Wired Magazine had an article in July 2006 that basically said, "The day of the hit song or hit movie is over. But the industry doesn't realize it yet." I suspect the church doesn't know it yet either.
My fear is that the pop music praise songs that many of us do (we do) are going to become just as church cultural as anything. I like that kind of music, but my goal is to bring people into the kingdom. I compare most things church culture to amish culture. I can not imagine becoming amish for any reason. That has to be the way most unchurched people feel about the church, and "Soon and Very Soon" (if not already) praise music (which is now produced by a "hit" industry), will have that amish feel for the non-Christian.
In other words, we think, oh, we want to be relevant to the non-Christian so we dump the organ and get a guitar and conga. Nope. The other part of the problem is that you will not (can not) focus on any one niche music style unless you have a large group of that demographic that you want to reach. Worship will have to become more authentic to the performer. That will likely be the judge. If you are sold are reaching a niche market, you may have to plan on having a very small church (and that wouldn't be the worst thing).
Thursday, August 24, 2006
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1 comment:
Great thoughts! One of the characteristics of a postmodern culture is an appreciation for an eclectic range of styles and artistic expressions. Most people of my generation are like this at least. It's not unusual to find people who listen to and enjoy everything from country to classical, jazz to hip-hop, and Christian Death Metal to New Age Celtic music (at least, I know I enjoy all of those). :)
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