Worship music plays an integral role in the Sunday experience of most Protestant churchgoers. For them, it is the most direct spiritual line to God and, in many cases, one of the most emotionally resonant moments of a Sunday service for congregation members.
Despite its essential role in our church and spiritual lives, worship music is often critically overlooked and taken for granted as a tradition. While it is ubiquitous in the lives of many Christians, that was not always the case. In its current form, worship music is a relatively recent invention—a carefully crafted and very profitable invention.
I recently spoke with Dr. Adam Perez, an expert in the field, to learn more about the history and theology of contemporary praise and worship music.
Dr. Perez researches the development of praise and worship theology and music, especially its transmission beyond Pentecostal and Charismatic communities into global mainstream practice. In addition to his research, he hosts the podcast “The Worship Nerds” in his spare time.
We started our conversation with definitions, clarifying what exactly “worship music” is. Dr. Perez differentiates between Christian Worship Music (CWM) and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM).
The terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, an essential distinction is that CWM is music meant to be sung in church. CCM can also be sung in church, but it grew out of the desire among Evangelical Christians in the 1970s to separate from “secular culture” and create their own counterculture.
CCM artists were often seen as substitutes for mainstream bands, and the industry became more of a lifestyle movement. It was interconnected with other Evangelical movements, such as James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, an evangelical ministry that became influential in conservative politics. CCM had its own magazine centered around music, but it also contained lifestyle advice.
However, things changed drastically at the turn of the century. The music industry as a whole entered into a period of turmoil. With the advent of the internet and subsequent file-sharing websites such as Napster and LimeWire, revenues plummeted.
In this chaos, the CCM movement merged with CWM through what Dr. Perez calls “the British Invasion of Worship Music.” This was marked by a turn towards youthful energy and devotion and the rise of church-based bands like Hillsong United, a ministry of the Hillsong network of churches that began in Australia.
This shift was completed in the 2010s, with Hillsong, Bethel Music, and Elevation Church distributing and marketing worship music that originated from their churches. Their songs were performed during other churches’ worship services, and people listened to their recordings outside the church, expertly fusing worship with subculture.
Theologically and morally, these megachurch-run record labels are rife with problems. Dr. Perez points to the lack of accountability in financial reporting due to their non-profit, tax-exempt status as a significant concern and an essential reason for their financial success.
He notes that “[these] churches are just much more agile, and [they are] unaccountable to shareholders. So they can just spend, advertise, and invest in worship music at a much more intense rate than a label could.”
There is also the individual, moral quandary of supporting these churches that have been scrutinized for truly heinous scandals. Hillsong and many other megachurches have faced numerous charges of sexual violence and abuse of power.
This leaves churchgoers and worship leaders in a difficult position. Dr. Perez describes a critical question amid all this: “Worship music, for many people, is this way of connecting to God directly. Now the question is, ‘OK, what does that mean for my connection to God if the institution managing that connection all this time was corrupt or has some deep spiritual failing?’”
This is a difficult question we are called to wrestle with. Unfortunately, it has no easy answer.
Dr. Perez points to some positive movements and resources for worship leaders, like CCLI license boards. These are panels created by networks of churches to analyze the CCLI’s top 100 chart of worship recordings at a given time and determine the theological value of each song.
These projects can be invaluable to worship leaders who feel pressured to choose songs they disagree with. They offer better options and insight that an individual worship leader may not have.
Another helpful practice for worship leaders is emphasizing other worship aspects during a service. Worship contains many elements that help people connect to God.
One of the side effects of the rise of CWM is that many of these elements have been removed or pushed to the side. Dr. Perez suggests incorporating prayers instead of some songs in the liturgy to ease the “load-bearing nature” of worship music in services.
Recognizing our connection to God as mediated through these institutions can be much trickier for individuals. Everyone must wrestle with this tough, open question in their own way.
For Dr. Perez, paying attention is one of the most important first steps. He says, “We always have to ask how worship is being mobilized toward certain outcomes–spiritual, political, or otherwise.”
Worship is not neutral, nor is it a feel-good party. If we are serious about worship being a connection to the divine, we have some tough questions to wrestle with. We must be honest and critical about what is happening in the CWM world dominating our worship landscape.
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Samuel Shepley is currently a junior at the University of Belmont. He is double majoring in English and Faith and Social Justice.
