Hillsong Live CD

[AndrewCS]

Shalom,

I recently purchased the Hillsong Live CD and was rather surprised at the whole style of the music.

To expand on that there is certainly a whole heavy rock influence on the instrumentation, production and approach to the actual songs.

I was also recently given a CD from the Parachute festival here in New Zealand and the first two tracks of that is what I would describe as head banging music.

I also feel it is important to share that I am not knocking this, as it may be what some people like to listen to. My point here is that more & more gospel music is mixing what I term “heavy rock” into their worship approach.

Personally, I find it very difficult to worship to any type of praise & worship where guitarists have their overdrive pedals creating a serious distortion and high-pitched sustained notes.

I have used Hillsong as an example as I have a few of their CDs and their older CDs really was music that I could use for my personal Praise & Worship moments and really feel that I was getting to that place of connection of God which is my whole goal whilst getting in Worship state.

Would like to discuss this and really hear from people that do reach a connection with God in Worship whilst listening to P & W of this sort.

Thanks for your input.

God Bless

 

[mouse1203]

Our church uses a lot of this type of music. I connect to God with it in a very real way. I feel it as raw emotion. It reaches down inside to a level that the traditional hymn doesn't. (I like hymns, I just connect more with contemporary style P & W). The one song I connect most with is "From the Inside Out". I love to listen to some of the heavier stuff like Skillet and Disciple, but not for worship.

I honestly think that each individual will respond of music differently.

 

[AndrewCS]

Our church uses a lot of this type of music. I connect to God with it in a very real way. I feel it as raw emotion. It reaches down inside to a level that the traditional hymn doesn't. (I like hymns, I just connect more with contemporary style P & W). The one song I connect most with is "From the Inside Out". I love to listen to some of the heavier stuff like Skillet and Disciple, but not for worship.

I honestly think that each individual will respond of music differently.

Greetings,

Yes it is true we all have different tastes in music.

Do you think creation responds to music ?

Blessings

 

[talitha]

Andrew, I think this chapter of a book called Tabernacle of David might have some things in it that could help you with this......

I did not used to like the metal stuff, but when I was seeking God trying to understand Hurricane Katrina and to intercede in agreement with Him about it, the music of the band Day of Fire, their self-titled CD, was the music that really helped me. Since then I have really identified with the "raw" quality of that kind of music - we have to really learn to discern the spirit and not go by what our musical sensibilities tell us.....

blessings on you, my brother
tal

 

[MoNiCa4316]

hehe, I hated rock music until I discovered Hillsong For some reason, secular rock music bores me (I mainly listen to classical), but P & W music of this type helps me worship. Strange, huh? It's the type of music that you can only really get into if you dance and jump around , as I've found out when I went to a United concert in June. Not everyone is into that though.

However, I love slow, quiet worship songs as well...possibly even more than the rock songs, in fact.

By the way, which CD are you describing? Is it 'Savior King'? I haven't listened to that one yet. Most of the 'heavy rock' songs are on the United CDs.

God bless!


monica


ps: however, I can't imagine worshipping to punk or rap music! but I'm guessing there are people who find that it works for them...

 

[AndrewCS]

hehe, I hated rock music until I discovered Hillsong For some reason, secular rock music bores me (I mainly listen to classical), but P & W music of this type helps me worship. Strange, huh? It's the type of music that you can only really get into if you dance and jump around , as I've found out when I went to a United concert in June. Not everyone is into that though.

However, I love slow, quiet worship songs as well...possibly even more than the rock songs, in fact.

By the way, which CD are you describing? Is it 'Savior King'? I haven't listened to that one yet. Most of the 'heavy rock' songs are on the United CDs.

God bless!

monica


ps: however, I can't imagine worshipping to punk or rap music! but I'm guessing there are people who find that it works for them...

I recently bought the United CD and Saviour King and I find both are influenced by heavy rock.

It is true that some people can worship to Punk or Rap. My point here is doers that mean that P & W music should now take on Rap as main genre.

Really what I am asking is –

Is our P & W being influenced by the flavour of the moment in the world? If you listen to the radio and took the lyrics away from the music, our P & W is sounding pretty similar in its approach to the music and in many cases even the vocalist’s style and approach to the songs.

Where are the influences coming from?

I guess you could say by comparison:

Tattoos have become really popular in the last five years (and even more so for females) does that mean if we tattoo JESUS on our forehead that makes it Christian and therefore OK to tattoo our body?

God Bless

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Is our P & W being influenced by the flavour of the moment in the world?

I think that ..yes, it is. But hasn't it always been that way? The 'old' worship songs were also written according to the popular style of the time.

I believe that we should be different than the world, by following Jesus' teachings, loving when the world hates, etc. He said that the world would know His disciples by their love, not by how 'traditional' we are or what type of music we listen to, etc... we have freedom in Christ, and there is no 'unclean' food, music, etc. There are only things that glorify Him, and things that don't...holy vs. sinful.

"Tattoos have become really popular in the last five years (and even more so for females) does that mean if we tattoo JESUS on our forehead that makes it Christian and therefore OK to tattoo our body?"

Personally I'm not into tattoos, but if someone wanted to get one I don't think it would be a sin...we are not under the Old Testament law.

However, I also see the other side of the issue...sometimes if we are too like the world we may be a 'stumbling block' to others. So we should be careful how our behaviour affects other people.

just my two cents...

God bless!


monica

 

[YahsAncientRestoration]

"Is our P & W being influenced by the flavour of the moment in the world?"

OFCOURSE! lol. Thats like saying the priests and musicians should have played some style they have never heard of before because the Pagans, and Gentiles around them played the same style music as them. God was the creator of all things which includes the distortion of a tone.

 

[AndrewCS]

"Is our P & W being influenced by the flavour of the moment in the world?"

OFCOURSE! lol. Thats like saying the priests and musicians should have played some style they have never heard of before because the Pagans, and Gentiles around them played the same style music as them. God was the creator of all things which includes the distortion of a tone.

Well I guess we can say God created the atomic bomb

 

[lostwithoutu]

it's all a matter of preferance. I sometimes while playing will be moved by the spirit and have to open up my eyes before I break down and miss my queues.

We play metal that is much heavier than Hillsong.

 

[keyz]

I just read this the other day on Tim Hughes' blog. I think it's relevant to this discussion.

Below is an extract from an American Newspaper objecting to new trends in church music.

“There are several reasons for opposing it. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style. Because there are so many new songs, you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it. It’s a money making scam and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

Who were they attacking? It wasn't Delirious? or Matt Redman. They were attacking the hymn writer Isaac Watts, famous for writing ‘When I survey,’ in 1723! The old hymns once upon a time were radical and cutting edge. Our music and our songs must also always be pushing new ground. Let's go for it.

Source

 

[AndrewCS]

I just read this the other day on Tim Hughes' blog. I think it's relevant to this discussion.

Below is an extract from an American Newspaper objecting to new trends in church music.

“There are several reasons for opposing it. One, it’s too new. Two, it’s often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style. Because there are so many new songs, you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances making people act indecently and disorderly. The preceding generation got along without it. It’s a money making scam and some of these new music upstarts are lewd and loose.”

Who were they attacking? It wasn't Delirious? or Matt Redman. They were attacking the hymn writer Isaac Watts, famous for writing ‘When I survey,’ in 1723! The old hymns once upon a time were radical and cutting edge. Our music and our songs must also always be pushing new ground. Let's go for it.

Source

Of course ,

Anyone that has written a book expects to sell it.

Tim's new book is OUT NOW and is packed full of helpful scriptural insights, encouraging us to live a life of full-on worship.
'Holding Nothing Back' looks at how we should worship God, the One who exists in and for himself, unchanging, eternal, everywhere and beyond our powers of description.
"Let's heed Tim's call to us to cultivate worshipping lifestyles that are secure in the soverignty of a mighty Go of a mighty God and the love that allows us to open our hearts before him." David Ruis
Grab a copy here.

 

[AndrewCS]

Let us look at another component – VOLUME

We visited a church attending their morning service yesterday and the pastor announced he was going to continue preaching on the topic at the evening service so we decided to go which included our four-year-old son.

At the beginning of the evening services, they bring the young ones to the front of the auditorium. We were about four rows back and by the third song, the music was hurting my ears, the kick & snare were drowning out the vocals, the driving guitars we right at the front and also drowning the choir.

More important, if my ears were hurting after a few minutes the concern was that this could not be healthy for our son’s ears (as younger developing ears are more sensitive).

I went down to the front and I could see by the expression on his face that this was way too loud for him. Therefore, we took him outside. The ushers helped to open doors etc and asked why we were going outside and when we explained that it was too loud the ushers told us that several people wear earplugs (including several youth) and offered some to us.

We decided to leave the service and my ears were still sore this morning.

Call me old fashioned but I cannot understand why I see folk cutting their grass with noise protectors over their ears and will then subject themselves to excessive volumes like that in worship.

Certainly if Hymns were at one stage seen as changing the style of worship that does not detract from the physics of the human ear and what decibel levels will cause damage and pain.

In most of the cases I have been exposed to what I would call heavy rock worship (due to beating the drum kit and stomping the guitar overdrive) it goes hand in hand with overkill volume.

I am open to a new style of music but I believe there are certain dictations filtering through here from styles of the world.

Blessings

 

[keyz]

Of course ,

Anyone that has written a book expects to sell it.

Tim's new book is OUT NOW and is packed full of helpful scriptural insights, encouraging us to live a life of full-on worship.
'Holding Nothing Back' looks at how we should worship God, the One who exists in and for himself, unchanging, eternal, everywhere and beyond our powers of description.
"Let's heed Tim's call to us to cultivate worshipping lifestyles that are secure in the soverignty of a mighty Go of a mighty God and the love that allows us to open our hearts before him." David Ruis
Grab a copy here.

I'm confused. What does that have do with anything?

Let us look at another component – VOLUME

We visited a church attending their morning service yesterday and the pastor announced he was going to continue preaching on the topic at the evening service so we decided to go which included our four-year-old son.

At the beginning of the evening services, they bring the young ones to the front of the auditorium. We were about four rows back and by the third song, the music was hurting my ears, the kick & snare were drowning out the vocals, the driving guitars we right at the front and also drowning the choir.

More important, if my ears were hurting after a few minutes the concern was that this could not be healthy for our son’s ears (as younger developing ears are more sensitive).

I went down to the front and I could see by the expression on his face that this was way too loud for him. Therefore, we took him outside. The ushers helped to open doors etc and asked why we were going outside and when we explained that it was too loud the ushers told us that several people wear earplugs (including several youth) and offered some to us.

We decided to leave the service and my ears were still sore this morning.

Call me old fashioned but I cannot understand why I see folk cutting their grass with noise protectors over their ears and will then subject themselves to excessive volumes like that in worship.

Certainly if Hymns were at one stage seen as changing the style of worship that does not detract from the physics of the human ear and what decibel levels will cause damage and pain.

In most of the cases I have been exposed to what I would call heavy rock worship (due to beating the drum kit and stomping the guitar overdrive) it goes hand in hand with overkill volume.

I am open to a new style of music but I believe there are certain dictations filtering through here from styles of the world.

Blessings

Perhaps then the problem is not the style of music as you suggest but simply a problem that needs to be dealt with by the sound technicians. I agree that it is hard to focus yourself on God when your ears are hurting.

 

[BergySmalls]

Good topic. To me it comes down to the song itself, not the way it is played and arranged. The chords and melody are vehicles for the lyrics. Are the lyrics good, Godly, edifying, etc? If so, then it's all personal preference after that. The style of music is irrelevant to the song's worth as praise and worship to God, but it is relevant to how you connect with it and how much it can help bring you into God's presence. Praise and worship in services is a time for you to praise God and connect spiritually to his glory, but if the conduit for that expression is distracting to you, then it's not doing it's job. That's why it's critical to have skilled people on the platform and running the sound, etc. Wrong chords and missed drum fills are distracting to people, and so is loud, rock style music to some people. I never encourage church hopping, but if someone truly can't connect to God during worship because of the style of music, and that is what that church does, then maybe they should look for another bible-believing church with a more traditional or different style of worship.

Just my $.02