Steve Sensenig talks to iMonk about music in church

Steve is a guy with a lot of experience in all things church and music. I have not heard of him before, but he brings up some interesting thoughts for discussion in response to these questions posed to him from iMonk:

Question 1. Here’s what I think: Contemporary evangelical churches have entirely too much music going on in the average worship service. It’s exhausting to prepare, distracting from other needed elements of worship and is now dominating many churches in ways that would have been unthinkable even a few years ago.

What do you think? Am I right, wrong, partly one or the other, or just grumpy?

2. Second statement: The current music scene has allowed entities and forces outside of the local church to have far too much influence in worship. In many churches, there is an almost complete abdication of pastoral leadership in the music program.

3. Third: The tendency of the current worship scene is to use music aimed at a younger and younger audience, and this is causing the loss of a priceless heritage of church music.

4. The church culture I grew up in used a lot of choirs. Today, those are fading, and the type of worship leader churches are looking for as a result is typically less trained, younger and more of a performer. What do you think of the shift from Minister of Music (trained musician who can work with choirs, etc.) to the younger, guitar-playing worship leader? What gifts are needed to serve the church with music?

Read his answers here.