I’ve been having numerous conversations surrounding the future of worship music.
What will Sunday morning look like in 20-30 years?
Will it be completely electronic?
Will the electric guitar be obsolete?
Will it resemble a late night rave?
Will the current Sufjan Stevens obsession sweep across all the earth?
What I Have Seen
When I was a kid, worship music was all about 80s guitar solos and simplicity. I was raised under the fine worship music of the Vineyard where they pioneered a new brand of intimacy in worship.
Choruses were simple. They were personal. They were expressive. Lindell Cooley & The Brownsville Revival helped make these songs even more popular.
Integrity/Hosanna created an empire out of this. They helped launch worship music into a place of social prominence in the church. Artists like Ron Kenoly & Paul Baloche helped to write songs that have become resounding hits.
We cannot fail to mention the Brit-worship surge of bands like Delirious or Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, and Stuart Townend who have written some of the best worship songs in the world.
And don’t forget Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong Empire. Oh, what Hillsong has done for worship music.
Recently Gungor released their new work, “Ghosts Upon the Earth”. This is definitely worship music of a different kind. Probably because they’re not trying write “worship music”.
Today, bands like Jesus Culture & John Mark McMillan are pioneering a new, raw expression of worship.
Will The Worship Wars Be Over?
It also makes me wonder if the worship wars will be over soon.
Those of us who are young, will we resist change in the future or will we embrace it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. I learn so much from these discussions.
Where is worship music headed? What can we expect?
What are your thoughts? Let’s talk about this in the comments.
Photo Credit: H.L.I.T (creative commons)
I think it’s fair to mention…Jeff Deyo’s Sonicflood…
A record like that was unheard of as worship…
David Crowder Band and there tech new wave sound was unheard of as well…and still thriving…
I don’t know where Worship Music will be in 20 years…
I still feel that christian artest are still following the current of main stream…NOT all …but most…
I think there is a shift back to old hymns…a young generation is remembering these songs when they were teenagers and kids…and feel like they really didn’t take advantage of great writing…and worship…
(remember, the holy spirit has no age)
At least I would HOPE…this is the case…
Nice to mention Sonicflood & DCB. Definitely trend setters. Hmmm, so I wonder if the future will see us digging even further back into church history and recovering some old (I mean, old) songs of the church?
The “Passion” crowd certaintly is…
True. The Passion Hymns album is one of my favorite worship albums of all time.
I’m a 22 years old worship leader. In this journey of learning from all you really talented people, I see myself choosing music not because of the awesome arrangements it has or because It’s a really popular song but I choose songs that God really likes listening to. Before I began to lead worship and had a real band my husband was the worship leader.He wrote over 21 worship songs in period of 2 years. For two years our worship team was My husband,me,another background singer and our band(MPC1000)
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMissionDelray#p/c/CC253B033A140AB2/17/F295YqJzqts
God has given my husband this new sound of worship which I never heard anything like it before. And the only worship songs I really want to do is those.
I don’t know if the style of worship God has given us will carry on but I know God is always raising up people and we are all so unique. I don’t know if what I said makes any sense but I really wanted to share something.
Hey Khamille, I’m watching your video and your music is AWESOME. LOVE it!
The Psalms declare that the future of worship music is rooted in the new song, which is a new sound. That will continually evolve in a huge variety of musical expressions.
So there will continue to be an explosion of diversity in worship music.
Gungor is AMAZING and fearlessly creative. They have a niche, but so does the old school Don Moen Integrity stuff.
Worship Wars have been around forever and will continue to be. I just wrote a post mentioning that http://www.robstill.com/why-is-theology-of-worship-important/
Khamille, thanks for sharing the video. This is definitely unique. Love it! How long have you guys been doing worship like this? Was it hard to engage people at first?
Since our church started basically 2007. Our pastor anointed my husband to be the worship leader even though he had never led before and told him he would began to bring a new sound of worship. So my husband started writing music and leading with the MPC. This year our pastor wanted to move into having a band so I began leading worship and my husband is now focusing in his studio, working for a couple of new artists . I still do the songs he wrote but with real instruments instead of electronic beats.So yeah.
Was it hard to engage the people? Well the people that came to our church at first were people that never gone to any church before so they didn’t really know how to worship or what that was really. Our music was the only music they knew.
Eventually they learned and their passion grew for the Lord.
Thanks Rob 🙂
Seems like there is a buzz going around on this very topic right now. Music will always change, and there will always be people opposed to the changes. I read a quote a few years ago that said something to the effect of “today’s modern music in the church is watering down the gospel. Their words are not theologically sound and distorts the very nature of Christ.” When I read it, I thought it was referring to today. The quote came from the 1800s (I think) when hymns were first introduced into the church. Funny how the same attitude cycles and recycles.
A piece of me thinks that music is not the problem but the spirit behind the music. If songwriters are simply writing songs to “be relevant” they are missing the point. Our songwriting as well as our worship MUST be out of an overflow of being WITH God. If we are worshiping outside of God’s presence, WHAT are we really worshiping?
My prayer is that worship music will come out of the local congregations that encourage the freedom to express our adoration for our Father God and our savior through the various talents. If members have influences in jazz, blues, heavy metal, classical, country, etc, let’s see what kind of musical creativity God wants to bring out of the local church. Why not?!?!
Thanks for posing the question. As long as our worship is pure, our music should be also.
Melanie, what a great comment. I love your perspective. As a worship songwriter, it’s easy to forget being WITH God is what it’s all about. Sad, but true.
I think that’s true for every aspect of our lives. Our lives should really be Presence Driven. If we don’t know God’s presence, we should stop what we’re doing until we do. We should hear God say just as he told Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I’ll give you rest” (Ex 33:14), and we’ll know Him by the Spirit he gives us (1 John 3:24).
Again, thanks for the thread. I love talking worship. Blessings to you!!
Preach it!
Honestly I don’t know why there has to be worship “wars” why can’t it just be worship? I think that the diversity is great and it is needed because as someone mentioned before there are so many diverse groups of people worshiping. The important thing is that we are worshiping and who we are worshiping. That will never change. Finding that niche that fits and honors the congregation that you worship with is always going to change as people grow in their faith and relationship with Christ. We need to be sensitive to that and be always willing to search out what is relevant for the time. I think that if we are not only concerned with what we want and concerned more with where God wants to move us through this avenue of worship it will go where He wants it to go.
Sandi, I wish it was just that easy to say “stop the worship wars! let’s just worship!”, but this issue is simply a part of our history. Part of me wonders, though, if the wars over style will not be as heated in the coming generations. I tend to think so.
I realize the reality of the on going worship wars. I guess what I meant was that if each team that is leading the worship on any given day was in tune to where the congregation is and in being honorable to that they were introducing the worship style that would grow as the people grow. There are so many styles these days and all are appropriate for those who worship in each of these styles. It IS all worship. I was witness to that this summer when I took my daughter to SoulFest the annual christian event in New Hampshire where there were 120 different artist all worshiping together at different event locations. There was an amazing mix of ages at each stage joining in with the artist worshiping together. It was all being done in the name of Jesus but talk about diversity. The thing that really moved me was the fact that these people who were joining in with the worship time all could find a style that was for them and that becoming a Christian did not mean necessarily that they had to lose their preference of musical style or genre. There was something for everyone there and I was with my daughter and watching her worship openly and it brought tears to my eyes. The truth of the gospel was reaching the hearts. It may not have been in my “Style” but it was hers. That speaks volumes to me.
http://www.qideas.org/video/the-future-of-worship.aspx
Oohh, I think I might like this. Thanks!
Jonny, love this guy. I think what Martin could be saying is that the paradigm of worship expression could be furthered through collaborative worship leading and writing. Recently I put together a band with four individual worship leaders/singers in one band with a backline of bass, third guitar, and drums. In a given set, each leader (all four very accomplished and effective in their own rite) will lead out on a couple songs. While one leader is leading the other three will back the leader up with support harmonies, extra guitar,keys etc.. The feedback we are receiving is that people are appreciating that the focus is not so much on one person or leader. Of course we are not the first band to have multiple vocalists, but the symbolic gesture of community, deference, and unity seems to be blessing the folks. I think that this approach may bring a “New Song” (Ps. 33) as more people are involved in the creative process. I’ve appreciated similar success with writing with 2 other friends at the same time in a given session. Challenging but very cool. It takes a special group of people who can defer to one another and allow the best ideas to emerge. Maybe we are reverting back to the medieval period before notation when songwriters were never given credit or $ for their work. Just imagine the purity of the art:)
It seems that people have been collaborating for years in songwriting. Brenton Brown and Paul Baloche are two that come to mind and also Hillsong has had a lot of writers and also multiple voices and leaders. I think the collaborative writing is good because like Martin and Deven said, it sort of brings a sense of community and it’s not one person or the other and it’s working as the body of Christ and using our different gifts (i.e. writing styles here).
I agree to some extent to how good the collaborative worship is and that’s nothing new really, the old Vineyard way was like that. As worship leaders the main goal of taking people to the throne room of God and glorifying Him should be first and foremost. I think we can sometimes get stuck in the show of the performance and sometimes I feel like less is more in some cases. In this manner, you have to open for different ways and also what the congregation is like and what leads them. I like what Matt Redman says on being a lead worshipper since “worship leader” isn’t in the bible.
I love the way this is heading! Unity in Christ is vital in ministry. Its encouraging to hear that people with strong talents are willing & able to put themselves aside in order to create something beautiful. Its neat that there are worship leaders out there living out what they are singing about. My prayer is that the Lord continues to be in the center of all the music they create.
Amen!
I heard about a church this week that holds to only singing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” and use that as their reason for not singing modern choruses. Obviously they’re missing the point since those are also spiritual songs.
I hope that in the future I am willing to accept and even promote change from the younger generations. I also hope that whatever the style our songs will continue to teach God’s Word and have strong theology. I don’t care how they do it or how it sounds but that is important to me.
Great question, David.
Caleb, agreed 100%. I hope we continue to push the boundaries of style and creativity while returning ever closer to timeless truth.
I hope the worship wars will be over, but I also hope that means the simplicity of worshiping in Spirit & in Truth will be more important than style.
I also hope the self-proclaimed experts of alternative worship styles will have toned down the “our music is more spiritual than their music” attitude. I love to hear the new styles & to see worship music redefined by some of the emerging songwriters, but I also worry about the subtle arrogance associated with the new stuff. Bring on the new stuff, reinvent the “old” stuff, but check the egos at the door of the church & let Jesus be preeminent.
Thanks for the article!
Well said, Keith. Checking my ego at the door is a minute by minute discipline for me 🙂 Question: who are you referring to when you say “alternative worship styles”?
I think it is headed in a positive direction. Will electric guitar ever be absent from worship music…I think not! How could they ever get rid of the electric guitar?!?! haha
Seriously, I think that worship music is becoming more real and applicable rather than singing cliche ideas over and over…
I don’t know, bro. The banjo is giving the electric guitar a run for its money right now!
More banjo
The 11th commandment 🙂
I hear the cowbell is making a comeback. MORE COWBELL!!
LOL!!!! 😀
Someone should arrange a song that involves a cowbell choir. Can you imagine if such gloriousness took over the church? I think THAT is the future! 🙂
Rob, I had a banjo player a few months back and the response was huge. people like the banjo! 🙂
will the worship wars end? probably not. they are nothing new, the revivalists hated the old hymns and wrote new words to bar tunes… the salvation army’s use of brass band was the heavy metal worship of it’s day.
itll stay the same… churches will be open to new styles of music developed within and without of the church.
other churches will stay 10 years behind cause it’s safer
others will never leave the “traditional ways”.
nothing new. the real question is whether the younger players will refuse to get past the U2/coldplay riffs the same way the older guitar players can’t get past the classic rock guitar solos of their youth 🙂
In 5 years (not 20) worship music will have to be discovered in a totally different manner, as we are witnessing the dinosaur extinction of the current models of music discovery and music consumption such as radio. When a service like Spotify was able to launch in the US it signaled a major change. Music will have a longer lifetime than radio gives it now. So, what does this mean?
– More music coming from independent and local sources. The worship music of tomorrow will come from the local or internet networked music communities, not the ‘industry’ as we know it. Note this is not an original thought – I cribbed it from Chris Vacher!
– I hope this means more relevant expression from local artists in a way that speaks to a local audience that they connect with. In some ways this will likely coincide with societal changes driven by economic factors, with more localized economies, etc, and perhaps less of a globally connected world. In some ways Khamille’s music she posted is like this – it is like a worship music version of what you hear at a rave – which is a music form that speaks to a lot of young people.
– Music will have to exist on its merits. In some ways there is almost a fatalism I detect among the worship leader community – as if they will always be singing the me-too stuff coming from the same people forever, because ‘that’s what is popular’ and therefore they are supposed to be doing it. I think in future things will become popular based on merit, and less because Nashville or Atlanta or a big international worship enterprise such as Hillsong made them so. Note I am not saying that what Nashville or Hillsong gives us has no merit, because a lot of it does!
– More multimedia expressions, as technology changes. Still trying to decipher this one!
What exactly do you mean by “merits”? How would a worship songwriter get their song to have merit?
That’s an interesting one. I personally am a fan of using peer review, some kind of criteria based song evaluation, song craft improvement, and of lots of rewriting in order to increase a song’s merit. By that definition, then, merit would mean (stealing from people like Baloche:)
– Easy to remember
– Hard to Forget
– Theologically sound
– Good hooks, musical structure
– Meets a need that the church (local, or worldwide) has
– Effective in a church
– Uniqueness of music, theme, lyrics
My comment was more oriented to the fact that music discovery pipelines are right now dominated by ‘the industry’ which can afford the large promotional budgets required to keep the pipeline full of songs from the ‘major worship artists’ onto major radio, major web sites, etc. But the industry is changing very rapidly, and the way we consume and hear new music is changing with it. In the future music discovery will likely be based more on what customers think of the music and how it is shared organically, virally, and through means like social media, not necessarily what an industry wants us to like.
Gotcha. I agree. The industry already is losing its hold. I look forward to what you describe, Mark. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been having this conversation with myself for the past few years. So good to have it outside of my own head.
Could there be a shift in the lyrics we sing? One of the things that has caused me to lose interest in the Hillsong “empire” is their lyrics. Though the melodies are catchy and edgy, I find myself dropping out due to the (imo) shallowness of the words.
Not all their songs mind you, but the majority of ones I’ve heard.
What I find my own spirit drawn to is the John Mark McMillan lyrics of “heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss” and his amazing hymn “Death in His Grave”. Other writers like Josh White (Telecast, The Followers) are finding new words to express what we’ve always wanted to say to God, and something inside goes, “YES! That’s it!” I hope we are moving to a continued depth of theology and metaphor in our lyrics.
R.I.P. “God is my boyfriend”
Ha! Yea, it’s becoming way too easy to crack out a simple melody and quick lyrics. There aren’t many writers who really work their lyrics. It’s so needed!
I don’t really know where the future of worship music is headed style wise. But I hope that we will continue to capture the importance accessibility and participation in corporate worship settings. I hope we see less and less of a performance/consumer mentality. I hope that the generations grow in worshiping together in spirit and truth and in deference to one another.
I also hope that as the future of worship music unfolds, that I will be able to grow and adapt along with it, or else graciously step aside to allow new expression to be led by others. I don’t ever want to be an older person who holds on to the current style as the only valid expression of truth – even if it is always my preference.
Amen. How do think we’ll get away from the performance/consumer mentality?
I think the answer is multi-fold. It begins with prayer. Prayer for our worship teams and congregation to grow and learn what it means to have a heart of worship. It involves discipleship of both worship leaders and worship teams (something you’ve written a lot about) to see what they are doing not as a platform, but as service. To see that the glory of God is greater than their own glory. Perhaps it will mean no longer sticking someone on the platform to lead worship just because they are musical when they have no theological or biblical grounding. It will also come about as the church as a whole does a better job with discipleship across all age spectrums. Somehow, discipleship has become about what I want and what makes me feel good instead of being like Jesus, being an active part of the church, and looking beyond ourselves in deference to others. Easy? No. But necessary. What do you think?
I think that as worshipers and as people trying to achieve the same goal we have to like Martin Smith said collaborate and remember that at the end of the day what we do is to edify the church, the body of Christ and also to give God praise and honor. I believe that as Christians we need to learn to begin to rid ourselves of individualism and begin to work together as one. We can be more powerful if were united!
The Bible encourages us to “sing to the Lord a new song…” and I think this not only true for new songs being written every day but also is license if you will, to try to use “a new style”. Our Gos-given creativity, driven by the Holy Spirit cannot be confined to one style or another. Music styles, specificallyin a church setting tend to be very subjective and limited by what the congregation and leadship of that particular church is comfortable with, and we forget that worship is about God, not ourselves, so our worship and music should honor Him.
A lot of modern worship styles are quite predictable. What do you think is the next wave of musical creativity?
Hey Dave!
I had a grand and glorious plan to read all the replies and give a well informed response, but then I realized how many replies there were and decided I should just toss my two cents into the fray. 🙂
Well, I spent much of the last two years living in Nashville, seeing and learning a lot about music, especially music in church. I met Lenny LeBlanc (who wrote ‘above all’) and Jeff Deyo and Lindell Cooley, along with lots of other people like Rick Pino and Phillip LaRue and Richy Clark. I saw such a variety and heard from so many people that I almost got burned out on so many different styles and ideas and ‘next big thing’s from people who “heard straight from the Lord”. Which I can’t say they all did not, different paths for different children of God.
But one thing I think I learned the most through all of it was that yes, the Christian Music Industry can be quite predictable, but also, I think the next big thing is unpredictability. Everything I saw falls into two major categories.
One category is the group of people that know the industry backwards and forwards and and are ready to write what sells and is more concerned about writing that next big worship song, therefore following the mainstream media to find what the people want. Yada yada.
The other group (the unpredictable one) that seems to be ‘the next big thing’ in Worship is ‘flowing’. Following the Holy Spirit. Long, long songs that are a bit like jam sessions that just allow you to ‘feel’ where God is going and sing to it.
I have mixed opinions on that one. It can be very good and devotion like and peaceful. Or, being that it involves the spirit realm so intimately, it can turn out wrong. Following the Holy Spirit is always a good idea, but there is a margin of human error involved that grace makes up for in day to day life. “Feeling the atmosphere” of a room to decide where next to take a song can become sort of manipulative, playing on emotion and hype instead of the deeper realm of the Gods Spirit, that does not rely on man. It can be tricky waters, and I speak from experience. Gauging the crowds reaction, sensing what next to sing or play, it ends up just being a horizontal connection instead of vertical, and it is unnecessary.
There is a good reason to allow for breathing room in structured worship music, to let God do what He will do in a song. But God is a God of order as well and people can engage more and lose themselves in worship easier when they have clearer direction, so that they are not always keeping their eyes on the stage, following the leader at all times. the focus needs to be higher than that 😉
That is a small portion of my opinion, for whatever it is worth.
What it really comes down to is clean hands and a pure heart, God isn’t looking for anymore than that 😀
Wow, you have really thought this through Liz! Great thoughts. What did you do in Nashville?
I’m not sure where the future of Worship will go. It seems it is headed where ever the worlds music is going. The music is always changing just like the culture. Worship is to give God the glory and honor. You can have a 5 person band or even a choir, and they both sound great, but in the end where is there heart. David was a man after God’s own heart. Where is our heart?
I think the worship music of 20 years from now will probably sound like stuff from the 2000’s, with some new stuff yet to be done. Everything goes in cycles, usually 20-30 year cycles. Worship music 20 years ago was very piano driven (think Vinyard). 10 years ago, very guitar driven (think Hillsong/Passion). Now it’s turning back to keyboards, but with an electronic twist (think 80’s music). In 10-20 years we’ll probably be back with electronic-sounding guitars.
I just hope the honesty and the authentic emotion of the newer worship tunes of today doesn’t go away. That never gets old.
Interesting assessment here, Josh. Love it! Worship music 20 years ago was also very guitar solo driven. Can’t forget those! 😉
im sorry but i remember when worship used to be worship. john wimber eddie espinosa and a drummer to keep the beat.it was the worshippers worshiping. now i go to these same churches and its all about the “worship” team. it looks like a weekly competition matt wanabes. it feels more like we are being entertained. and now we call this worship. get an old tape from the vineyard worship in anaheim from the 80s. hear and feel the difference.
Nahum, I wouldn’t be too quick to judge what is currently happening with worship. Back in the day, Vineyard worship was quite revolutionary, different, and received TONS of criticism for how contemporary they were. Every new generation will have a new sound of worship music.
Thanks for contributing to the discussion!
I’m a worship leader, 22 years old and to be honest, i like worship music of most eras – there are many hymns that are simply amazing, and current generation songs are introducing more rock/metal styles (Planetshakers for example)…really what it boils down to is the heart of the writer, like you said. What you see in some music is introducing new sounds but also more complex rhythms, beats, riffs, sounds. While those things are okay and we In the worship community should be endeavoring to grow and develop in our music, we don’t want the changing of the musical style to take away from our glorifying God…granted there will be those who despise the changing of musical styles, there will be those who embrace it – as long as the music is anointed, word-based, glorifying God, it’s doing what it’s supposed to do. I see in the next 20-30 years waaaay more electric-style music being introduced (as for me, I will adapt to change but never let go of solid hymns and previous/current generation worship songs). As long as the hearts are right and God gets all the glory and the motive is to lead people into a place if worship and not to glorify the music or our talents, we are on the right track. 🙂 (also its important to know the congregation that is worshiping…to use music that would help them into that place of worship, not hinder them. I.e. older crowd, incorporate more hymn based songs an not throw heavy rock songs in their face…that is of course situational and God knows what works best at any given time)
Also want to say, I’ve been reading through your blogs, wow what a blessing..I’ve been wanting to find people like you, and I saw a tweet by integrity music I think it is and I decided to check it out, praise God I did! Thank you for what you’re doing, continue on 🙂
Josiah, thanks for chiming in and sharing your thoughts. I agree, electronic music is on the rise!
Hope to see you more often on here!
Frankly, I’m concerned …of course God is Soveign…HE is the
blessing..but I have a hard time connecting with the excessively
rhythmic music in which the lyrics are nominally Christian and
the music is indistinquishable from worldly music..I know
many people like it, but does it really edify the soul, produce
a sense of connection with God and assist us in living holy lives? Truthfully, some of the pop christian music is theatrical
at best. My quess is that in the future,christians will become so
disatisfied by the restlessness of their so-called worship music that we will become reverential and quiet…almost meditative..I can feel the honey flowing into my soul…blissful connection with the Lord Jesus the Christ. I hope that one day I will be able to share the sweet holy sense of God that I experience when I worship on my own with others…but for now…we have the hype
of the world invading our sanctuaries….perhaps we will be able to come to the altar (oops, I mean stage) for prayer. In our modern christian culture we worship our feelings not God. Dear
Holy God, give me more reverence for You..toss out the any music
that appeals to the flesh and make me holy….P.S. I am the
gentle submissive God-honoring worship leader at an Assembly of God Church…I love GOD. I enjoy most music. But, believe me, I
am more than willing to dispose of the hype and adore GOD in the
sweetness of love…It really hurts to see such obvious imitation
of worldliness. Worship music has become a business for many people. Fortunately, I only see this hype when I listen to the popular Christian radio station and the internet. In my own church..Jesus is still Lord, as I am sure He is in yours…
I have no prediction about the future of Christian music. Some
music is God-honoring…Personally, I’m just looking unto Jesus and doing my best to ignore anything that smacks of worldliness.
Joyful reverence …is what I prefer.