Distracted By Jesus? – Music Divides the Church

I’ve written about Beyond the Box Podcast before and I’ve mentioned it casually in a few other posts. A few weeks ago they released a new episode titled Distracted By Jesus?. This episode was actually part two of a two-part discussion, but this part had something in it that I had never once considered. Steve discussed some of his experiences as a former music leader for a church. They wanted to incorporated new music during their Sunday meeting. Steve discovered something that many of us have seen but I have never realized. Music divides the church!

Ever wonder why you have an early morning meeting with “Traditional” music and an later meeting with “Modern” music? Well, the older people don’t like the modern music and the younger people don’t like the traditional music. Some people have tried to incorporate both types of music in their meetings. That way they please everyone… but does that just end up annoying everyone?

Think about it, you’ll hear older people complaining about how the newer music is not reverent enough, not respectful… or they just do not “get it”. And the younger generation wants something more hip and upbeat, traditional hymns just bore them. But for the past 200+ years, we’ve traditionally played music during the Sunday morning meetings. We have to play something, right?

I’m not sure that removing music would help, I’m sure that would divide as well. To be honest, I do not know what is the best answer, it seems like no matter what you do, it will cause disunity among the church. I think the ultimate problem is that the people who would be upset are not considering the their brothers and sacrificing their own taste. I think an attitude of sacrifice comes from maturity in Christ. What are your thoughts?