Music Guidelines and Contemporary Christian Music
By Ron Corson
At the
2003 Annual Council in
In 1972
the church approved a document on the subject that also went beyond the common
sense instruction on music here is one excerpt:
The above principles will
serve as effective guidelines in the choice and use of music for the varied
needs of the Church. Certain musical forms, such as jazz, rock and their
related hybrid forms are considered by the Church as incompatible with these
principles. (Guidelines toward a Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy of Music p. 5
1972 Annual Council)
Interestingly the document
was incapable of providing reasons for the abstaining from jazz and rock music.
However recently with certain prominent SDA’s declaring their condemnation of
rock and much of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) the issue has once again
activated the General Conference leadership.
Have the new guidelines
document changed from the 1972 position? With the increased use of modern
worship music in the SDA church, does the document approve or disapprove of
such “rock related hybrid forms”? The 2003 document states:
14. Christians will shun certain
music styles and any secular music such as rock and related
forms that opens the mind to impure thoughts, leads to unholy behavior, or
destroys the appreciation for
that which is pure and holy. [The document is available at http://www.adventistreview.org/2003-1541/Music.pdf]
What music styles are being
referred to? Is rock music and related forms the only type of music that can
lead to impure thoughts etc.? Just what are these related rock music forms
anyway? Is there a certain beat or tempo or rhythm that we must avoid? Maybe a
certain timbre of voice is the problem? Much of the CCM would be considered
rock. Rock and its related forms seem to be the main music of our time. Rock
music is heard every day from commercials, children songs, and country music,
new age music, even the Muzak in the elevators.
Over the last few years I
have appreciated the trend of CCM in the church. The inclusion of young people
in the church service performing music they enjoy. Giving the
church worship service a vigor that in some cases had been sorely lacking.
However by the 1972 standards this music should not be listened to or
preformed. True most of the church is ignorant of the 1972 recommendations,
which has allowed for a sort of freedom to exist in the church regarding music.
Possibly it is also the reason that the new music guidelines are being
formulated. If we want the document to actually have meaning it might be best
to avoid vague terms and hidden meanings. For instance guideline 14 could
easily be written as follows:
Christians
will shun certain music that opens the mind to impure thoughts, leads to unholy
behavior, or destroys the appreciation for that which is pure and holy.
The
document should acknowledge that what is appreciated by one person may not be
appreciated by another person. People are different with different likes and
dislikes as well as differing sensitivities. Many have heard of sermons
preached, with different people taking away different thoughts from the sermon,
some possibly getting nothing and others inspired. Music with its power to take
words where words would not go alone should be allowed the same influence that
we see in the sermon. The apostle Paul warns us; “Therefore let us stop passing
judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling
block or obstacle in your brother's way.”
(Romans
In 1972
after objecting to the supposed problems of rhythm, and that the “raucous style
common to rock, the suggestive, sentimental, breathy, crooning style of the
night club performer and other distortions of the human voice should be
avoided.” (Ibid. Page 10) We are told that “Music should be avoided that is
saturated with the 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th
chords as well as other lush sonorities.” (Ibid. Page 10) For such music “when
used to excess distract from the true spiritual quality of the text.” (Ibid.
Page 10) Now I admit I have no idea what they are writing about here. Why
certain chords would distract any more then other chords, I may not know the
correct chord but certainly I can detect an incompatible chord in a tune. It
turns out that even babies have this ability, but that does not seem to be the
guidelines complaint, rather it is too lush, it sounds too nice. Feel free to
look up the meaning of sonority or sonorous if you think it will help, it did
not help me however.
How will
the new church guidelines impact concerts held on our church or school
campuses? The contemplated new guidelines state:
13. Musical presentations in all
Seventh-day Adventist educational institutions should
conform to the guidelines of the Church. This applies to local talent as well as
to visiting artists, groups,
and officially sponsored use of media entertainment.
This is
a perfectly acceptable recommendation as long as the guidelines are not vague
in their meaning. Is CCM acceptable or not? Since some object to CCM, people
such as Samuele Bacchiocchi in his Answering Some Questions On
Music Endtime Issues No. 69 20 May 2001 states:
“The factual information
available on the nature and effects of rock music makes it abundantly clear
that such music cannot be legitimately transformed into Christian music by
changing its lyrics. In whatever version, rock music is and remains a music
that embodies a spirit of rebellion against God and the moral principles he has
revealed for our lives.”
While what he calls factual I
would say is pseudoscience, it points out that vague language is not going to
help settle the issue. Now I am sure Dr. Bacchiocchi and I will never agree on
the subject, I have heard too much excellent CCM to say that it is all about
rebellion. I don’t want to see his view win by default because the SDA church
is content with vague language. Especially when the church
has a history of opposition to rock music through the language of the 1972
guidelines. According to the 1972 guidelines CCM is a form of rock
music. In 1972 the pioneers of CCM such as Larry Norman and Phil Keaggy were
just starting out. Most likely none at the 1972 conference had ever heard
anything of “Jesus Music”, the precursor to CCM. Even if they had they would
have most likely thought as did most of the Evangelical churches at the time
that accepting such a collaboration of the good news of God and the sound of
the culture was a mistake. Related to the idea of music and culture the 2003 Music
Guidelines states:
11. Christian music recognizes
and acknowledges the contribution of different cultures in worshiping God.
Musical forms and instruments vary greatly in the worldwide Seventh-day
Adventist family, and music drawn from one culture may sound strange to someone
from a different culture. As members of a world family, we respect the music of
our brothers and sisters in every land who worship God sincerely through
culturally conditioned musical idioms.
In a many nations around the
world cultures are no longer homogenous. It would seem appropriate to allow for
variation between subcultures as well as generational cultures. The Jesus Music
of the early 1970’s may have seemed culturally different and suspicious to the
religious community of the day. Its growth in the last 30 years would argue,
however, for its ability to touch people’s hearts for God.
Can the SDA church present
guidelines that continue to allow Contemporary Christian Music to be played on
SDA owned radio stations, sponsored events and contemporary worship services?
Will the church cave into reactionary elements, certain of the danger in music
or allow for individuals to let their conscience guide their choice in music?
Can the local church congregation decide for themselves the type of worship
service they want or will the church statements limit their choices? The answer
may very well lie with us as we respond to the proposed guidelines.
Members
who wish to make comments and suggestions should send them to Elder Ted N. C. Wilson,
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 12501 Old Columbia Pike,