I grew up listening to a different set of music – it’s called Christian music. Topics that covers the Christian music genre are Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, loving Jesus, worshiping God, exalting God, purity, love, holiness, spiritual warfare, the blood of Jesus, the death of Christ and so to say that my friends in college can’t relate to me is an understatement.
On the other side, I did try and did got hooked with secular music as what minister would say. I grew up loving the 80’s and the early 90’s music. Topics range from falling in love, falling out of love, making love, breaking my heart, being there forever, money, sex and rock and roll. Quite different compared to the music I grew up listening to.
Growing up blanket statements like rock and roll is the devil’s music was something that was ingrained to us. Drums in church was something alien. So I did my research on God and music and what I saw shocked me:
Psa. 150:3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
God was into loud music. God loves music. Here was how the Bible described David when he was worshipping God:
2Sam. 6:16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
Sam. 6:20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half–naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”
So the original head banger and shirt stripper was King David. Cool Christians call it undignified worship – where music and your faith in God intertwines and you are lost in the moment and God is most glorified.
God not only loves it when we sing but He also sings and does HE sing LOUD!
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exalt over you with loud singing.
What does this article have to do with New Media? Well I feel a lot of Filipino artist are really holding back because of the religious mindset we have with regards to music. We are afraid to risk, try new things, to show the world we are capable of composing great music that celebrates life and celebrates God. As what an old pastor once say to me, “God created music. Satan distorts it. Satan cannot create it, he destroys.”
With the recent influx of music that preaches sex, violence and exploitations – I think it is high time Filipinos start making positive music that uplifts the soul, that unites the nation, music that gives us a reason to sing and celebrate in the midst of hardship.
I can relate. For some reason, religious songs uplifts my spirit and stretches my patience a bit. Maybe the unconscious talking to me that hey, listen, do good and it will come back to you.
Try listening to songs of Hillsong and Don Moen. They do wonders.
The Jesuit Communications series of instrumental Christian music, Don Moen, Bukas Palad, and some others like Gary V’s Christian songs really bring the word of God to the younger generation without it coming out as merely church music. I have a lot of these on my iTunes.
I love Gary V’s music
I agree on the point that music and the forms in comes must not be boxed in and be so legalistic on what Christians should and should not listen to. Though i am impartial to Hymns written by stalwarts of the faith….Praise Songs and songs with uplifting messages are worth listening to.
Wow. O.o Very interesting indeed. I remember I read this passage before but never faced it in that perspective. Growing up in a conservative Christian home, it was impressed upon us that anything that is Loud and with Electric Guitars and Heavy drums equates to Satan’s Music (i.e. Rock N’ Roll). I always hated this dogma — hence the rebel in me bought tons of cassette tapes (yeah they were the “in” thing then) only to find out one day that my mom literally pulled the tape out of the cassette and gave me a beating.
I should’ve come across this passage years before!!! hahaha! Thanks for sharing Pastor D!
Are you serious? Your mom tore out the tape from the cassettes? Lol.
YES! O.o When i got (I think I was in grade 3 that time) there were these long lines of tape sa floor. I’m like noooooooooo my Guns N’ Roses!!!!
Owow! This is very eye-opening. I grew up in a baptist church where we worship in pews and sing from thick hymnals. Although, there is a “contemporary” service where we don’t “alienate” drumsets and guitars. Now I know that a clanging cymbal isn’t just for the rockstars of the early 80s and 90s. It most definitely is a worship instrument!
Thanks for sharing. I’ll share this with our praise team this Saturday.
I think anything can be used to worship God. Anything you can pick up to glorify his name shouldn’t be a problem, It’s more of the intentions rarher than the instruments you use.
I’m sure there’s a lot of Christian Bands out there that use rock to spread the word it’s just that they’re not getting enough exposure. I remember a local band named “Battery” that really did great but they’re disbanded now. There’s even a rap metal band called P.O.D. in the US that spreads the word through rap and loud guitars and drum beats.
YEAH! ROCK ON!!
Totoo ang sinasabi sa amin dating teacher ko. haha. God is your friend. He can be anything you wish him to be. if you need a friend, God can be your friend. if you need a father, he can be your father. if you need someone to be with you, he can be with you. that’s how great He is.
Great message, Carlo. It’s like what Pastor Ed Lapiz says: Christians should claim back for God what the Devil has snatched and corrupted. The Filipino Christian honors God when she embraces her culture and not live under the shadow of western worship practices. I long to see the day when local church worship incorporates native music and dance. I know Day by Day Ministries does.