In Biblical days, many psalmists, poets and singers dedicated all of their works of their hands to God in praise and worship, out of sheer reverence. Today, many Christian artists and musicians also do the same; however, many think that the only "proper" way to worship Him is through singing things like hymns and songs, accompanied by piano. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to worship that way, these people often fail to realize this isn't the ONLY kind of musical way to worship God.

I know this may seem obvious, but it's a fact that many seem to overlook: pianos didn't exist way back then. People worshiped God with not only singing but with trumpets, drums, harps, flutes, etc. Their music matched the style of the times, yet they used it specifically for God's glory. Some back then might've even been as hesitant to use the piano as some of us are more hesitant to use more contemporary forms of worship. The bottom line is, though, worship is still worship used to praise God, no matter what instruments you use or what style of music you perform with. All that matters is that you are giving honor and glory to your Maker.

Today, many Christian musicians, artists and bands continue the Biblical tradition of matching praising God up with a more modern twist on the music STYLE. The music isn't ungodly, as quite a few surmise; in fact, the lyrics are anything but. Many think that we shouldn't "be conformed to this world," (Romans 12:2, NKJV) but those people are taking the verse out of context, which is used in the context of presenting our entire beings, our whole lives and even our bodies to God in worship, rather than living for ourselves, as the world so often does. And this, friends, is exactly what Christian artists and bands do -- they often speak out against conforming to the world (especially ones like Lecrae, TobyMac, and Beckah Shae) and living wholeheartedly for God in their music. This goes directly against those people's weak argument. Artists like these are not conforming, rather, they are using a remarkably similar strategy to the apostle Paul's: "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may partaker of it with you." (1 Cor. 9: 19-23, NKJV.)

Notice the word "as." He is not saying he IS becoming weak, converting to Judaism, etc, but "as." In other words, he uses what he has to empathize and reach out to them, using "all means" to "save some." Christian artists are doing the exact same thing. They realize that not everyone likes listening to classical or hymns in their free time away from the usual place of worship (this is not to say that that form of worship is bad, just that it's not for everyone's taste), so they often bring the worship to them, in a unique style (hip-hop, pop, rock, rap, dance, electro, etc, etc) that happens to appeal to that specific audience, yet the lyrics defy what normal, secular artists of that genre would normally sing about -- they are Godly, spiritually uplifting and deeply spiritually inspirational. If you don't believe me, just listen to radio stations like K-LOVE or Air1. You hear quite a few stories about how God has reached out to people's lives through these songs, through these artists, and some people were even prevented from committing suicide because of the words, they were so powerful. The only other kinds of music I can think of that moves people in such a way are hymns, psalms, etc. This means that the artists' songs, their lyrics, are indeed not of this world; if they were, could they have truly moved these people in such a way? I think not.

This is not that I'm condemning a more traditional form of worship; on the other hand, I very much like singing a cappella around the campfire when I'm at our Church Camp, for instance, or when I'm at my college, Geneva. But I wanted to shed some light on a non-conformist type of music that is very important to me, but is sometimes, sadly, misunderstood by some.

I will end with the note that any form of worship is good as long as it is in accordance with God's will, and used for His Glory-- and that my grandmother, who is normally an avid traditionalist (very low tech, for instance, and normally loves classical music/hymns) just started listening to K-LOVE and now cranks the music constantly on her radio, because she loves it so much! (LOL)

Here is just a very, very, VERY small sample of the music that I love:

And here's one of the ones that prevented someone from killing themselves: