Music In Worship

A Biblical Perspective

The purpose of our worship service at Cornerstone Bible Fellowship is to engage the body of Christ in the exaltation of God for the edification of the believers and to create a manifest awareness of God's presence for the evangelization of unbelievers.

We are committed...
To balancing our emphasis on God's infinite majesty (His transcendence) with God’s indispensable intimacy (His immanence); the contemplative with the celebrative. In practice, we will not "balance" every service, but we will strive for balance in the ongoing life of the church.

Worship is a response to both the transcendence of God and the immanence of God.

Exodus 20:20; Psalm 95:1-7; 96:8, 9; Acts 5:11; Ephesians 4:6

We are committed...
To using our music ministry to equip believers to be worshippers in their personal lives by providing them a body of songs that can be held in their hearts and minds for personal use. In this way, we help each believer to "sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord."

All aspects of worship are to be done for the glorification of the Father, the exaltation of the Son, through the power of the Spirit, for the strengthening of the church and the evangelization of the lost.

Psalm 29:2; Philippians 2:3, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 14:25, 26

We are committed...
To choosing the best of a variety of musical forms and styles that edify across the preferential spectrum of believers’ individual tastes and preferences, without devotion to minority extremes.

Worship may include a variety of musical forms: psalms, hymns, spiritual songs.

Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16

We are committed...
To using an appropriate variety of skilled musicians, instruments and biblical elements of worship in our worship service.

Worship is a platform for skillful artists to use their skills in exalting the Lord.

Psalm 33:2; 68:24-26

A variety of elements may be present in worship: sacrifice, singing, music, instruments, shouting, meditation, lifting hands, dancing, bowing, kneeling, trembling, calling on the name of the Lord, and procession.

Psalm 28:2; 33:2; 47:1; 48:9; 63:4; 68:24-26; 95:1-7; 96:8, 9; 100:1-5; 116:17, 18; 138:2; 149:2, 3

We are committed...
To worshipping in an orderly manner, which shall be the result of much prayer, time in the Word and planning.

Worship is to be conducted in an orderly fashion.

1 Corinthians 14:40

We are committed...
To utilizing songs that are doctrinally and scripturally true and that are musically arranged to convey the message (truth) and emotion (spirit) of the lyrics.

Worship is to occur “in spirit and in truth.” That is, it is to be a genuine expression of the heart and in accordance to the Word of God.

John 4:24

We are committed...
To a Worship Leader and/or Team who are, first and foremost, worshipers: leading, drawing and feeling the flame of passion to praise, sense and love God. The role of the Worship Leader and/or Team is to prompt the congregants into personal involvement in worship, not “perform” for a congregational audience in order to “entertain” them.

Unbelievers among the assembly, witnessing believers’ passion and love for the Lord, are to be convicted so that they fall on their faces and worship God.

1 Corinthians 14:24, 25

Regarding Style (Instruments, Arrangement, Beat)

Is there a style that is offensive to God? Some would claim so, but their arguments are not biblically convincing. Scripture does not address style in worship. We conclude that style is irrelevant to God. He measures our worship by His perfect understanding of our heart.

However, style is important to individuals. Each believer has a stylistic comfort zone that is tied to his personality, his experiences, and his tastes. Our Worship Ministry is committed to the use of a variety of styles that edify the body across a spectrum of preferences.

Regarding Content (Lyrics)

Content is important to God. The reason this is true is that Christianity is a reasonable faith, and therefore involves both the mind and the soul. It follows that the heart of worship is an emotional response to a biblical truth. Truth without emotion is not biblical worship. Emotion without truth is not biblical worship. Worship engages the mind and the soul. Therefore, worship songs must engage the mind as well as the soul. We would categorize the contents of songs into four categories:

• Biblical Theme. The exploration of a single theme or truth from Scripture.
• Biblical Words. A specific passage of Scripture set to music in exact or approximate form.
• Christian Experience. The exploration of a specific aspect of the Christian experience.
• Biblical Allusions. A collection of biblical words and allusions set to music without a distinct message or theme.

In addressing category 4, Biblical Allusions, we believe that if the message of the song is not distinct, it must be heavily and carefully scrutinized and perhaps rejected. The Apostle Paul seemed to have had the same concern about the use of tongues in worship. He pointed out that if the minds of believers are not engaged, the gift was not being used properly. Using the analogy of a musical instrument, he also pointed out that how will one know what is being played except that there be a distinction of sounds (1 Corinthians 14:7). In the same way, if the biblical message or theme is unclear, then the song bypasses the mind and biblical worship is perverted. It then becomes nothing more than a worship "experience." While Christian in content, it bypasses the mind, and disengages worship from reason, and is therefore not a valid Christian experience. No church will be a multi-generational church if it ties itself to experience apart from reason. We must strive to eliminate from our musical worship time:

• Songs that lack the focus of a biblical theme, Christian experience, or rooting in a particular biblical passage.
• Songs that totally depend upon repetition of phrases, biblical words, or even the song itself for its effectiveness. This is not to say that repetition is invalid (e.g., “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah). Repetition is valid if it reinforces the message of the song (e.g., Psalm 136).

Regarding Familiarity

Familiarity in form and songs is good in that an unfamiliar form or song may potentially be a barrier to engaging in the musical aspect of worship. Familiarity has the potential for harm in that it is open to rote repetition without the engagement of the heart. Our goal is to develop a dynamic body of songs that grows and changes as years pass, but has some constancy to it for the sake of familiarity. By this we will both edify and disciple:

• We edify by allowing for a degree of familiarity while guarding against disengagement.
• We edify by gifting to our older believers the best of new musical offerings and by gifting to younger believers the best of the past. By keeping the body of songs dynamic, we are continually building a bridge to the future generation.
• We edify by equipping believers to be worshippers in their personal lives. This requires repetition to the point that the body "owns" the song.