The other day, I was in conversation with some colleagues, discussing music for regular and special worship services.

One comment arose that pricked up my ears: “We should only have music that allows the congregation to actively participate in singing.” (I’m paraphrasing here, but that was the general gist.)

My first thought was, “Yeah—but over a thousand years of sacred musical tradition would push back on that.” After all, what do you do with:

Even so, I didn’t reply because I recognized the value behind prioritizing the function of music in a worship service, of which I repeatedly leaned into congregational singing as the primary utility of music.

And to be honest, the deeper dive on the research has me pulled into several directions, and I’ve not really landed on a hard position.

So, let’s go over how music has been treated over church history in her various institutions, and then end with some considerations in how we evaluate the music performed in church, in services, and in our broader lives.

This category makes up one of the largest bulks of music used within a religious institution. From Gregorian chant to the 16th-century polyphony of Palestrina all the way to the modern age, the Roman Catholic church has a strong appreciation for artistic beauty and uses music in distinctive liturgical roles. There’s an aim to see how art serves the moral and spiritual good of the person and whether music is suitable for the liturgy.

When it comes to music composed within the Roman Catholic church, there’s a broad swath of a cappella choral music, instrumental works, sacred dramas, and everything in between.

In light of this, participation within a service isn’t limited to congregational singing; there many instances of spoken prayers, chants, and other non-musical elements. So, on the other side, non-congregational music has its place within the liturgy, as long as it serves a liturgical function.

For individuals, they can receive beauty expressed by others as a genuine good, while also evaluating it to see if directs their attention to God. For churches, music both made by and apart from the congregation don’t have to compete against each other; as long as liturgical function is accomplished, then it’s OK.

The music of Eastern Orthodoxy when compared to its historic counterpart (Roman Catholicism) is more choral in nature. Like the Roman church, Eastern Orthodoxy affirms beauty, but seeks a stronger connection to truth and spiritual transformation, along with an overall strengthening of liturgical life.

In Eastern Orthodoxy, you’ll encounter a lot of chants and a prolific body of complex choral works. And it’s this body of work that points to a deeper understanding of the formative power of music. For the Eastern Orthodox, music draws us deeper beyond mere utility, communication of information, and collective expression.

So, when it comes to music made for listening, the Eastern Orthodox person will assess it based on the question: “Does this lead me to a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the nature of God?”

And the broader church must ascertain if non-congregational music allows the congregation to inhabit the liturgy more deeply.

Martin Luther was known to have a deep appreciation for music and its potential beyond the confines of a sanctuary or chapel, and he was known a prolific writer of hymns that other composers set to music.

Historic Lutheranism would even go beyond the immediate practical utility of music, and as long as it’s used well and remains appropriate in its content, then it’s fair game to be enjoyed. As mentioned above, there are many instrumental and non-congregational singing works that make up the body of Lutheran sacred music.

For the Lutheran individual, listening and appreciating instrumental works and non-congregational singing is another way to delight in the beauty originated from God Himself, even if spiritual outcome is not immediately realized at first experience.

Since many Reformed churches worship within the confines of the regulative principle (only doing what Scripture explicitly mandates), this view approaches music with discernment, recognizing it as good but also having the potential to misdirect our affections if used improperly. In other words, music can affect our moral formation, often without us realizing it until we have drifted far from what Scripture allows or advises.

This where you’ll encounter the largest body of exclusive psalmody, but this doesn’t solely comprise the music of Reformed denominations. In fact, there many churches that embrace non-psalmody as long as the content and stylization reflects proper morals within the aesthetic presentation. Choral-centric, orchestral, and modern praise band settings are typical ensembles you’ll likely encounter when visiting a local church.

For an individual in a Reformed church, they are primarily concerned with how music informs rightly ordered affections; for Reformed churches themselves, it’s mainly a theological consistency in the application of proper biblical worship.

The music you’ll encounter in Anglicanism places a strong value on artistic excellence in tandem with its use in historical tradition, but like many of the churches in the various communions of the Anglican church, you’ll have a wide range of complex arrangements and ensembles all the way to simpler formats that emphasize congregational participation.

The view of how music is used is largely based on the needs of the congregation, making it slightly less centralized than the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but with varying similarities and historical continuities, depending which local congregation you visit.

So for individuals in Anglicanism, listening can be a form of intentional participation, and for the broader churches, excellence and congregational involvement come together to uniquely meet the needs and values of the particular congregation.

For Methodists, Baptists, and other revivalist groups, music is a means of devotion and overall communal life of the church. It is a tool for personal transformation and discipleship, and it brings people together, united under a common experience.

In revival meetings, music is one of the main components that undergirds the religious experience, heightening emotional and affectional intensity and remaining accessible by the majority of those participating.

A key thing that individuals remember in these various traditions is to have their emotional response shaped by truth, rather than letting emotions shape truth itself or serve a mere evidence of spiritual significance.

Churches can integrate solos, choral works, and other instrumental pieces into the liturgical fabric of a local congregation’s worship experiences, providing they are meaningful to hear and contemplate.

Modern evangelicalism is a bit open-ended. On one hand, music is highly utilitarian, but on the other, artistic value is appreciated and prioritized to similar levels as utility. Many modern evangelicals are concerned with maintaining the right balance between artistic integrity and biblical morality, ministry, and discipleship.

Both individuals and churches face this question: Can we appreciate music without requiring to function for a particular devotional exercise, or even driving a specific use in a programmed service?

The answer, it seems, is elusive, but it requires a deeper inquiry.

I think the discussion brings us to two questions:

For me, the answers are as follows:

😂

There are some churches that could use a stronger musical presence in their worship experiences to encourage the people all the more. But, other churches might already have too much of an emphasis on musical output at the expense of liturgy and congregational edification.

In fact, there are better questions to consider:

So to answer my colleague, I would affirm that the primary place of music within the church should serve to glorify God and edify His people, instead of showing mere appreciation for the talents of a worship band, choir, orchestra, soloist, or composer.

But in the same sense, we shouldn’t exclude the presence of beautiful works not meant for congregational singing from our services; doing so delegitimizes other forms of participations and appreciation, chiefly in the act of listening and contemplation.

Really, I think a better or perhaps more faithful approach is to not make congregational singing and artistic endeavor mutually exclusive in a worship service; rather, we should recognize how both considerations serve the church, providing that we prayerfully discern what’s appropriate and when it should happen.

Be blessed 👊✌️