Like I said in my previous post, it’s obvious that there are artists out there who are “bridging the gap” or “blurring the line” between worship music and plain ol’ Christian music. And for this I am very greatful, for one reason in particular: I think these guys are pushing the edge on what worship is. These guys are being creative. They are drawing new paradigms. This is the stuff that I am all about, so naturally, it’s something I appreciate in music. There’s plenty of people out there who can crank out your basic easy-to-sing-two-verse-and-one-chorus-with-a-lot-of-repetition-praise-song. And the truth is, I try to avoid that stuff. Sure, I have to keep an eye on it, since I’m a worship leader, but honestly, we can do a lot better. In fact, I don’t think I own a “worship” cd. I do have the Passion stuff, but to me, that’s a little different because the artists with Passion are the people who are bridging the gap. My music library is normally highlighted by Crowder, Delirious?, Switchfoot, Derek Webb, and Matt Redman. All of these guys are amazing in the respect that they are being creative, pushing boundaries, and writing with originality and honesty. This, in case you couldn’t tell, is where I can find myself worshipping when it comes to music.

But I have a second thought. What about intentions? I’m guessing that these guys are intentionally trying to push the boundaries of worship music, but what else is going on? Are they also trying to create music that can get radio airplay or gain wider popularity? And if so, is that ok? Are they sitting down to write worship songs, or to write songs that could be worshipful and/or something else?

My whole issue here is my opinion that worship should have expectations that come with it. When I go see Delirious? or Crowder, I know I am going to a worship service, not just a concert. Therefore, I prepare my heart with some level of reverence, as I would with going to any typical worship service at a church. I think this is biblical. I think we should treat worship with a great deal of respect and fear. After all, worship is the direct connection between man and God. But if you were to go to see Crowder or Delirious?, you might want to speculate as to how many other people are treating it with the same level of reverence. I’m sure there are many who do, but I can’t help but wonder how many do not, and I have a hard time dealing with the idea that people are not treating worship as worship.

So is this legalism on my part? Do I need to just take it easy and not get bogged-down in these issues and just try to enjoy the music? Should I just not think about it? It’s hard for me not to. I mean, this stuff leads me to think about other things like whether or not worship is exclusive to the believer or if worship can be an outreach tool.

Like I said, it’s hard for me not to think about this stuff. I guess I just want to do my part in discerning what is worship and what is not. Just because it sounds like worship and acts like worship, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. As I discussed previously, I love that these artists are pushing creative boundaries and breaking through old paradigms, but I just want to make sure it’s not causing more confusion.