself is a good reason to reject all that type of music. For my part, I must say rather vehemently “NO!!” To blame only the music for what worldly people are doing seems simplistic.

Thirdly, even if we grant that CCM is by-and-large not exactly a great form of music, can we fairly make a blanket statement that it is all wrong? Do we dare throw out the Keith Greens, the old Petras, the Steve Taylors, the Jars of Clays, with all that really is junk in the genre? Is the problem the music, or the reason the music is made?

Finally, I don’t particularly care for any form of church music, and that goes for old and new styles. Too much CCM, particularly of the Praise and Worship kind, is not contemporary at all and sometimes even only marginally Christian, and music only in a lowest-common-denominator sense. On the other hand, hearing the wooden singing of hymns using music that is of even lower quality of CCM is painful, too.

I have no answer as to what to do about church music, but I suspect that trying to blame musical genres isn’t looking in the right directions for answers.