Lounge Worship. An oxymoron?
Rummaging through daddy’s glove compartment, I stumbled across the most unexpected find.
This!
Hmm… since when did daddy’s audiobuds move from china patriot to chillout lounge?
As the silky groove of the jive floated through the interior of the car, I was transported into the world of Lush 99.5.
… and I struggled to discern the “worship” component of the music.
→ which brought hubby and I to a discussion on what constitutes Worship Music.
does worship music have to have a “high churchy” feel with lots of pipe organ? If that were the case, then Maranatha and Songs of Kingdom would not qualify.
Somehow this worship lounge felt too “secular” and too carnal. As if the music was meant to elicit some illicit indulgence in the physical senses – but then opponents of heavy rock would accuse Hillsongs of the same crime.
Even Martin Luther used tavern music in the church, replacing them with christian lyrics.
So a critical question I had to ask myself was whether I was hemmed in from experiencing new forms of music by my own audio habits. Didn’t I use to believe that folks who thought the electric guitar was a spawn of the devil were narrow-minded frogs in a well?
Music and instruments are themselves neutral tools of expression; be it the classical violin or the cacophonous electric guitar – all were created with the creativity God built into men. Just because a music style is used in secular music, doesn’t mean we cannot adapt it for use in church. It certainly doesn’t mean that music style used in a secular context “belongs to the devil” as some superstitious ultra charismatics would have us believe.
But maybe what is more crucial is the inspiration behind the music we hear. For an album to claim it is worship music, I feel that its publishers / musicians / artists must have exercised their creativity with a view to glorify God. Whether or not I can personally worship with the music style is besides the point. My personal tastes and adapatability do not determine the worship quality of a piece of creative work.
Well, I still find it difficult to “worship” with the lounge CD, but at the very least, I feel comforted that I can relax with this CD, knowing the lyrics carry a godly message. I would feel “safe” playing it around my kids (when I do have them). Maybe I won’t use it in church worship, but I might use it for meditation since the grooves are so light and smooth – no thumping drives to distract my thoughts.
Of course the issue is not that simple. Would my line of thought stand for other artistic work? e.g. nudity. When does nude art become porn? Can a christian artist glorify God and express his worship with nude art?
Duuno man….
Filed under: Lessons in Life | 3 Comments
Baby's Blog
heheh this is erh…tehpeng’s
hey, i have the songs too(fren sent) and also had the similar qualms as u when i first heard them… i tried to match the definition of wat i knew worship to be with the impressions of this album but am having a very very hard time…
Maybe cos my understanding of worshipping God is a surrender to His will and purposes, and to do that requires a denial of my self.. OR in the expression sense, i pour out the immense emotions of gratefulness, for what God has done for me… which i feel lounge music contradicts both in a sense that it soothes and pampers my senses and does not seem to express that ‘gratefulness’.. heh.
hmm, who knows, maybe such music can express how we can feel secure in God’s hands..? i think that is quite relative bah? must see how the lyrics goes liao.. =)
Still when i listen to the style of the songs, i can’t help but imagine us lazing around on the couch sipping some cocktail and telling God we love Him… haha. hmm, personally i just find that weird…
lilsnooze > ok that totally explains it ;D
fishy > “…it soothes and pampers my senses and does not seem to express that ‘gratefulness’…”
I’ve seen quite a lot of christian instrumentals that have sounds of sea waves and birds in the background – their purpose is to create a mood of peace and serenity, definitely used to soothe the senses and help the christian “destress”. In fact some of them are very newage, zen-like. Yet by and large, I don’t hear of many people complaining about them.
Maybe it’s really the association between a type of music and a type of activity that we find hard to accept.
In ancient times music played by the violin and piano used to be associated with taverns and pubs and it took the church a while to accept it’s place in church music. The drums went through a similar path. Moving forward to present times, rock-styled music used to be associated with wild dancing and partying – that could explain why our parents initially found it hard to accept Hillsongs as being worship music. Similarly lounge music is associated with, well, lounging, and maybe that’s why we find it tough think of it as a possible avenue for worship music.
What about death metal music, traditionally associated with darkness, chaos, anger and even satan? I heard from Giddi that there are christians who use death metal music to minister to a certain segment of people who only listen to such music. The wordings of course are replaced with christian ones that talk about God.
I don’t necessarily have the answers, but i do know it’s important to try to separate between what is cultural and what is scriptural – this may be harder than we think.