Deep Listening

Fourth.


There seems to be a divide in opinion when it comes to church music. It seems as though people are either moved by traditional hymns and sacred music OR praise and worship music. I happen to love both. Praise and worship music lends me a heart beat that seems to pour energy into me, and the traditional hymns say it like it is and bring a certain kind of comfort having heard them growing up and leaning on the texts for guidance.
A common argument against contemporary Christian music is its shallowness. I will admit that when I was first exposed to praise and worship music, I was turned off by how repetitive and mundane it was. "How great- is our God. Sing with me how great- is our god. How great, how great- is our God". Don't get me wrong, our God is super great, but why repeat the phrase a million times and put our hands in the air and close our eyes. It wasn't until I NEEDED something out of that music that I realized I had been listening wrong.
When I "got" this music I was at a point where I needed reassurance in Him. Looking back I don't recall if it had been financial hardships, a rocky relationship, an emotional burden etc. but when I sang "How great is our God" I didn't believe it. We sang the phrase again, and it made me think of what things WERE great in my life that He gave me. And soon I had tears of understanding; God blesses us even when things seem hard, and he's the one who will see us out of our discomfort.
So that's just one example of how I embraced contemporary Christian music. By deep listening, I allowed the music to become a tool to make me introspective and really listen to what God was saying. I will say that my upbringing in the church taught me of Gods power, His true power, not just what you hear from other people, but the power that drives you. The stuff that saves you from yourself. And it was this knowledge of serious understanding that helped me tap into the meaning of the song. So it makes me wonder if people without a church background have remotely the same experience. THAT is why I am careful when I'm choosing music for an event. It is NOT enough to repeat words over and over and put your hand in the air with your eyes shut. When my hand goes up, it is not receiving God's abundance, it is reaching for help, security, and guidance, and every time I reach, He reaches back.
I worship at a traditional service, which never ceases to move me. So when I get to experience contemporary, I make the absolute most out of it.