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I was not born into the fellowship of churches of Christ, although that is my wife's heritage. I was born into the nondenominational fellowship of Christian churches/churches of Christ. Both fellowships were once known as Disciples of Christ. Churches of Christ separated from the Disciples in 1906 over instrumental music and the missionary society while Christian churches/churches of Christ parted company with the Disciples in 1927 because of theological liberalism in doctrine and practice. If I had been born into the fellowship of churches of Christ, I would probably have grown up thinking that a cappella music was the only acceptable way to sing. But I was not. My heritage included instrumental music in the corporate worship of the church. It never dawned on me that instrumental music was frowned upon by some that also used the name “Church of Christ.” Then, one fine Sunday morning when I was 12 or 13 years old, a family visiting our church, the Park Church of Christ in Goldfield, Iowa, got up and walked out of the service the moment the pianist's fingers struck the first note. The father slammed the hymnal down on the wooden pew before he led his family out of the service. I can still hear the echo. Thinking back on that memorable and impressionable occasion, I wish the man had taken time to open the hymnal and read the introduction, for the hymn book he slammed down was Great Songs of the Church - a jointly published hymnal of churches of Christ and Christian churches. Most of the hymns I know and still sing today came from the pages of that book, an unprecedented unity effort between the compiler, E. L. Jorgenson of the churches of Christ and Standard Publishing of the Christian churches. In fact, the final song in Great Songs of the Church (Number Two, 1941) was the “Unity Song” - “How Blest and How Joyous” by M. C. Kurfees.
Twenty years came and went. In 1984, I was named editor of One Body magazine and attended the first Restoration Forum, a unity meeting between interested members of churches of Christ and Christian churches/churches of Christ. Since 1984 thousands of brethren from both fellowships of churches have made every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace through participation in the Forum and reading the pages of One Body. That's where I've come from. Now, why am I here? Why am I, a member of the instrumental Christian churches/churches of Christ, appearing on a panel discussion of “The Case for A Cappella Singing in Churches of Christ”?
Believe it or not, there are some people who worship in instrumental churches who almost envy those who sing “in chapel style.” It's not that they believe instrumental music is wrong but they sometimes feel overpowered by all the instrumentation and amplification in their services. Paul S. Williams is editor at large for Christian Standard, a weekly publication (since 1866) for our fellowship of 5,500 churches. In the January 30, 2005 issue “Are They at Worship”?, Williams wrote:
(A word of caution here that is probably not necessary: don't think that because your church practices a cappella singing that you are immune from staged performances or inconsiderate amplification.) Several years ago, after one of our preaching conventions caused “no small stir” because the music was so loud that some of the hearing impaired were actually caused physical pain, a medical doctor in attendance said, “At three of the four evening sessions the music was so loud…that the ensuing headaches kept us from being able to enjoy the music or sermons. What a contrast when I attended the lectureships at Abilene Christian University recently and the a cappella music lifted us to heights of undistracted worship.” Nor is this just a “Church of Christ-Christian Church” thing. The evangelical magazine Christianity Today (February 2005) featured an article by Gary A. Parrett, “9.5 Thesis on Worship.” Parrett is assistant professor of Christian education at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Consider thesis number eight: “Those who lead the church in song are called to assist the congregation in its singing, not to replace it - technologies such as amplification must be used with theological and pastoral sensitivity.” Parrett noted, “On many Sundays, nowadays, it seems that it does not matter if I sing during worship, for I cannot hear myself even if I do. Nor can I hear the brothers and sisters sitting near me. In fact, we can only hear those few people standing up front with their microphones. Sometimes, we barely hear even them, because their voices are also drowned out by the amplified instruments that are supposedly accompanying all of us as we sing.” Parrett then makes a point you will appreciate - music to your ears, as it were! “The Bible commands us to 'speak to one another' in songs, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). I find myself longing for such experiences today. I need to hear my sisters and brothers confessing the faith into my ears, and they need to hear me. Surely it is not only the professionals or the gifted who believe the things we are singing. Those who lead us in song must do precisely that - lead us, not replace us or overpower us. Let the amplifiers provide for a volume level loud enough to help us do our job, for it is the congregation, and not the band, that is the true 'worship team.'” What can we all learn from this concerned evangelical? That people are longing for the lost art of congregational singing - where fellow Christians “speak to one another” in different kinds of singing (psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs). A cappella music, rightly done, can fill that need. Churches of Christ probably do it better than most since that is their longstanding tradition and practice.
I don't know that singing has to be a cappella ONLY for a Christian to express joy (James 5:13), encourage one another (Ephesians 5:19), or praise God (Hebrews 2:12). Nor does singing ALWAYS have to be accompanied by instruments. Several years ago, I wrote as follows: “If we want Christians to take us seriously when we say that we are 'Christians only but not the only Christians' then we will reexamine our practice of having to use musical instruments all the time. Scripture mentions a variety of musical expressions, both instrumental and a cappella…The Bible does not endorse 'play only' or 'sing only' anymore than it does 'faith only.' What if everyone brought Twinkies only to a church potluck?” (The Knowlesletter, September 2002) In March 2005 I was visiting with a brother at the International Soul Winning Workshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He said to me, “I no longer believe that instrumental music should be a test of fellowship. But do you brethren still use it as an 'aid' or is it necessary to worship? And does it sometimes overpower the singing?” These are relevant and legitimate questions. I told him that some of our churches still use instruments as an aid in singing (i.e., obtaining the pitch and maintaining the tempo), but in too many instances the instruments (and the praise teams) have overpowered the whole worship experience. I had to admit to my friend that the way some churches use instruments makes it “necessary” to worship because we cannot seem to get along without them. In our twenty-some years of encouraging unity, understanding and cooperation in the meetings known as the Restoration Forum, we have not said that churches of Christ should abandon their practice of a cappella singing. Nor have we urged them to bring in musical instruments. I realize that some a cappella congregations are beginning to use instrumental music in some of their worship services, but this is not something we have counseled them to do. An aside: it appears we now have “a cappella” churches that are instrumental and “instrumental” churches that are a cappella. Our ministry, Peace on Earth Ministries, supports about 40 house churches in Cuba. I believe only one of them has a keyboard. A few years ago I was in Zimbabwe. Most of our churches there are “a cappella.” There may be a few who take the position that one MUST use instrumental music in order to be pleasing to God, but they would be voicing a minority view. Churches that choose to adopt instrumental music will probably face a whole new set of problems. But that is up to them as a congregation. If we still believe in the principle of local autonomy, it is best that we let them make that decision for themselves. “But what if we lose our identity?” some may ask. I submit that a cappella singing should not be the exclusive identity of anyone. Followers of Christ are who we are. As one man said, “Forget who we are but remember who Jesus is.” Singing is just one of several worship-related activities Christians do. We don't all pray the same, preach the same, take up the offering the same or observe the Lord's Supper in the same way. Is it imperative that we all sing the same? Scripture does not appear to favor one kind of singing over the other. I know some men do but I do not think God does. At the dedication of the temple, when the instrumentalists and singers “joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord,” the glory of the Lord filled the place (2 Chronicles 5:13,14 NIV). The aforementioned evangelical Gary A. Parrett wrote, “When my first church home divided over musical issues and other aspects of our public worship, many hearts were broken. I remember the final act of our final service together. We were asked to form a circle around the sanctuary and join hands. Together, we sang the chorus, 'We are One in the Bond of Love.' Then we closed the service with prayer: many hugs and tears followed. “It was very emotional. It was also very hypocritical. We were not, of course, one in the bond of love. We were the victims of self-seeking from all sides. We had not obeyed the admonition of Philippians 2:3-4 ['Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves'] nor that of Ephesians 4:3 to 'make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace,' nor Christ's new commandment to 'love one another as I have loved you' (John 13:34). “My earnest prayer is that such scenes will occur with far less frequency as the people of God think more deeply about the nature and purposes of worship, and that a renewed approach to music and hymnody will lead us all to greater love of God, love of one another, and love for all our neighbors.” That's my prayer too. Love will find a way. Love never fails.
Caldwell also witnessed a great deal of “immodesty,” both on the platform and in the congregation. More and more churches are eliminating adult Bible classes and fewer and fewer people are carrying their Bibles to church (I won't ask for a show of Bibles here!). He also observed the abandonment of a public invitation to salvation (being fully aware that the invitation is an invention of men). The most “worrisome” trend Caldwell noticed, however, was the absence of Jesus' name in contemporary worship services. “I sat through two entire services from beginning to end without the name of Jesus being mentioned once. There were no songs about Jesus, no special music containing his name, no mention of him in the sermon, no Communion meditation to reference the Savior, not even any prayers offered in his name. There was no mention of Christ's death, burial, or resurrection, the very elements of what the apostle Paul identifies as 'the gospel' (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). And while the name of Jesus was not totally absent from other services I attended, his name was rarely mentioned in several.” Why do I bring this up? Because churches of Christ (save for the use of instrumental music) are “mirror images” of Christian churches. Caldwell could just have well been describing visits to churches of Christ. Both fellowships need to recognize what is happening today. Caldwell says, “I fear that in our pluralistic society with its emphasis on tolerance, the church has sometimes been intimidated, perhaps even without realizing it, into playing down the name of Jesus. When we do this we also deny the same society its only hope.” Whether we ever solve the issue of instrumental music or not, let us agree that there is a case for lifting up the name of Jesus in all our churches!
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