Singing The Song Of Popular Culture In Worship

The growth of a huge body of contemporary songs and choruses for worship challenges each congregation to evaluate their musical repertoire and the criteria by which they select it. This article describes some of the theological perspectives important in this process and then describes many of the types of songs and choruses that have been composed in recent years. There is a growing sense among congregations that if we are to continue as faithful stewards of the gospel, some worship practices must change. Both churched and unchurched persons have become increasingly responsive to contemporary worship music (music written in the styles of the popular culture), and to culturally relevant worship (worship in which words, visual images, and music stem from the mainstream of the worshipers' experiences, in any given culture or environment). Even so, most congregations remain reticent to offer overtly contemporary, or even alternative worship. (Alternative worship attempts to provide a cha…