PRAISE AND WORSHIP MUSICIANS

In the 1950’s, a French Christian monastic fraternity called the Taize Community combined Christian worship hymns with modern melodies, which in turn attracted a younger generation of church goers.

Then, across the world, Christian worship leaders realised that the younger generation preferred this more modern style of Christian worship and praise music over the ridged and dull feeling of church music at the time.

By combining modern styles of music with worship music, making the music of the church more accessible to younger generations, the Christian church was able to re-establish itself as important and relevant in modern society.  

Some of the most popular Christian worship and praise musicians and bands that have allowed the genre to gain significant popularity and become a part of mainstream music include Hillsong Worship, Elevation Worship, Bethel Music, Soul Survivor, Vineyard Music, and Jesus Culture.  

Although Christian praise and worship musicians have become a popular along with their Christian music, featuring on many Christian radio stations, in churches and at youth groups, there are many people opposed to it.

Some Christians argue that this modern take on Christian music is too ‘worldly’ to be considered true spiritual music.

What this means is that Christian worship and praise music does not separate artists and listeners of the genre from the holiness of God as most old Christian hymns did. Instead, more casual and familial words such as ‘I’ and ‘you’ are used, which connect God to the world and contradict His holiness.  

 Keith Getty, who wrote the song ‘In Christ Alone’, said in an interview that modern worship music was contributing to the ‘de-Christianising of God’s people’.

He said he believed this to be the case because almost all of the most known hymns speak of faith, heaven, hell, eternal life and our eventual peace with God; however, modern songs by Christian worship and praise musicians don’t follow this pattern and instead focus more on a Christian’s life on earth.

Getty continued on to say that the modernisation and difference on topic was ‘utterly dangerous’ for the church as the younger generations would not know and understand the old Christian hymns of faith.