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A Creative God Dances to New Creations October 22, 2007 By Laura Payne
The question has been posed—Why contemporary praise and worship (P&W) music?
It makes me ask—Why fresh coats of paint? Why power-riding lawn mowers instead of push mowers? Why lights on dimmer switches instead of candles? Why cars instead of horse-and-buggy? Why a calculator instead of an abacus? Why keyboards instead of grand pianos? Why CD players instead of record players? Why change? Why invent? Why create?
Because God created. God invented. God changed everything to make the world to His liking. He was the first great inventor, one who placed inside His beloved creation the drive to explore, investigate, research, build, compose, and perform. The very giftedness of mankind is part of what it means to be “formed in His image!” And every time His beloved creation has purposed to do any one of these things for Him, God dances and smiles and delights. Because it was what He desired all along.
Generational Declarations God must have rejoiced a lot over David. All those “new songs!” All of those heart-felt lyrics pouring out of a complex creature who would come to be known as the “man after God’s own heart.” David could have sung the songs of Moses and Miriam, his ancestors. We know they existed! But instead, he chose to “sing unto the Lord a new song” and because of that we have the major contributor to the beautiful collection called The Psalms.
In the New Testament, we are admonished to sing “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” Just like David, we sing psalms, songs that arise out of our circumstances, songs that are born out of our creative gifting and offered up as a testament to our Creator. Most contemporary P&W songs fall into this category. Their presence in the church is healthy and should be welcomed as a new birth is welcomed. Each song speaks of life, hope, and, most of all, God’s regenerating presence in our lives. Each generation wants to know that God is proving Himself to be new and relevant to their existence. And their songs are their declaration!
The Overlooked Tragedy The tragedy is that many people mistakenly associate the emotion of nostalgia for the sacred moving of the Holy Spirit on their lives. They do not want to accept the challenge to reinvent their relationship with their Creator. Instead, they choose to “have an experience with God” that arises from a nostalgic trigger—“I always felt God when I first came to church and we would sing ‘I was sinking deep in sin . . . Love lifted me.’ It’s easier for me to ‘feel’ God when we sing that song.”
However, when we allow nostalgia to dictate our musical preferences, we begin to subtly live a self-centered existence. In our self-indulgence, we lose touch with the fresh, creative force of God. The very music that we say keeps us close to God could keep us immune from the challenge of finding Him new, fresh, and for today.
This week, pastors from all across the country ask God for a fresh, life-giving Word to bring to their congregations. They won’t come to the pulpit with a sermon borrowed from the 1950’s, complete with references to bobby-socks and poodle skirts. They might speak about terrorism, but probably not communism. They will talk about iPods and cell phones, but not record players. They will use media screens. Sunday school teachers will use CD players and write on dry-erase boards. People will drive to church in new cars with GPS systems. And musicians will sing new songs written on acoustic guitars accompanied by a drum loop; when their motives are pure, and a life is changed because of their efforts, the angels rejoice. Then God stands and dances with them because the human drive to invent, create, and live has been offered back to Him as a gift. ninetyandnine.com © 2007, Laura Payne
--------- Laura Payne served as the Dean of Music at Christian Life College from 1996-2005. She now serves as Music & Creative Arts Pastor in Goodlettsville , TN, under the leadership of Tim Zuniga. The big move to Tennessee in March has made it necessary to have family-sponsored English lessons with her three boys. As the oldest says, “I want to talk ‘country’ but my Mom doesn't want me to!” |
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