When Pastor was reminiscing last Sunday about our past 29 years as a church, he used the term old paths. I like being in an “old paths” kind of ministry, but I want to make sure we’re never stuck in an old, outdated path that hinders more than helps the gospel.
Old Paths, to me, refers more to the underpinnings of our music ministry than it does to the style. I think with that term comes a certain approach to which songs we’ll sing, how we will sing them, and who we’ll get them from.
I stay away from certain songs partly because of how they’re sung. Pastor made a point last week about appreciating howour music is portrayed, in that it’s all about God and not about the experience. I still don’t buy into the concept that we are selling people an experience at church. I don’t see that in Scripture.
I stay away from certain music partly because of where it comes from. I try to read things about the composers and what their goals are for the new music that is being produced. I get uneasy about certain popular songs—even when it’s toned down for our church— because the people who say, “Great song, I should look that up” will search YouTube and find the rock version of the song. That makes me uncomfortable.
Is it all about feelings? No. But feelings play a part in the subjectivity of music.
-Bro. Ryan