Question:  Dear Greg,

            I must start off by saying how much I appreciate your ministry.  I wanted to get some feedback on something that is taking place in the church of which I am a member.  Every New Year’s Eve we have a celebration at my church to ring in the New Year.  To me, it seems that every year it’s getting more and more radical.  I am a member of the women’s dance team ministry.  This year they have decided not to use gospel music, but to use secular music in an effort to win souls.  I am not in agreement with this at all.  I am not against secular music.  I don’t believe that all secular music is bad, but I do feel that there is a time and a place for everything and a line has to be drawn when it comes to the church and drawing people to Christ.

            I believe that my church is getting out of focus.  I believe that they are more concerned about drawing people to the church with entertainment than they are with drawing people to Christ.  From my understanding of the Word, I was under the impression that the gospel message is the only way to salvation.  How can we glorify God and draw people to Christ when we perform secular music in the church?  I shared my feelings with my leader and told her that I choose not to be a part of it.  Of course I knew she would disagree.  I just think that it’s inappropriate and I don’t want to be a part of something that is going to cause others to misunderstand or be confused.

            Beth

Answer:  Dear Beth,

            The classification of music into secular and spiritual can be somewhat arbitrary.  The most obvious method would be to examine the lyrics—but simply because lyrics may mention God or Jesus or use a word or two also found in the Bible does not mean they have biblically redeeming value.  On the other hand, the absence of any words or terms about salvation does not necessarily mean that the lyrics serve no spiritual purpose.  Then, when music is added we have another dimension.  The worship wars are very much a part of the North American church, and it would behoove us all to be careful about drawing our lines so restrictively that a person who would want to become a Christian has to accept our “Christian” culture and music before doing so.

            On the other hand, your concerns seem to be in the area of how far Christians should go in attempting to be relevant without compromising the gospel.  You have an excellent point, because many wind up being “relevant” and entertaining, but they have relegated the gospel to a lesser role, if present at all.

            We very much agree that entertainment seems to have become a priority in some churches.  For articles we have published see our back issues here on our website.  Click on Sept-Oct 2003 for “You Wanna Supersize That Church?” and March-April 2002, “McChurch—Fast Food Christianity”.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht