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Like me, you’ve probably come across more than one YouTube video or blog post questioning whether modern worship music is as biblically grounded as it should be, but is the criticism actually deserved?

Let’s dig into some popular criticisms of modern worship music and see what the Bible has to say.

Criticism #1: Modern worship music is too self-centered.

I’ve heard certain Christians complain that modern worship songs are too self-centered: too much about what God has done in our lives instead of who God is, too much about what we need God to do for us etc.

I can understand to an extent where that thought comes from. After all, worship is directed to God and for the purpose of ministering to God; it’s not primarily for us. Although, God does minister to us in response as we encounter His presence in worship.

It’s biblical and appropriate to sing worship songs to God simply declaring the characteristics of His nature and praising Him for those things. (Psalm 145-146) I actually think we need more of that in our worship songwriting and song choices for our church services today.

However, according to the Bible, it’s equally appropriate to sing worship songs to God praising Him for how He’s revealed His nature to us personally and how we’ve seen Him work in our personal lives. (Psalms 18, 107, 138-139)

It’s also appropriate to sing songs that are personal or corporate prayers to God (Psalms 42-43, 46, 85), as well as songs declaring God’s nature to one another and exhorting each other to praise Him in response. (Psalms 47, 150)

Since we see all these types of songs (and more) in the Bible, we should celebrate them and embrace them in Christian songwriting today! We should include them in the music we listen to and sing personally and in our corporate church gatherings.

Lastly, I’d encourage you to consider this thought:

Writing or singing a worship song from a first person (I/me) voice doesn’t necessarily take the focus off of God, it just helps personalize the words a person is singing to God. I think about this a lot as a songwriter and worship leader myself.

I’ll write songs from a first-person perspective as praise and prayer from my own heart to God or personal testimony to share with others. I know, though, that as others embrace those songs it will give them a tool to voice their own prayers, praise and testimony. As you evaluate worship lyrics, keep in mind that being personal and being selfish or self-centered are not the same thing.

Criticism #2: Modern worship music is too emotional.

In some expressions of Christianity, there’s a subtle ideology that emotions are inherently bad or distracting to our worship and to our relationship with God, but may I submit it’s not a biblical ideology? If we view our emotional experience and expression as bad, then we believe God wasn’t telling the truth in Genesis 1-2 when He said the way He created humans is good, emotions included.

Our God is an emotional God and He created us in His likeness. (We see God’s emotions verses like Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 103:8, John 17:23-24, Ephesians 1:4-5) We shouldn’t have a problem with acknowledging God’s emotions as part of His nature in our worship lyrics.

And, we shouldn’t have a problem with expressing our own emotion in worship. Emotion is part of the way God designed for us to experience life, to experience God Himself, and to express our hearts to Him.

We learn from studying the Psalms and the worship of the Israelites in the Bible that whether exuberant or subtle, emotional and physical expression is a legitimate and biblical part of the way we worship God.

They shouted, sang, danced, lifted their hands, played instruments–loudly. They wept, sat in silence, knelt, bowed. And God, through these examples in Scripture, exhorts you and I to do the same.

Poetic lyrics are another thing Christians trip over in the “emotional worship” conversation. There’s poetic phrasing of biblical truths all throughout Scripture–including the book of Psalms, which is filled with Israel’s songs of prayer and praise.

So, we don’t have to be concerned when songwriters choose to poetically express biblical truths in their lyrics. The only time a lyric should bother us is when it genuinely contradicts a clear teaching of Scripture.

Criticism #3: Modern worship music is too spontaneous.

Did you know that singing and playing spontaneous songs to God is a biblical form of worship?

“…Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” (Colossians 3:16)

“Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” (Ephesians 5:18-19)

In the Psalms, God’s people are encouraged to sing new songs to the Lord. In the New Testament, we’re encouraged to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. In other words, we’re to sing the Word/the songs of Scripture, sing composed songs of praise, and sings songs of the Spirit.

Spiritual songs are uncomposed songs of praise and prayer inspired in the moment by the overflow of your own heart to God or by the Holy Spirit. It’s spontaneously putting melody to your praise and prayers and singing (or playing) it to God as a new song.

It’s not just a way for musical people to worship; it’s for all of us. You can learn more about spiritual songs is in this blog post and the book Spark by Jeff Deyo. Spontaneity in worship isn’t something to be fearful or critical of; it’s beautiful and freeing.

Criticism #4: Modern worship music is too raw/too produced.

Do you gravitate more towards certain styles of worship music?

You might prefer worship music that has a house-worship, raw-acoustic vibe, leaves room for spontaneous moments and the move of the Spirit, and has a ten-minute long songs. 🙂 You might prefer the shorter, polished worship songs you hear from more mainstream Christian recording artists or on Christian radio.

You may lean more Contemporary Christian or more Gospel in your genre preferences. If you’re like me, then you enjoy a mix of all these styles.

I’ve noticed that sometimes when we lean more towards one style of worship music, we can become critical of people who compose or enjoy expressions of worship different from our own. I’ve made the mistake of doing that before. It’s helpful to remember that it’s not about the package the music comes in; it’s about the message, the heart and giving honor to God.

God has given a diversity of gifts, styles and expressions in His Church as we bring our worship to Him and that diversity is beautiful. (1 Corinthians 12) Each expression helps us worship and connect with God in a different way. God loves all of it and, even if we still have our personal preferences, you and I should value all of it too.

Here’s a take-away point for all of us: let’s try not to assume a song is unbiblical just because it doesn’t fit our personal preferences or comfort zone. Let God’s Word inform your understanding of biblical worship and as you do, let God teach you to appreciate and express worship to Him in fresh ways.

Let’s Talk: Did any point in this discussion challenge an assumption you had about modern worship music or teach you something new? How so? Just for fun: Share your favorite worship artists in the comments too! Discuss this post in the comments below.