contemparary invasion

[Enson]

we have a gospel church but lately there have been some trying to get us to go contemparary. i just feel this music has no or very little anointing. can't feel much from a song that wasn't holy ghost inspired!
has anyone else had this come in to their church and how did the change take affect?
i mean some of the songs are good and all but the feeling for me is just not there.
god bless
enson

[jayjay]

honestly I am some what conflicted on the subject.  I think that with the contemporary you have to be a little more picky about what you choose.  I do think that Gospel has to grow and expand it's origins in order to be viable, but at the same time if all you are about is producing music so you can keep a career going(which is not necessarily a bad thing)then we are bound to lose something.  To me the focus of most contemporary music is own the artistry and sound of the those performing, where as the ole skool was more focused on the lived experience of the performers and the community.  In some of the contemporary I really don't hear myself, smell myself, taste myself.  I can enjoy it, sing it, clap to it, but at the end of the day I don't always feel informed about "me" and my life in Christ. When Dorothy Love Coates said, "If you dig one ditch- you better dig two; the trap you set might just be for you,"  I got it!  When she said.       " There always somebody talk'n bout me. . .I got Jesus and that's enough." I got it!  and later she said, "I'm holding on and won't let go of my faith."  I got it!  I heard myself and the community I come from.  I'm not here to put down contemporary because God is working through it all and there is a place for it, but I recommend to you to try a healthy blend of both so you can have a balanced program and feed everybody at the table.  Peace

[chrisjr4]

we have a gospel church but lately there have been some trying to get us to go contemparary. i just feel this music has no or very little anointing. can't feel much from a song that wasn't holy ghost inspired!
has anyone else had this come in to their church and how did the change take affect?
i mean some of the songs are good and all but the feeling for me is just not there.
god bless
enson

How do you know that the song isn't Holy Ghost inspired? And you're not feeling it? And could you list a couple songs as examples.

[SisterT]

can't feel much from a song that wasn't holy ghost inspired!.................but the feeling for me is just not there.

There you have it. You are not "feeling" it. That's your personal opinion and/or "feeling".

Like the previous poster stated, How do you know it is not Holy Ghost inspired?

We don't sing songs the way Moses sang when God crossed the children of Isreal over the Red Sea. We certainly do not sing songs the way Mary sang when the angel told her she was pregnant with the Son of God.

We certainly don't sing songs the way the slaves sang them in the cotton fields. And we most certainly do not sing songs the way they were sung during the civil rights movement.

Each song during each era mentioned above was indeed Holy Ghost inspired. We don't ever question those changing times and changes in flavor. Why do we knock this new "contemporary" thing? It's just another style of gospel music. If you don't like it in your church and you are not feeling it, the best thing you can do, before complaining,  is go to a place where you can feel something.

My church doesn't do hymns. I love those old hymns. However, I'm still being ministered to. Therefore, I take what God has for me in this season.

[proctor]

Music just like everything else tends to change over time. However, the use of music in a Worship service is still the same. Music, to me, sets the atmosphere for the Worship service. What blesses me won't necessarily bless everybody. Sometimes you have to bend a little for the sake of ministry.

[Enson]

in reply to my own post. i do like some songs, but you can see the difference in the church. when gospel is offered up you can see the difference in the congregation than with contemporary. it seems that the spirit flows more freely when gospel is given. don't get me wrong... i do like some songs like i mentioned before and i do have a preference, and if god feels he wants to move in that area... well i am no one to say no. just don't want to see something that has been so effective for years become extinct. i do understand that there has been a wave of new music coming in to the church and its good. its good to reach new generations with different music. just would hate to see something so awesome gone.
i like that statement about having something for everyone to eat. i guess there are some in my church that would like us to go all contemporary and that is my concern.
god bless
enson

[jayjay]

Enson , take heart, I don't know who is in charge of your music ministry program, but I think if you express your concern to the powers that be they may understand, and realize the value of our musical heritage.  I come out of the "ole skool" too.  That music "made you move, made you cry, made you shout when it's real," so I do feel you, but like I said before- we have to give in order to get.  Just mix it up, choose good quality music from both styles and "Sing till the power of the Lord come down."  Peace

[Long Fingers]

we have a gospel church but lately there have been some trying to get us to go contemparary. i just feel this music has no or very little anointing. can't feel much from a song that wasn't holy ghost inspired! has anyone else had this come in to their church and how did the change take affect?
i mean some of the songs are good and all but the feeling for me is just not there.
god bless
enson

My old church has come some ways from the so-called traditional ways (i.e. doing processionals, ect.), but they still sing hymns every Sunday and they still sing "traditional" songs. Even though the choir is only part of where I got my blessings from, the church as a whole was working for me (the church didn't provide ministries that reached out to my needs and growth, the preaching didn't relate to me). I found a church that ministered to me completly (classes, choir, preaching, fellowship, ect.).

Maybe that's what you need to evaluate and do for yourself, because if you're getting ministered to through the preached word, through classes and other ministries your church provides, and it's only the choir who isn't cutting it for you with their contemporary songs, then maybe you need to reevaluate what's really important. Everything changes, style of clothes, slang, and even music, but if your choir is up there exalting Jesus and God in a different way that you're used to, that doesn't mean that it's less holy in any way.

[gospelkeyboardist]

You will be very surprised if you do a biography check on some hymnal writers' lives........... you may question some hymns' holy ghost inspiration...... like someone else said different songs affect us different ways......... u may not be 'feeling' it but it may be the song someone needs for deliverance....... My advice is to just scrutinize the lyrics of the song and if they are praising the Name of Jesus.......... then the beat of the song does't matter...... Have a Blessed One........ ps list some songs you are questioning

[BBoy]

What a good discussion. The Bible says the God inhabits the praises of His people. Now I just came back from a Sunday night church service, turned on my radio, and went to put some gas in my tank. On the radio came this song that I really enjoyed, but it was a christian song that was very "country" so to speak. You may have heard of it . . . it's called "It Makes Me Smile" The song is basically a man's voice over an acoustic guitar, talking about how Jesus, living saved, and the thought of heaven makes him smile. Now, I was raised old school in church (which is wonderful), and actually we would have laughed if someone came in to sing that song in the "old school" church I was raised in. I can see us now, going home saying "Wasn't that just . . . sincere. Oh, bless his little heart. He will really sing when he gets delivered."

In the flesh, we have a tendancy to think that what ministers to us is right, and everything else is wrong. Because of the evangelical annointing on my life, I can go with any flow of music in the church as long as it is holy.

That's what matters most. Praise God in the beauty of holiness. If your a country saint, twang on that banjo for Jesus.   If you are like a lot of us, run that Hammond B30 in holiness.  :wink: If you are from a country that praises God on insruments we haven't heard tell of here, play those things till the annointing hits.  

Becuase that's what we'll be doing all day in heaven.   :lol: Be Blessed . . . BBoy