Simple Church Minute 37--praise and worship band

37—Praise & Worship Band

My name is Tom; this is Simple Church Minute.

            When I was a teen, I was attending a traditional church that had a hymnbook with about 500 songs in it.  The songs varied on subject such that the pastor could choose songs that fit with the subject he was speaking on.  In the evening service, a song leader would ask the congregation for suggestions on what to sing.  Out of those 500, the ones that would be requested came from a group of 9, week after week.  One of those songs was titled, “At Calvary,” which began, “Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified.”  I just don’t know how many people there that had a personal story that fit that song.  Then, why was that song continually picked?  Musically, it was one of the nine best in that book in being relatively upbeat, easy, and fun to sing.  Here at this radio station, they’ve got a lot of music they never play because those songs are missing some x factor that the songs they do play have.

            The Word instructs believers to worship.  Worship is different than music.  Music can be included but does not have to.  Some music can be musically good, can have a message that glorifies God, but still doesn’t fit worship.  There is no style that is more or less scriptural or unscriptural.  To that effect, today I’m going to mention the youngest of the post-Biblical, post-apostolic traditions in this series.  The praise and worship band goes back to 1965, in southern California.  Personally, I like the concept, but it isn’t necessary for worship, and the church, for better or worse, has moved on for generations without it.  Also, and while this is by no means the case yet, if almost everyone does a thing as if it is in scripture, but it is not, we walk close to the warning of Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19.   Worship, first and foremost, is honoring God from our hearts in spirit and truth.

            You can email me at simplechurchminute@gmail.com. For more info on organic church*, visit http://www.simplechurch.com/ or locally at (local website).

On the recording, at this time, it says, “house churches.”  While that phrasing is OK, to say “organic church” is better.  I comment on that in blip 94.