I was wondering earlier today whether or not Christian radio is a good or a bad thing.

Seems odd, right? I’ve never been the biggest fan of stations like Star 88.3 or WBCL, but I’ve never been hostile toward them either. There’s just a part of me that says worship music shouldn’t be lowered to the level of music we listen to on a regular basis.

Here’s the quandry. It seems that there is something spiritual which is inherent to all music. Think about it. Where did music come from? Who invented it? The answer is it wasn’t invented. It was discovered. There is something natural and phenomenal and powerful about music, no matter the kind. Then again I would be eager to say there is a difference between the music we listen to on a regular basis and the music we use specifically to worship God.

But what if there isn’t a difference between the two kinds of music? What if there is no separation between the music we listen to everyday and the music we worship to? Is this a good or a bad thing?

Case in point: Granger Community Church. They regularly open their worship services with music from bands such as Green Day and the All American Rejects. Maybe I’m more conservative than I think (which could be very true) but there seems to be something wrong with that.

  Tonight I enjoyed a Chris Tomlin / Matt Redman concert at the Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne. It was an excellent performance. It wasn’t until a few minutes into the concert that I remembered some of what I had been thinking throughout the day. So then I thought: What do I think of this? Do I like this?

Clearly there is something foundationally wrong with asking those questions during a worship experience. But in relation to my earlier thoughts I think they have some relevance now. It appears to me that the very fact that people know Redman’s and Tomlin’s music is due to their being played on the radio regularly. If it wasn’t for worship music being a regular occasion a gathering like this would be near impossible – or at least more difficult. So the concert itself – which I was a part of, mind you – seems to support the the worship-radio world that I’m questioning.

But there’s still a part of me that says worship music should be reverent. It should be holy. I think of the treatment of worship in the Old Testament – was it treated with more reverence, more holiness? Was David treated the way Tomlin is treated now? Did the Hebrew people walk around humming Psalms all day?

Once again, I don’t have an answer, only thoughts.