Dr. Ransom,

Thanks for stopping by and for your encouraging words. You asked,

“What might a Christ-follower's reaction be to those artists who seek to set the standard style for popular worship? And what, if any, loopholes might there be if the artists aren't singing specifically God-directed hymns or psalms, but rather, mere spiritual songs about God or about Christianity?”

If I understand your questions, you're asking how the whole issue of modesty applies to Christians who are involved in public music ministry but not in a congregational worship setting.

I'd consider the question from two perspectives. If I'm commenting on Christian “worship artists,” I want to be careful not to judge their motives quickly or uncharitably. Certainly standards of modest dress differ. However, as I understand God's Word, the only “loopholes” for inappropriate clothing might be ignorance or poverty. Poverty's probably not the issue, but I can understand how someone might be ignorant of their heart or what actually tempts others.

If I'm a Christian musician of any type, I need to be aware of any ways my clothing might tempt or distract people from my mission, which is to point them to God's grace in Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter whether I'm in a congregation or not (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17). I don't wear my clothes simply to look good in the eyes of the world, but to honor God. Sometimes those two goals may intersect, but certainly not always. My question shouldn't be, “How far can I go?” but rather, “How can I be sure that no one stumbles because of my clothing?”

Does that answer your question?

While we may lack specifics, God has certainly given us guidelines both for what we wear on our bodies, and more importantly, what we wear in our hearts as we gather to worship Him.

There are at least two groups of people to address in this situation. First, the members of the team. We seek to make sure that our musicians know their role is to draw attention to the surpassing greatness of God’s glory in Jesus Christ. That means clothing that would draw attention to them is inappropriate. Categories include clothes that are immodest, tight, “loud,” dirty, or sloppy. Of course, those standards are variable in different cultures and to different people, but usually every church has a fairly defined idea as to what qualifies. Regarding modesty, we want to avoid anything that accentuates or reveals what could be sexually alluring.

At times, we have to follow up with musicians who wear something inappropriate. When we do, we expect them to respond humbly, as their role is to serve the congregation, not prove that they’re “free in Christ.” By the way, our pastors, who stand on the side of the stage as we sing, are dressed in a variety of styles. We purposefully want to communicate that we don’t believe a certain kind of dress equates to godliness. While we appreciate and respect the conviction some have that dressing up is a way of showing honor to God as we meet together, we’re convinced that God places the greater emphasis on the heart attitude behind what we wear, and that the church will always have a wide range of clothing (James 2:1-5).

Bob,

While you say you've been lax in posting, I've been lax in reading — I will try to keep up more with the excellent grounded-in-Scripture mini-essays you write here. It's beyond encouraging to know that a well-known someone is defending Biblical worship that does not revolve around, and draw attention to, the worshipers themselves, either in thought, appearance or even the words of the songs.

Your emphasis on modesty, like that of Harris, Mahaney, and all the Sovereign Grace folk — is particularly encouraging. Freedom in Christ is a wonderful thing, but that also means we should be seeking to honor Him in our bodies and what with what we clothe our bodies. I would almost prefer outlandishly casual clothing to “formal wear” so long as the former is actually modest — I've seen both extremes at different churches.

Meanwhile, 'tis odd that although modesty seems a requirement for most Christian artists and most CCM album covers, they often seem to find “loopholes.” If clothing covers all, for example, it will be tight, or, outlandishly trendy. Spiked, dyed hair and ostentatious earrings seem to be the norm for those kinds of artists and album covers as well.

What might a Christ-follower's reaction be to those artists who seek to set the standard style for popular worship? And what, if any, loopholes might there be if the artists aren't singing specifically God-directed hymns or psalms, but rather, mere spiritual songs about God or about Christianity?

You make me happy
You make me feel so good
I want to make you happy too

It's all around
Pressure from my so-called friends
It's all around
I'm measured by some stupid trend
It's all around
Everyone is just like them
It's all around
It's all around
It's all around

[Chorus:]
So I'm anticonformity
I don't try too hard to be
I'm not what you think you see
Inside I've made a change
And I'll never be the same
NO WAY!

Recommended Captured by Grace: No One Is Beyond the Reach of a Loving God by David Jeremiah

We've got [singing worship songs without thinking about the actual words] down to a science. I was sure of it after leading worship Wednesday night...Pastor asked me to make the worship time more meaningful and gave me my head as far as stopping and asking questions... I stopped songs and asked questions like “What picture did that verse bring to your mind?”

HA! They had to immediately go back and read the verse they just sang! They didn't even KNOW what they just sang.

It was...sad. And hopefully enlightening for them. They realized that they didn't know what they were singing!

They didn't like it, either. It broke up the mindless automated routine.

By the time we get around to singing the third verse of John Newton's great hymn [Amazing Grace], we might be thinking several things:

Are we going to sing every single verse?
When is the part about being there ten thousand years? That's the coolest part.
These shoes aren't very comfortable.
I wonder if I could sing the alto part? I get tired of soprano sometimes.
Hmm, I wonder what all these words are about . . .

Every now and then, someone stumbles upon that last thought. What a nifty concept! You and I can actually pay attention to the words and ideas as they emerge from our lips. I've heard of Christians trying this and experiencing an immediate “worship upgrade,” from business class to first class.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we slipped in some different lyrics one Sunday. Maybe we could sneak in a new verse to “Amazing Grace” that went:

I sing every hymn every week in church,
I make every note sublime,
I never pay attention to a single word,
I'm thinking of dinnertime.

Wouldn't it be fun to look out at the congregation and count how many singers noticed the change and how many just went on harmonizing?

Musical Mush
Are We Impairing Our Capacity to Think?

When church music directors lead the congregation in singing some praise music, I often listen stoically with teeth clenched. But one Sunday morning, I cracked. We had been led through endless repetitions of a meaningless ditty called, “Draw Me Close to You.” The song has zero theological content and could be sung in a nightclub, for that matter. When I thought it was finally and mercifully over, the music leader beamed at us and said in a cheerful voice, “Let’s sing that again, shall we?” “No!” I shouted loudly. Heads all around me spun while my wife cringed.

I admit I prefer more traditional hymns. But even given that, I am convinced that much of the music being written for the Church today reflects an unfortunate trend—slipping across the line from worship to entertainment. Evangelicals are in danger of amusing ourselves to death, to borrow the title of the classic Neil Postman book.

The trend is also true of Christian radio, historically an important source of in-depth teaching. Many stations have recently dropped serious programming in favor of all-music formats. For example, a major Baltimore station dropped four talk shows to add music. A respected broadcaster recently dropped “Focus on the Family,” claiming it had become too focused on “moral issues.”

When a Cincinnati station replaced “BreakPoint” with music, I told the station manager that believers need to think Christianly about major worldview issues. Her reply? Younger women want “something to help them cope with life.”

This view was confirmed by a Christian homemaker during a TV special on evangelicalism. She is so busy, she explained, with her kids, Bible study, cooking, and all, that she does not even get to read the newspaper. Church for her is getting her spirits lifted. Now admittedly, modern life creates enormous stress, but can’t the Church offer comfort and help people confront the culture? Of course, music is important in the life of the Church. But it cannot replace solid teaching.

The decision by Christian broadcasters to avoid moral controversies could result in the Church withdrawing from the culture as it tragically did a century ago. The great strength of radio, as with books, has been to present in-depth teaching that engages Christians cognitively. Unfortunately, thinking analytically is something Christians find increasingly difficult. According to a government study, the average college graduate’s proficient literacy in English has declined from 40 percent in 1992 to 31 percent ten years later. The study defines proficient literacy as the ability to read lengthy, complex texts and draw complicated inferences.

This is horrifying. The Gospel above everything else is revealed propositional truth—truth that speaks to all of life. Sure, the Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand. But if you want to study doctrine and worldview, you need the capacity to engage ideas cognitively. Doctrine and biblical teaching does not consist of dry, abstract notions. It is the truth that must be carried to the heart and applied. And there is no escaping that it is truth that must be learned.

When Postman published his book two decades ago, he feared television would impair our capacity to think. He was right. But can we learn from this—or are we destined to follow suit, with the Church blissfully amusing itself into irrelevance?