I have been a Christian for more than fifty years. During this time, I have sung many of the same songs―over and over again. The choruses, especially, are problematic―and repetitive, so repetitive. Quite honestly, it is now boring.

It is boring, because our songs are often simply expressions of emotion: how we feel or what we experience. So often, the music is all about “me”: my needs, my emotions, my benefits in Christ.

(Watch this brief satire about “me worship,” using popular choruses with lyrics altered to highlight the “me focus”: “It’s All About Me.”)

It is boring, because so often the musical style is the same―light rock and pop music genres. Is it possible, however, to worship God with other musical genres: folk, classical, or jazz, for example?

It is boring, because many songs concern the experience of conversion, so they are too simple or shallow for mature believers. Could there be hymns about suffering, sanctification, or the perplexities of life or the demands of the gospel or our future in eternity?

It is boring, because there is so little doctrine or intellectual content. Could there be songs that echo the themes of the psalms or prayers of Paul or the deeper doctrines of the Bible? Could we rediscover some of the ancient and classic hymns of the church?

R. C. Sproul commented about contemporary worship, “We have passion―indeed hearts on fire for the things of God. But that passion must resist with intensity the anti-intellectual spirit of the world.” Similarly, Ethan Renow in his article, “The Tragedy of Dumbing-Down Christianity,” summarizes the issue quite well:

We are happy to float along the surface with a “Hillsong-deep theology” and call it  good. And we wonder why people are leaving the Church in droves. A church that offers  only emotional, feel-good theology is going to lose the long-term wrestling match to a   well-read and convincing atheist nearly every time.

As a learning adventure, I urge you to review the table of contents of any classic hymnal, especially a Calvinist hymnbook. You will discover from the themes listed that our music had once been much deeper and broader―and beautiful.

For this reason, I thank God for the music ministries of Keith and Kristyn Getty and Sovereign Grace Music!