Music is the universal language. Music can be understood and felt by all of humanity. You don’t have to be Russian to enjoy Tchaikovsky, or Italian to enjoy Puccini, or American to enjoy the music of Gershwin. Although there are some musical styles that are more difficult to relate to, we can still sense the emotional content in most instances and react pleasurably to it. Music is part of all of life’s celebrations—births, marriages, graduations, military service, college, national anthems, holidays, and even death. Music is always there to comfort, console, inspire, lift up, entertain, and bring joy and reflection. Music can bring a tear to the eye, or a smile. Music can trigger long-buried memories. All of life’s major events are made more meaningful by music. The practitioners of music are more than artists; they are also alchemists. They help to make life bearable; they aid in advancing the causes of freedom; and they can actually minimize emotional and physical pain. And that is only the beginning of the amazing power of music.
Music is so powerful that around 400 B.C., the ancient Greek philosopher Plato said, “I do not care what subjects you teach in your schools and universities. Let me teach and control music, and I will control your society.”
Secular, pagan, and even occult musical styles have crept into the church, all dressed up with new Christian lyrics. Old, traditional hymns—tried and true—have been thrown on the scrap heap of church history. This is even more true with the recent influx of Purpose Driven churches in America. Naively, pastors, music directors, and younger members of congregations have unknowingly embraced musical styles that can have spiritually negative effects on their listeners. Dr. Jack Wheaton, composer and instrumentalist, masterfully covers the deterioration in music in today’s church, and gives recommendations to fix the problem … before it is too late
