The "devil" beat

I am blogging... this will make quite a few staff members at my home church giddy as I have rolled my eyes when they ask me to check out their latest blog when they know I am so busy! So, I can imagine their faces when I ask them to go check out what I wrote with that unmistakable note of vulnerability.

I am excited to be a part of the team. I have enjoyed reading the recent posts by Shannon and Laura regarding instrumental music. It brings to mind a discussion I had recently on whether or not Pentecostals place too much importance on the role of music in their services.

Franz Liszt once said, "... music is the embodied and intelligible essence of feeling, capable of being apprehended by our senses. It permeates them... and fills our soul." As in Laura's example with her saxophone player, I have noticed that in those deep moments of worship, the vocals often cease and it is the musicians who continue to play out over the service. It is then that I believe it permeates our soul and expresses the raw emotion we are feeling in the presence of an Almighty God.

Then there are those other moments when the congregation is unresponsive until they hear the "magic" bass line that Shannon had me laughing about. In these moments there is discomfort as we realize that the music itself is getting much more attention than the God it is intended to glorify. There are many members of churches that will sit on the pew with no emotion simply because they do not like the style of music they hear.

The church is full of people driven by emotion. It is the reason they cry so hard in the altar after everyone else has begun to leave. It is the reason they fall so quickly back into self destructive behavior when around a certain group of peers. Without a relationship with God, there is no foundation that holds us steady amidst the changing winds of feeling. Likewise when we allow music to dictate how and when we respond in a service, then our worship isn’t flowing from an intimacy with God. It seems that music becomes the focal point in this setting, and when it does not trigger the correct response, we become anxious and dissatisfied. This gives credibility to the statement that sometimes we place too much importance on music in our services.

I believe music is an incredible gift, close to the heart of God, but it is not given to govern the way a service flows. It is given to express what flows from a heart desperately in love with God. I feel the need for an a cappella session of "Heart of Worship".

My name is R.J. Aycock. I have been on staff at The Point in Escondido, CA for four years. I am still a newlywed only two years into the journey. I love the weather in Southern California, curries, and electronic music. I loathe mayonnaise.