The way I see it, there are two things that we need to fix about most Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) that comes out these days: the lyrics and the music.
The reason we need to fix the lyrics is obvious. Lyrics communicate exactly what idea the artist is trying to get across. The problem here is that most of the lyrics that one hears in CCM are overly simplistic, repetitive, vague, self-centered, and irreverent of the God the artist claims to be worshiping. The most important thing, says the CCM industry, isn't worship, or even God; it's "encouragement" and being "uplifting." Not that there's anything wrong with being uplifting or encouraging, but that should not be the ultimate point of Christian music.
I'm not saying that the lyrics have to be overly technical, using words like "propitiation" and "penal substitutionary atonement" to be good. But they should be truthful, Scripture-inspired, and God-centered. They don't even need to be direct quotes of Scripture, but they at least should communicate real Gospel truth. In my opinion, a vast majority of what passes for Christian music these days speaks very little about the Gospel, or has very little to actually do with the God of the Bible. So, yes, we need to fix the lyrics.
I would also say, however, that we need to fix the music as well. I got into a short discussion one time about what genres of music are more inherently worshipful. My friend said that what matters most is the heart of the worshiper, not the style of music. I agree with that. But after giving it some thought, I think the music still matters a lot.
What are we, as the church, called to do? We are called to take the message of the Gospel around the world. We are called to be God's ambassadors on the earth. In other words, we are called to represent him to others. We are to reflect the image of God to others so that they see his glory and turn to worship him. Now, think about that for a moment: we are called to reflect the image of the first and best of beings, as Keach's Catechism puts it. God, we agree, is the most greatest and most beautiful being in all the universe. So it seems, to me at least, to follow that the music we use to worship and represent him should be the greatest and most beautiful music we can possibly compose.
In contemporary Christian culture we hear a lot about "redeeming the culture," the idea that we should take things in our local culture and use them for God's glory. This includes the culture's music (along with brewing beer, but that's something else). One can hear this idea in the CCM industry, and the results are not always that good. It seems like what they do is take the same music that the culture listens to, subtract worldly lyrics, and add Christian lyrics. The result is that the songs are indistinguishable from the culture's songs, which is sort of the goal. It's either that or they decide that all that matters is the lyrics, so they write a few verses, throw in four chords and a three-note melody and hey! You have a song! Now let's sell it!
Neither is the right approach in my opinion.
When God created the world, he didn't just throw in a few trees, a lake, and a patch of grass and call it passable. He created a world so amazing that he called it "very good." He gave Adam and Eve a garden full of their choice of fruit, not just one tree that only produced enough to feed them one day at a time. God makes the most beautiful art ever, and he puts everything he has into it.
So it seems to me like, if we really want to redeem the culture, we shouldn't just take its music and Christianize it. We should take its music and make it a whole lot better. You want to write Christian rock music? Great. Take what you know about rock music and make it the best rock music that anyone has ever heard. Christian funk? Make it the best funk ever. And so on with blues, jazz, classical, pop, R&B, metal, and whatever else. If we're called to worship and represent the best of beings, shouldn't our music be the best of music? Shouldn't the church be producing music so great that the world takes a listen and thinks, "Wow, this is better than all that other stuff, this God must be real"?
Also, if God is the best of beings, doesn't he deserve our absolute best? Shouldn't we be producing the most beautiful music we can produce for him?
I should say that the point of all that I'm saying is not merely bringing in more numbers to the church. Of course our music should be used to evangelize, but that's not the only purpose of our music. It should be ultimately to worship and bring glory to God.
Of course, our music falls short of the beauty of God. It will always fall short. Everything we ever do for God will always fall short! But I fail to see why that's a reason we shouldn't still give it our all. Our music doesn't save us, but God deserves our all in all that we do. If you really believe that making the bare minimum of what might be considered a passable song is the best way to worship God, well, okay. But I heartily disagree with you. If that actually is the best song you can write, however, then great! It's still giving God your best. But I would encourage you to practice, practice, and practice and get better, because God always deserves better.
And before anyone asks, I don't know exactly what would constitute making music better or more beautiful. There are volumes of philosophy books out there dedicated to those questions. I just want to get people thinking.
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