Instrumental Service Questions & Answers 6-10-2013 Scriptural What does the Bible say about the use of instruments in worship to God? / Have you ever wondered about the scriptural justification for congregational singing? Have you ever wondered about the scriptural justification for congregational singing? You might be surprised to find that the New Testament doesn t speak to this subject in the way the Churches of Christ have traditionally understood it in terms of worship assemblies. In fact, the only mention of singing in an assembly setting is found in 1 Corinthians 14:26. That passage says that each one of us has a song. It implies solos. None of the other passages in the New Testament that even marginally addresses singing do so in an assembly setting. The conclusion one reaches is that congregational singing itself it not authorized by the New Testament. This brings us to the obvious question: what should we be doing in our assemblies? We believe that we understand that we are to teach, pray, share communion, give of our means and sing praises to God. The New Testament does not tell us how to do any of these things. The New Testament is the perfect law of freedom and does not contain the myriad laws about worship that were part of the Jewish system. Additionally, throughout the Psalms we find numerous references to instruments as a part of Temple worship. Many of the psalms superscriptions (that italicized text preceding verse 1) include musical notations, such as the use of a particular instrument (Psalms 4-6, 54-55, 61, 67, 76), as do the texts themselves (Psalms 33.2-3; 43.4; 57.8; 147.7; 149.3; 150.3-5). The use of instruments in Temple worship was a staple, and that style of worship continued as long as the Temple stood. That means when Jesus and his disciples in the Gospels or the apostles in Acts went to the Temple, whether for the observance of Passover or other holy days, they participated in a worship that used musical instruments. The New Testament never mentions the use of instruments. Nor does it endorse any particular style of worship or dictate how worship should take place or what should be done in worship. Nevertheless, two texts often appear in the discussion, Ephesians 5.19 and Colossians 3.16. The argument centers around the Greek word psallo (Ephesians 5.19) translated making melody, never mind the immediate context having nothing to do with public worship, and its pairing with the word ado ( to sing ). The original meaning of the word psallo implied the plucking or playing of a musical instrument. Christian resistance to the Roman mystery cults brought about a different connotation to the word, hence making melody in the heart, though that translation does not unequivocally rule out the possible use of instruments since the word ado, which occurs in Revelation 5.8-9 in conjunction with the accompaniment of harps, allows for the
usage of instruments. This does not confirm the position for a cappella worship; rather it confirms that words always change meanings and human beings play a role in that as the early Christians did with their usage of psallo. Thus singing can occur with or without instrumental accompaniment. Basing any argument on a word s meaning (1) ignores the ever-changing reality of language and (2) makes for a rather weak and suspect argument. If the New Testament is silent about the use of instruments in worship, does that mean that we should not use them? This was the argument of some early leaders in the Restoration Movement, the shared heritage of Churches of Christ, Disciples of Christ, and Christian Church. They followed a principle of interpretation (long since outdated) popularized as We speak where the Bible speaks, and remain silent where the Bible is silent. But not all leaders in the Restoration Movement followed this principle. They chose a freeing interpretive path in contrast to a restrictive interpretive path. Even when Churches of Christ adopted the silence principle of interpretation as its slogan, we were never consistent in our application of it. We picked and chose what we would apply the principle to. Water fountains and kitchens in a church building but not a church building itself or Bible classes. Musical instruments but not the use of wine in communion. Even Alexander Campbell, one of the preeminent leaders in the Restoration Movement, recognized that the New Testament prescribes no ritual or liturgy, but leaves the worshipers to act from that holy spirit which the gospel inspires. As example, he discussed how the NT only commands the weekly and joint participation of communion but left unclear how that should be done. These or similar observations might be made concerning every item of the Christian worship (including the use of instruments to accompany singing). The NT speaks of singing but does not prescribe any rules concerning the details of that (standing or sitting; four-part harmony or chanting; a cappella or with instrumental accompaniment). To prescribe rules concerning these matters left to the discretion of Christians is to bind individuals (Christian Baptist 1828). Therefore, the NT leaves the style of worship - a cappella or instrumental - to the discretion of each church. Where do we get the authority to use instruments in worship? The essence of the NT gospel is freeing not enslaving though, ironically, Churches of Christ chose an interpretive principle that enslaved. The same authority that gave us permission to construct centralized houses of worship also gave us permission to use instruments in worship. God gave us that permission by virtue of the indwelling Spirit that enables us to use our knowledge, wisdom, and discernment for how best to be on mission with God. We have the authority to bind (forbid) or to loose (permit). God s people were never meant to look, act, think, or worship the same in perpetuity. Sometimes, God s people have to take into consideration the culture about them. Jewish
worship in the synagogues didn t look the same as that in the Temple. The worship of Gentile Christians in their homes did not look the same as that of their Jewish contemporaries in the Temple. The gospel that frees never makes any of our practices or the particulars of those practices a salvation issue. The only thing demanded of us is faith in God. And matters pertaining to forms of worship are completely discretionary. Jesus got into trouble with the religious leaders of his day for his liberal stance on the Sabbath. But he knew there were some things greater in this life than religious observances. People were more important than processes. He summed it up this way: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2.27). We have made a worship form, that is no more than tradition, a matter of salvation at worst and a matter of fellowship at best when a proper perspective on the matter would ve made it neither. When we bind where the Bible has not, then we place more restrictions on people than we should and face the prospect of condemnation (Matthew 16.19; 1 Timothy 4). Will there be musical instruments in heaven? Revelation 5 refers to harps accompanying singing in heaven, while Revelation 15.2-3 indicates that God gave them the harps. Many of us were raised in a time when our parents and grandparents taught us that worshiping God with instrumental music was a sin. Why did they teach us that if it is not? People can always be honestly and sincerely mistaken. The generations before us completely bought in to the idea of instrumental music in worship as sinful. The question at this point in time is do we want to continue to propagate that mistake or help future generations more accurately interpret the Scriptures by teaching that both forms of worship are acceptable. Isn't instrumental music just a form of entertainment? Possibly, then so could a cappella music since some find that enjoyable and, therefore, preferential. A cappella music would then have to be disallowed on this basis. The choice of adding a third service, whether instrumental or a cappella, solely on the basis of entertainment value reflects a lack of careful thought to what would be a poor decision. Our engagement with non-churched folks reveals that they find our music odd and outof-date musically. They ask, What do you call that kind of music?, and then never return. We immediately lose people with our a cappella style because it s not a style that resonates with them. Our style of worship has become a barrier or obstacle to help people connect with God. We also find that our style of worship does not resonate with our own youth who find it
difficult to engage in worship. The 18-23 demographic gravitates toward churches with an instrumental worship, perhaps voting with their feet that we have become irrelevant and have lost touch with that particular sub-culture. Declining attendance numbers for that demographic certainly seem to support this observation. Therefore, we ve decided to remove the barriers for non-churched folks and our own young adults who have disconnected because of a perceived lack of relevancy by them. If we offer an instrumental service does that mean we are no longer considered a "Church of Christ?" One thing we have always stressed as churches of Christ is that we are all autonomous, that is independent of other churches. Just because we add an instrumental service does not mean we cease being a church of Christ. Numbers of churches of Christ in the DFW area and abroad have already taken this similar step. We are a church of Christ because we believe in God s promises, strive to serve his purposes and love each other as the Bible commands. It is not possible for any human being to tell us we are not a church of Christ. Children / Youth / Care Groups Will a children's program be offered during the evening instrumental service? Yes it will. We want to make sure we take every opportunity to share God's love with our children. We'll be working on what that experience will be like and share that as those decisions are made. What will youth do on Sunday evenings? They are currently evaluating several different options. Currently their plan would be to have their Small Groups at 3:30pm Sunday afternoons in area homes and the building. After the Sunday evening worship service they would have an activity at the building. Youth could come for any / all of them. Does this mean that we won t have Care Groups on Sunday night? We will still have Care Groups and many will continue to meet on Sunday nights. Our Sunday evening service will be at 5pm and will last about an hour. This gives time for groups to meet afterwards if they choose to do so, or they can meet another time. We currently have groups that meet Sunday lunch, afternoon and evenings. The groups will continue to be able to set their own schedules and meet when it s best for them.
Worship Experience I love to sing. Will I still be able to sing if we use instrumental music? Absolutely. We have a strong heritage of singing and will certainly continue to sing together. Will the instrumental service be different from the other two services in other ways than the music? The services will be fundamentally the same, we ll worship together, take communion and hear a message in all of our services. Will the same sermon be presented in all three services on Sunday? Yes, the sermon will be the same in all three services by the same person each service. What kind of instrumental worship music are planning to have? Piano? Organ? Band? We re not sure yet. There are a lot of different aspects to review, we ll be considering the best approach for our unique situation. What kind of songs? Will we still sing some of our favorite hymns? Many of the songs that we sing now as they were taken from instrumental arrangements to begin with. We ll be singing songs we currently sing, familiar hymns and as we currently do, learning new ones. Is it okay to attend both an a cappella service and the instrumental service on Sundays? Sure. You are free to attend any and all of our services. You may want to volunteer at one so that you can worship at a different time. General Have any other Churches of Christ done this and experienced growth as a result? During our time of study and research we compiled a list of approximately twenty Churches of Christ who have added instrumental music to their worship in some setting. We then contacted several of those and interviewed them as to their reasons for doing this, what have been the results and the effect it has had on their growth. Overall each church interview responded favorably to the questions about having a positive effect on the church. Most have grown as a result. Some have grown dramatically. One church described a serendipity being the retention of converts which went up dramatically.
Some expressed their reason for doing this as an attempt to become culturally relevant while others mentioned wanting to engage their youth as well as reach out to lost people more effectively. Why do we believe having instrumental music will help us to attract lost and unchurched people? We are not certain it will attract lost and unchurched people as much as we are certain it will remove a barrier for them. It is difficult for those of us who have been in Churches of Christ all of our lives to be able to identity with how someone who has no knowledge of a cappella music feels when they experience it. Most people who visit are kind and will express that they enjoyed it but then will not return. We have reports from members who state that it is difficult for them to invite their lost friends primarily because of having to try to explain the music. We are in complete agreement that instrumental music is not the silver bullet. However, we believe it could remove a huge barrier as well as go a long way to help engage our youth. The major way we ll attract lost and unchurched people is through a membership that has made the extreme change to be more like Jesus in dealing with people in every life situation. He met with sinners, he ate meals with them, he touched the leper, he spoke to a Samaritan woman, he showed mercy to the woman caught in adultery he was focused on people. We need to be similarly focused so that people (whether they prefer a cappella or musical assemblies) will be invited, feel welcomed and hear the word of God. Our message is a strong one based entirely on the Bible; we want everyone to hear it and know God as we do. Was there a promise made when we moved here about staying a cappella? When we sold Midtown there were some who were concerned that the purpose for selling the building was to move North to drop the name Church of Christ and become instrumental. The Midtown Elders made a statement to the congregation about those concerns. Here is an excerpt from that statement. "We also want to take this opportunity to reassure each of you that although we are changing locations, we are not changing our church. The congregation which will worship in the new building on Heritage Trace Parkway will proudly carry the name church of Christ. We will have acappella music; we will baptize the lost for the remission of their sins; we will commemorate the Lord's Supper every Sunday; and we will be led by your selected shepherds. And we want all of you to be a part of that. If we have somehow failed to communicate our strong convictions on these matters, then again we are sorry and hope that you will forgive us for any unintended misunderstanding. "Will we also be a vibrant new church which will be willing to explore new ideas and search for every way possible to reach out to the lost and bring them to Christ? Yes, we will. Midtown has always been a leader among the churches of Christ, and it will continue to be at our new location. But our basic Christian beliefs will not change. You have our commitment on that. Midtown Church of Christ Bulletin, June 27, 2001
Why Sunday Night? The options that we looked at for a third service time were Saturday night, an additional Sunday morning and Sunday night. We felt that the Saturday night had several things against it, one of the largest of which is we would need volunteers for two days instead of one. We also felt that the number of activities in our area that happen on Saturday would make it difficult for many to make it to a Saturday evening service regularly. Adding an additional Sunday morning service brings a different set of challenges. First you have to decide if we adjust the current service times - moving them earlier to keep that third service from being so late (12pm). We were in agreement that changing existing times is not a good idea as it irritates everyone involved. And when you add to that the fact that we would be forced to make the first service too early for most folks, the later time appeared to be our best option. The setup time for an instrumental service on Sunday morning also makes it difficult. Also, the biggest hardship to a third Sunday morning service is the Children's program. Three services in a row would be a huge volunteer commitment (aka: nightmare) for the Children s Ministry and a long time for kids who might end up in all three services to be in class. That left Sunday night. We feel that small groups are still an important part of what we need to be about, and the 5pm time would give groups time to meet before or after (for study or dinner!), or they could adjust their schedule to meet another time altogether. We currently have several groups that don t meet on Sunday evenings. Are we planning on removing the cross in the Family Center to get additional power for musical instruments? No. There are no plans to remove the cross for any reason, much less for electrical purposes. Will women be preaching or serving communion? No. There are no plans at this time for changing woman s roles in our church. There has been no recent discussion with any intent of making any changes in this area. I heard that there is a list of all the coming changes, is that true? Early in the Deep & Wide Discussions both the Ministry Staff and the Overseers made lists of those things that could be considered a barrier to lost people. There were numerous things on those two lists including woman s roles and the name Church of Christ but neither of those we felt to be as significant of a barrier to lost people as the music issue. Therefore, there are no planned changes in those two areas at this time. Will there be other changes as we seek for the best way to reach the lost? Probably.
Is it true that Jim preached for two churches in California and that both of them split over instrumental music? Jim has never been the preacher or worked for any churches in California and has never been involved with any church previous to Heritage that has implemented instrumental music. Why didn t the congregation vote on this issue? We feel that this decision, like the one to sell the building, is a decision for our leaders to make. We have never had a congregational vote on any issue. Didn t Jim preach a sermon saying that we would stay a cappella? In his sermon Pachyderms In The Sanctuary preached on July 10, 2011, Jim addressed worship and instrumental music and why at that time we were an a cappella only church.. Here is the short version of what he said regarding instrumental music: "...let me tell you clearly something that some may be wondering right now. To my knowledge this church and its leadership has no agenda to become an instrumental church! That is not the intent of this sermon series or this discussion today! Our current policy is that when we sing in our assemblies we will do so a cappella. So this discussion is not trying to lead us to some 'hidden agenda.'" Well, if you really believe that why haven t you tried to change our worship to be instrumental? That s a fair question: My answer is because I have tremendous love and respect for all of you who may hold the position that God frowns on the use of mechanical instruments in worship! I fully understand the discomfort that even this discussion brings you much less consideration of actually doing it as some neighboring churches have done. Do you mean we are not doing something in our worship that biblically you believe we could do because of the feelings of some people in our church? Absolutely! You can listen to the entire sermon here.