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Contemporary Worship Music: A Biblical Defense

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How does a Presbyterian, committed to the confessional standards of Presbyterianism and the regulative principle of worship, defend the use of modern contemporary worship music (CWM)? To find out, read this book.

It became clear in reading this book there is a deeper more fundamental issue driving John Frame's discussion of the issues and controversy that surrounds CWM. At different points in the book he clearly states such is the case, and in the 2nd appendix at the end of the book, he specifically articulates that fundamental concern. In that appendix Frame calls for approaching issues from a basis in Biblical theology. This is to be in contrast with appeals to confessional systematic and historical theology that makes theological tradition equal to Scripture, and refuses to weigh those traditions against the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura.

I confess to a certain sympathy with that principle, though I'm not ready to say that I would necessarily come to the same conclusions as Frame has regarding the issues of CWM. That sympathy comes from personally witnessing the systematic or historical theological approach used in preaching or teaching, and coming away with the feeling that my conscience was not carried in the way or to the degree I thought it should be if such indeed was the Word of God. My Evangelical friends will not have their conscience carried by my appeals to a confession they are not familiar with or do not agree with. Scripture alone is what will ultimately carry their conscience.

In browsing some of the reviews of this book found on the WWW, I find that Frame's critics tend to not meet him on the basis of Scripture, but on the basis of historical theology or tradition. At times I can not help but respond that Peter, James, John, and Paul I know, but who are these Westminster divines, however respected they be, to be my master when Jesus has told me otherwise (Matt. 23:8-11)? (And I DO respect them.) There is a tension between respecting Christ's past gifts of teachers to the church, and maintaining the principle of Sola Scriptura. Unfortunately in some areas of the Reformed community, confessional tradition has become equal to the Word of God. Maybe unintentionally so, but never the less so.

Regarding the symptomatic issue of CWM, John Frame does not say all CWM is appropriate for worship. He urges discernment in the use of CWM in the same way one evaluates the plethora of traditional hymns available. Nor does he argue for exclusion of all traditional hymns from worship. His position is that both kinds can be appropriate and both kinds should be used without the exclusion of one or the other.

There are a few issues regarding CWM I am still concerned about. I've been in worship services where CWM was a distinct distraction to edification, but I've also been in a service where CWM was used in a way that was edifying. The difference was in the clarity and predominance given to the hearing of the words.

In the edifying service the words were not over powered by the instrumental accompaniment; no loud pounding drums or screaming guitars and keyboard that obliterated the hearing of the singing of the words. I've also been in a few traditional services where the overpowering organ drowned out all edification of the singing of the traditional hymns. In both cases the principles of 1 Corinthians 14 regarding edification were violated.

Those who are for and those who are against CWM will profit from reading this book. More important, whatever conclusion you come to about CWM, more fundamentally you will be challenged to think through and to evaluate issues Biblically.

Frame writes as a classically-trained musician and theologically sophisticated Presbyterian/Reformed seminary professor in his 50's who adopted praise music late in life and with much initial resistance. He provides an extensive musical and scriptural evaluation--and eventually qualified affirmation--of praise music. He has read and understood his opponents (especially Marva Dawn) and he interacts with them in detail. He is especially good at providing detailed evaluation of actual hymns and praise songs and coming to reasoned conclusions about them. (So much of the debate over praise music involves more strong feelings on both sides than considered evaluation by either.) Along the way he gives the lie to stereotypes like, "praise songs are narcissistic." Frame concludes that praise music is indeed still uneven and incomplete, but that--especially at its best--it is a spiritually, musically, and lyrically worthy genre of music for worship. His parting words are, "What we must not do is to lash out as one another with false pretensions to knowledge, sophistication and rationality, and with intellectual arguments that are little more than masks for underlying anger." Amen!

Frame's work is both a relic and a roadmap in the debate on worship that still smolders in certain circles of Christendom to this day. Frame's work is a relic in the sense that it views the scene of the worship wars from the perspective of the mid 90's. Although the span of time that separates this review from the writing is relatively short, the strides that have been made in contemporary worship have been great. Frame looked out at the burgeoning contemporary worship of his day with some weaknesses and challenges, and pronounces that it is worthy for the worship of God. At times the writer struggles with the evidence as to the repetitiveness or shallowness of the music, and finds creative answers to these critiques. The author struggles with the connection of contemporary worship to the burgeoning "church growth" movement of his day by attempting to find a balance on the issues at hand (e.g. pragmatism). Arguments such as these have, thankfully, faded into the past as contemporary worship has moved from its infancy into maturity.

Frame's work also serves as a roadmap. One of his most insightful contributions in the work is his critique of contemporary worship. His valuable points made at the end of chapter 10 (126-127) have, whether wittingly or unwittingly, served as a roadmap for contemporary worship over the last decade. It has become more "thoughtful" with better texts and melodies (e.g. Townend and Getty). It has broadened and deepened its doctrinal content. It is being used less as entertainment and more as worship. Its defenders are fairer to those who still retain traditional worship. In these and many other ways, contemporary worship has thankfully reached a much more mature state in the manners laid out in this work.

The work begins in chapter 1 by offering the reader a helpful glimpse into the life of the writer. As Frame summarizes, "although I am not a professional musician, I don't think I can be regarded as a musical ignoramus or a cultural Philistine" (4). Most traditionalists will likely find much in the life of the writer that resonates with their own background. What becomes most clear in this introduction is that Frame is not a radical. He is not an anti-traditionalist, per se. He respects and values traditional worship for some rather objective reasons, but definitely not simply for traditionalism's sake. In turn, his support for contemporary worship also appears to spring from objective biblical concerns. And it is to these concerns to which Frame turns after defining his terms.

Chapter 2 lays the foundation upon which the remainder of the work is laid. These principles will be expounded and expanded upon in various specific arguments throughout the book, but if the reader grasps these principles and the arguments in the following two chapters, he or she need not wrestle much with the remainder of the work. The principles in this chapter are (cf. 28): worship must not focus on God's transcendence to the exclusion of His nearness; worship is God-centered but must not exclude the worshipper; worship should not be anti-traditional, but should evaluate traditions by Scripture; worship music is not limited directly by Scripture, so creativity is fine "within the limits of general biblical standards;" intelligible music is critical in worship and to be intelligible it must communicate to a contemporary worshipper; worship is not designed for the unbeliever, but should communicate in a way in which the believer can understand the message; worship must be done in recognition of the unity of the church around the Gospel, but the diversity of the worshippers; worship must be done in a manner in which believers are edified.

Chapter 3 points out the qualities of the contemporary worship which was popular in 1997. Frame argues that it is God-Centered, Scriptural, and fresh. Chapter 4 summarizes the critiques of contemporary worship music; however, prior to listing these points, Frame gives the reader an explanation of the history and current milieu from which these arguments spring. In the author's mind, most of these arguments spring from critiques of the now aging "church growth" movement. The arguments that Frame notes are "subjectivism, humanism, anti-intellectualism, `psychologism,' professionalism, consumerism, pragmatism, and temporal chauvinism" (46). These arguments certainly encapsulate a number of the concerns of the traditionalists, but others exist and have evolved over the last decade. Some of these arguments are dealt with in the following chapters, but several others aren't (e.g. the morality of music). In spite of this omission, the author deserves much credit for attempting to fairly portray the (mostly properly motivated) concerns of his opponents.

Chapter 5 tackles the sticky issue of culture. Frame argues that the statement that some contemporary worship sounds like some pop music mistakes the biblical idea of "likeness." In fact, the worship music of today is actually unlike pop music in the most important manners. This supposed likeness is not to be interpreted as caving to the culture, but as uniquely counter-cultural (58). He also rejects the notion that just because one may be saved from the pop music of culture that Christians must reject any similarity to it in their worship by arguing that churches do not adopt the same standard for those saved out of high class culture or Roman Catholic culture. But have the churches using contemporary worship forms caved to culture by turning worship into entertainment? The writer answers by reminding his readers that traditional churches are just as quick to entertain the congregants with high and lofty choral virtuosity as contemporary churches which often can focus too much on lead singers and praise bands. The true challenge is that neither must allow their style to become the idol, but should turn all affection to God alone.

Chapter 6 responds to the attack that contemporary worship is just about bringing in lots of money and people. In this chapter, Frame suggests that the "church growth" movement is not all wrong, but seriously questions a number of the more pragmatic elements of the approach. Chapter 7 responds to attacks related to the authenticity and reverence of contemporary worship. The writer responds well here and essentially calls out some of the traditionalists as being very unfair in their criticisms in this area. Chapter 8 deals with the claim that contemporary worship does not edify, but simply evangelizes. Chapter 9 confronts the idea that contemporary worship "dumbs down" worship. Frame responds that the critics have elevated the role of the intellect over the emotions and the will.

Chapter 10 is an excellent (pun intended) counterpoint to the argument that contemporary worship does not meet the standard of excellence to be worthy of worshipping God. The author makes two excellent points that this reviewer had not seen to this point. First, if aesthetic excellence is what God expects in worship, then should Christians all be singing Bach chorales in German? Clearly, excellence is not simply a matter of aesthetic quality, but of communication and intelligibility to the worshipper. Second, if aesthetic excellence is what God expects, then one should only offer the very best. With this paradigm in mind, all worship music should be analyzed in terms of bad, worse, worst, good, better, and best. By all music, Frame expects not just genres in general, but specific songs and hymns. Once this paradigm is constructed, one song must necessarily be the "best" (e.g. "A Mighty Fortress is Our God"). Once this is established, then singing anything else would be offering God less than ones' best! In regard to challenges about the doctrinal depth of contemporary worship music, Frame points out by using several examples that traditional worship music is perceived to be much deeper theologically because it presents numerous theological truths in rapid-fire succession (e.g. "Arise My Soul, Arise" presents 15 different aspects), while contemporary worship music tends to just focus on three or four truths. Moving from this point to the argument regarding repetition, the writer explains the biblical and didactic importance of repetition. He then closes the chapter with his critiques of contemporary worship.

Chapter 11 approaches the argument that contemporary worship is an implicit rejection of tradition and denominational distinctives. Frame points out that the Reformers stressed that traditions were only to be held as they upheld sola Scriptura. He then moves on to present some suggestions for helpful contemporary worship in chapter 12. Two appendices are also included that primarily deal with works that deal with the contemporary worship debate (appendix 1) and the "church growth" movement (appendix 2).

Below are several great quotations that the reviewer found significant:

"Luther and Calvin...were respectful of tradition, as all Christians should be. But they were not bound to it, only to the God of Scripture" (4).

"There is no contradiction between the vertical and the horizontal, between the God-centeredness of worship and the benefits available to the worshipers" (15).

"We do not glorify God in worship if we fail to communicate on the human level" (18).

"Sometimes it is hard to draw the line between a legitimate concern for appropriateness and...aesthetic snobbery" (20).

"The New Testament...does encourage the church (1 Cor. 14:24-25) to plan its worship with the unbelieving visitor in mind" (21).

"When sophisticated members of the church insist that worship employ only the most sophisticated music of their culture, what happened to their love for those who are poorly educated or of a different cultural stream? Or, from the opposite side of our musical wars: when advocates of contemporaneity want to set the traditions of the church completely aside and replace them with something largely meaningless to the older generation, are they acting in love?" (24-25)

"Music is an area in which we have little explicit scriptural direction, and in which, therefore, human creativity should be encouraged, within the limits of general biblical standards" (28).
"Both sides, then, need to learn from one another, to gain a better grasp of the application of Scripture to the difficult situations of the present day. The dialogue will demand more, not less, intellectual effort. It will require us to make some distinctions that we have overlooked in the past. And it will require a greater determination to live and worship according to biblical principle rather than by either the human traditions of the past or the innovations of the present" (52-53).

"When one listens to the God-centered content of [contemporary worship] songs, the counter-cultural thrust of them is obvious" (58).

"Antiquarians who love Gregorian chants and attend churches that use such music need to ask God to guard their hearts, lest they get so absorbed in the aesthetic qualities of the music that they lose grip on the higher purpose of the worship" (60-61).

"It is wrong to govern worship either by the criterion of popularity or by the tastes of those who love high art and tradition" (112).

The work is not without its flaws. As noted in the introduction, the most glaring deficiency is the age of the work. Frame ends up fighting fires for page after page because of the deficiencies of the infantile contemporary worship of yesteryear. His terms are at times too nuanced and his perspective on the history of the debate seems a little skewed at times (e.g. he argues that his opponents are making these points because they are hyper-intellectual, but describes all fundamentalists, who are some of the most ardent adherents to traditional worship, as anti-intellectual). Finally, and related to the prior point, the work is primarily focused on the challenges being dealt with amongst the Presbyterian denominations at the time of the writing. Readers outside the spectrum will have no difficulty with the majority of the work, but there are occasions where the discussion lapses into areas in which the outsider will have little familiarity.

But for these minor flaws, the book still serves as a helpful and fair analysis of the "worship wars" from the less-prolific contemporary side of the spectrum. Frame's arguments and groundwork serves as a foundation for those who would discuss the topic in the years going forward. The contribution of this work to others more modern works is abundantly obvious. This reviewer would note specifically Bryan Chappell's Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice, which takes Frame's methodology and demonstrates how it can be done with the Gospel at the center and with the use of some of the excellent new contemporary literature. Any believer who is willing to wrestle with the debate should certainly read this work in order to gain a measure of clarity and fairness in the discussion.

I read this book after reading Dan Lucarini's book on the same topic. I found John Frame's arguments to be excellent. Of course, it always helps that I agreed with him, and have reached the same conclusions. In fact, I knew and used the vast majority of the contemporary songs that he mentioned in his book, before being forced out by a group of rebels who rejected my balanced approach in favor of a louder, edgier, in-your-face music style with less doctrinal content in the lyrics, and with less connection to historical Christianity overall (hymns are old and dead, and you can't worship God while holding a hymnal).

I only wonder if this book is not already outdated. I wish Dr. Frame would write a follow-on volume to this book, since the quality (musical and theological) of contemporary Christian music seems to have declined so precipitously in the past few years, due to an apparent attempt by the industry to expand its crossover appeal (and market share) at the expense of being overtly Christian. I would be very interested to hear his writings on "christian" music of the past five years, and the lifestyle of those who propogate it.

Written as a sequel to his earlier work on Worship in Spirit and Truth, this book focuses upon the new trend of Contemporary Worship Music (CWM), beginning with an all too brief theology of music and then exploring the pros and cons of this style of music. The author brings a unique perspective to the work as he personally favors a more classical style of music while still endorsing the value of this modern trend.

Though Frame is a competent theologian, his experience in the strengths and frailties of CWM go beyond the classroom as he draws from his extensive experience in leading worship in both traditional and contemporary settings. An honest attempt is made to balance both the pros and cons of CWM as each of the arguments for and against this style is presented. In the end, Frame advocates a mixture of both classical, traditional and contemporary music. In this era of intellectual and theological pluralism, it could be argued that his approach is a surrender to the philosophy of the world. But instead, it is seen to be in keeping with the principle stated in 1 Corinthians 14 that worship is to be understandable to the worshipers; that it is to take the form both of their spoken as well as their musical language.

This conclusion of a diversification of musical styles is even more important if a congregation is itself composed of a mixture of various ages and cultural background. Frame speaks out against the popular tactic of dividing congregations into traditional and contemporary, pointing out that both groups need each other.

Because I minister in a very cross-cultural setting, both with respect to age as well as with different national backgrounds, it becomes imperative that I am increasingly sensitive to the cultural translation or worship. My own tendency might be to move further toward Contemporary Worship Music, but I need to be equally sensitive to those who speak the language of traditional hymnology.

On the other hand, Frame reminds the reader regarding Contemporary Praise Music: "These songs are very close to the biblical text, focus on the praise of God, and communicate well with people of our time. It is hard to imagine why any knowledgeable Christian thinker would reject such music. But as we have seen, many do so out of ignorance of the songs and because of broader theological agendas wrongly applied to the CWM songs" (Page 129).

Item was shipped the same day I ordered it and was received in a timely manner. I would work through this group again.

Though Frame comes from a Presbyterian/Reformed tradition, which is usually more conservative in terms of worship tastes, in this book he shows that many in the Reformed/Presbyterian and conservative traditions have not always got it right in their criticisms of contemporary worship music.

I found this book excellent! Frame is open and willing to learn from Christians of other traditions. His book is balanced. He advocates a mixture of both contemporary praise music and traditional hymns. Both have their strong points and both have their weaknesses and Frame tells you what they are in this book.

For charismatics and more conservatives, we need to learn from one another. And this book helps us learn from one another in a main issue that divides charismatics and conservatives. A great read, bound to challenge one's thinking. And a book of biblical balance - more of which is needed in Christianity today.

For several years now, I have worked at understanding what the Bible teaches about music in general and worship music specifically. Most of what I have learned has led me to a more conservative and traditional viewpoint. In ordering this book, I was hoping to find that the author would build a biblical case for why so many churches are switching to a more modern music style. Personally, I felt that by using the name "Contemporary Worship Music" the author hindered his argument. Most arguments today center around the genre of Contemporary Christian Music. Contemporary Worship Music is a much more broad concept that includes music from both the CCM genre as well as other styles. By incorporating so many styles, he is making it much more difficult to know what he is defending and rejecting.

Also, the vast majority of the book was spent defending the lyrics of the song. From what I have learned, most people would say that the lyrics are only a minor concern. If they are Christ-honoring lyrics, then use them. The lyrics argument is usually more an argument of preference than real biblical fact. However, the music itself is where things become more divisive. I just felt like he spent too little time discussing the facts and using Scripture to defend the music itself.

This book, I felt, did not lead me in any direction, but just stirred a pot of confusion. In an already difficult discussion, there must be a defining of terms; a drawing of a line; a specific biblical stance taken. Watered down personal opinions only add fuel to the fire--and this fire is already out of control.

John Frame's book Contemporary Worship Music, is a must for any Christian, who truly wants a balanced defense of today's Worship music. Frame's classically trained background in music, and his theological training as a teacher and student, make him the perfect writer to bring a "balanced" argument for the use of contemporary worship music. A perfect tool and resource for any worship leader and pastor.

I grew up in traditional churches, trained in traditional music, and as a young adult, began to listen to, and enjoy, CCM/Worship music, but, over prayer and careful consideration of what I heard, I turned back to my traditional roots, and away from 'worship' music, in particular. Why?

Well, the very name of the book says why: "Contemporary Worship Music..." If you will study your Bibles a bit, you'll see that worship is never about music-it has nothing to do with music, ever. Worship is prayer, speaking to God, normally seen in the Bible on the face or the knees before the Lord. Sometimes music is associated, but it is always considered 'praise', never 'worship'-these two things are distinct from one another in form and function. So, the entire premise is faulty. Once the foundation is wrong, the rest will eventually fall. I have read the reviews of the theological expertise of frame, but having no understanding of this simple fact makes me question the rest of his defense.