I once heard an evangelist say that music is the most carnal part of worship, and in some ways I agree with him. As human beings we sometimes are too selfish to see ministry opportunities in front of us because we don't think God honors "their" style of music.
The church my wife grew up in split one time mainly because of musical preferences. Those who founded the church were southern of origin(the founding pastor of the church was from Georgia), so the members for the longest enjoyed four part harmony, quartet singing with just the piano. Well time marches on, people come, others move, some go on. The biggest struggle in life, it seems, is change. Well the pastor the church elected was NOT from the south. The people he reached out to also were not from the south. The music they liked was traditional. A house divided against itself shall not stand. That church to this day has not had a powerful influence on the community.
It's been said that "Christians are the only one that shoot their wounded." I feel that this is especially true when it comes to a singer or preacher who don't specifically ministers to our tastes. Some have fallen. I've heard some defended, and others condemned by some of one preference, and the other way around with those of the opposite preference.
The sad truth is this- Jesus told the disciples to go into the world and preasch the gospel to every creature. It's easy to talk to those you like and whose tastes match yours. It's not as easy to go to those that you may not like, especially those who think that the music you listen to is "of the devil." Most of those people are our elders. We get past personal preferences, and maybe they have something for us that might help our personal walk with the Lord.
May God richly bless those who have read this message, and may we all have patience toward those we may meet.
The church my wife grew up in split one time mainly because of musical preferences. Those who founded the church were southern of origin(the founding pastor of the church was from Georgia), so the members for the longest enjoyed four part harmony, quartet singing with just the piano. Well time marches on, people come, others move, some go on. The biggest struggle in life, it seems, is change. Well the pastor the church elected was NOT from the south. The people he reached out to also were not from the south. The music they liked was traditional. A house divided against itself shall not stand. That church to this day has not had a powerful influence on the community.
It's been said that "Christians are the only one that shoot their wounded." I feel that this is especially true when it comes to a singer or preacher who don't specifically ministers to our tastes. Some have fallen. I've heard some defended, and others condemned by some of one preference, and the other way around with those of the opposite preference.
The sad truth is this- Jesus told the disciples to go into the world and preasch the gospel to every creature. It's easy to talk to those you like and whose tastes match yours. It's not as easy to go to those that you may not like, especially those who think that the music you listen to is "of the devil." Most of those people are our elders. We get past personal preferences, and maybe they have something for us that might help our personal walk with the Lord.
May God richly bless those who have read this message, and may we all have patience toward those we may meet.
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