Good News Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Va., made a theological choice to offer only traditional music that expresses Christian doctrine. (Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
In many U.S. churches today, worship musicians bang the drums for God and singers croon as if Christ were their boyfriend.
Bye-bye to Be Thou My Vision, a sixth-century Irish hymn with century-old English lyrics. Godspeed, Amazing Grace.
Nearly 50% of Protestant churches now say they use electric guitars or drums in worship, up from nearly 35% in 2000, according to the recently released Faith Communities Today study of 14,000 congregations.
But just because you don't like the tune doesn't mean it's theologically incorrect, says Rick Muchow, music pastor for the Saddleback Church founded by evangelist Rick Warren. "The Bible does not have an official soundtrack."
The nation's fifth-largest Protestant church, with nine satellite locations, runs several concurrent worship services Sunday mornings at its main site in Lake Forest, Calif., each with a different genre of music.
Muchow lists: a Gospel praise service; a "straight-ahead rock" called Overdrive; one called Fuel that's "geared to 20-somethings with more alternative music"; and a Traditions service with piano and a singer. Traditions is the only service using hymnals.
In the vast main worship center, however, the sound is "radio-style contemporary Christian with a small rhythm section," maybe an orchestra or choir now and then, and big screens beaming down the words to be sung by praise choruses, Muchow says.
"There are all different kinds of churches for different kinds of people. We don't worship music, we worship God," Muchow says.
Still, an unbending conservative guard of churches carries a flag for songs and sounds of the past. Their pastors claim people of all ages are drawn by timeless truths in classic hymns.
The fight can get fierce.
"There is an intense war being waged today for the heart and soul of Bible-believing churches, and one of the Devil's most effective Trojan horses is music," warns pastor David Cloud.
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