http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/using_old_protestant_hymns_vs_contemporary_worship.html, reprinted below, in full, unedited, for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Using Old Protestant Hymns
vs Using Contemporary Worship Songs
January 22, 2014 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org)
It has been argued that since Baptist churches use Protestant hymns, it is acceptable to use contemporary worship songs that are have a biblically sound message.
A pastor asked the following question:
The answer is that there is no comparison between these two practices.
Those who are making this argument don’t understand the issue and are uneducated about the character and nature of contemporary worship music and of the spiritual world that it represents.
To see the difference between using old Protestant hymns as opposed to borrowing from the world of contemporary worship, all we need to do is consider the fruit.
While I do not know of even one fundamental Baptist church that has become Lutheran by singing “A Mighty Fortress” or that has become Methodist by singing Fanny Crosby’s hymns, and I don’t know of one Baptist youth group that has become worldly by singing old Protestant hymns, I know a great many formerly separatist Baptist churches that are now New Evangelical, non-judgmental rock & rollers (including my alma mater, Tennessee Temple, and Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee), and contemporary worship is ALWAYS in the midst of those great changes. We have documented this in the free eBook The Collapse of Biblical Separatism and in the report “Contemporary Music Brings Great Changes.”
As for youth groups, show me one that is messing with contemporary music, and I will show you one that is on a fast track to the world.
This fact speaks volumes to those who have an ear to hear.
The old Protestants were much closer, doctrinally and spiritually, to the position of an old-fashioned Baptist church than to that of the contemporary movement. The old Protestants were militant for the Christian faith and were not infiltrated by theological modernism and new philosophy. They hated Popery!
A pastor asked the following question:
“What is the difference from using songs that every denomination uses across the board from the past (‘Just as I Am,’ ‘Amazing Grace,’ etc.) to using songs that everyone uses across the board in the present (‘How Deep the Father’s Love for Us,’ ‘Holy Ground,’ ‘Majesty,’ etc.) if they follow Biblical principles and if we do not promote a particular artist whose lifestyle we don’t support?”
The answer is that there is no comparison between these two practices.
Those who are making this argument don’t understand the issue and are uneducated about the character and nature of contemporary worship music and of the spiritual world that it represents.
To see the difference between using old Protestant hymns as opposed to borrowing from the world of contemporary worship, all we need to do is consider the fruit.
While I do not know of even one fundamental Baptist church that has become Lutheran by singing “A Mighty Fortress” or that has become Methodist by singing Fanny Crosby’s hymns, and I don’t know of one Baptist youth group that has become worldly by singing old Protestant hymns, I know a great many formerly separatist Baptist churches that are now New Evangelical, non-judgmental rock & rollers (including my alma mater, Tennessee Temple, and Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee), and contemporary worship is ALWAYS in the midst of those great changes. We have documented this in the free eBook The Collapse of Biblical Separatism and in the report “Contemporary Music Brings Great Changes.”
As for youth groups, show me one that is messing with contemporary music, and I will show you one that is on a fast track to the world.
This fact speaks volumes to those who have an ear to hear.
The old Protestants were much closer, doctrinally and spiritually, to the position of an old-fashioned Baptist church than to that of the contemporary movement. The old Protestants were militant for the Christian faith and were not infiltrated by theological modernism and new philosophy. They hated Popery!
In contrast, the contemporary worship crowd represents a philosophy and a movement of end-time apostasy that is diametrically opposed to an “old-fashioned” Bible stand. It represents a world that is an absolute enemy of what an “old-fashioned” Baptist church stands for.
There is a transformational power in contemporary worship that can and eventually always will change the very character of a Bible-believing separatist church.
This is because the contemporary worship crowd represents the one-world church. Almost to a man the influential contemporary worship artists are radical ecumenists who do not separate from the Roman Catholic Church as the old Protestants did, but who affiliate with Rome. We have documented this extensively in the free 500-page eBook The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians.
Consider the very popular Stuart Townend. He is charismatic in theology and radically ecumenical in philosophy, supporting the Alpha program which bridges charismatic, Protestant, and Roman Catholic churches. He wrote his popular song “How Deep the Father’s Love” as a bridge to draw “traditional” churches into the contemporary orb and associate them with the “broader church.”
Consider the very popular contemporary hymn writers, Keith and Kristyn Getty. Their songs are used used widely among “traditional, non-contemporary” churches, because they are considered relatively safe. At least eight of their songs are included in Majesty Music’s Rejoice Hymns. Twenty-nine of their songs are featured in Hymns Modern and Ancient, published by Heart Publications, a ministry of Steve Pettit Evangelistic Association and compiled by Fred Coleman who heads up Bob Jones University’s Department of Church Music. Both Crown Baptist College and West Coast Baptist College, the two largest independent Baptist Bible colleges, perform Getty material in their services. Yet the Getty’s one-world-church goal is to “bring everyone together musically” (www.keithgetty.com). In July 2012 the Gettys and their close friend Stuart Townend joined Roman Catholic Matt Maher on NewsongCafe on WorshipTogether.com. They played and discussed “The Power of the Cross,” which was co-written by Getty-Townend. The 10-minute program promoted ecumenical unity, with Maher/Townend/Getty entirely one in the spirit through the music. Dramatic doctrinal differences are so meaningless to this crowd that they are not even mentioned. Spiritual abominations such as papal supremacy, the mass, infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, and Mariolatry were entirely ignored. Jude 3 is despised and Romans 16:17 completely ignored for the sake of building the one-world church through contemporary Christian music.
Preachers who claim to believe in biblical separation and end-time apostasy and who claim that they want to keep their churches in the “fundamentalist” philosophy and orb, but who are playing with CCM, are playing with fire; and their people, and especially the next generation, are going to be burned.
These preachers can huff and puff at me all they want, and they can try to make me the issue in this battle, it doesn’t change the fact that they are playing with fire. It doesn’t change the dangerous character of contemporary worship music.
Time will tell, but that will be too late for those who do not draw clear lines of separation from contemporary worship today.
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND THE INTERNET
For documentation of the great spiritual danger represented by contemporary worship musicians that are being used by Bible-believing churches and the fact that this music is a bridge to the one-world church see the following free materials at www.wayoflife.org.
“The Transformational Power of Contemporary Praise Music” (free eVideo download)
http://www.wayoflife.org/free_evideo/
“The Foreign Spirit of Contemporary Praise Music” (free eVideo Download)
http://www.wayoflife.org/free_evideo/
“The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians” (free eBook)
http://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/
“Analyzing Adopted CCM Songs”
http://www.wayoflife.org/database/analyzing_adapted_ccm_songs.html_____
About Way of Life - The name “Way of Life” is from Proverbs 6:23: “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” The biblical instruction that molds men to God’s will requires reproof. It is not strictly positive. It does not focus on man’s “self-esteem.” It does not avoid controversial or unpopular subjects. It warns as well as comforts. It deals with sin and false teaching in a plain manner. It is reproves, rebukes, exhorts with all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Tim. 4:2). This is what we seek to do through Way of Life Literature. The Way of Life preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.
There is a transformational power in contemporary worship that can and eventually always will change the very character of a Bible-believing separatist church.
This is because the contemporary worship crowd represents the one-world church. Almost to a man the influential contemporary worship artists are radical ecumenists who do not separate from the Roman Catholic Church as the old Protestants did, but who affiliate with Rome. We have documented this extensively in the free 500-page eBook The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians.
Consider the very popular Stuart Townend. He is charismatic in theology and radically ecumenical in philosophy, supporting the Alpha program which bridges charismatic, Protestant, and Roman Catholic churches. He wrote his popular song “How Deep the Father’s Love” as a bridge to draw “traditional” churches into the contemporary orb and associate them with the “broader church.”
Consider the very popular contemporary hymn writers, Keith and Kristyn Getty. Their songs are used used widely among “traditional, non-contemporary” churches, because they are considered relatively safe. At least eight of their songs are included in Majesty Music’s Rejoice Hymns. Twenty-nine of their songs are featured in Hymns Modern and Ancient, published by Heart Publications, a ministry of Steve Pettit Evangelistic Association and compiled by Fred Coleman who heads up Bob Jones University’s Department of Church Music. Both Crown Baptist College and West Coast Baptist College, the two largest independent Baptist Bible colleges, perform Getty material in their services. Yet the Getty’s one-world-church goal is to “bring everyone together musically” (www.keithgetty.com). In July 2012 the Gettys and their close friend Stuart Townend joined Roman Catholic Matt Maher on NewsongCafe on WorshipTogether.com. They played and discussed “The Power of the Cross,” which was co-written by Getty-Townend. The 10-minute program promoted ecumenical unity, with Maher/Townend/Getty entirely one in the spirit through the music. Dramatic doctrinal differences are so meaningless to this crowd that they are not even mentioned. Spiritual abominations such as papal supremacy, the mass, infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, and Mariolatry were entirely ignored. Jude 3 is despised and Romans 16:17 completely ignored for the sake of building the one-world church through contemporary Christian music.
Preachers who claim to believe in biblical separation and end-time apostasy and who claim that they want to keep their churches in the “fundamentalist” philosophy and orb, but who are playing with CCM, are playing with fire; and their people, and especially the next generation, are going to be burned.
These preachers can huff and puff at me all they want, and they can try to make me the issue in this battle, it doesn’t change the fact that they are playing with fire. It doesn’t change the dangerous character of contemporary worship music.
Time will tell, but that will be too late for those who do not draw clear lines of separation from contemporary worship today.
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND THE INTERNET
We are living in the age of end-time technology, which means that one can no longer use songs and hymns without the listeners being able to come into communication with the authors with great ease. Whereas even 30 years ago, it was difficult to contact and be influenced by authors of Christian music, that has changed dramatically with the Internet.
Today if people in a Bible-believing church hear songs by Jack Hayford or MercyMe or Graham Kendrick or Stuart Townend or Darlene Zschech or Keith Getty, songs heard in “adapted form” in many Bible-believing churches, they can easily search for that group or individual on the web and come into intimate contact with these people -- not only in contact with their music (typically played in "real" rock & roll style as opposed to the watered-down soft-rock ballad versions performed in churches that are only beginning to dabble with contemporary praise music), but also in contact with their ecumenical/charismatic/separatist hating/one-world church philosophy.
Let’s say someone hears the choir perform “In Christ Alone” or “The Power of the Cross” by the Gettys. They like the music and decide to check them out on the web. They come across the Gettys rocking out at their concerts, and begin to question their church’s stand against rock music. They see the Gettys associating with anyone and everyone and begin to question biblical separation. “The Gettys seem so sincere and Christ-loving; maybe I’ve been too hard-nosed in my Christianity; maybe the separatist stance is all wrong; perhaps I should lighten up.” They come across Keith Getty’s July 2013 interview with Assist Ministries and decide to listen to what the man has to say. They hear Getty speak highly of Bono and C.S. Lewis, so they decide to take a look at these people, and by so doing they begin to question fundamental Bible doctrines. After time, through the influence of the Gettys, the soul who was once a content member of a Bible-believing church, raising his children in a Bible-believing path, is on the high road to the emerging church and the children and grandchildren will end up who knows where. The same could be said for the influence of Townend or Kendrick or MercyMe or Zschech or hundreds of other prominent contemporary worship musicians, because they hold the same philosophy and represent the same bridge to spiritual danger.
Men such as Paul Chappell and Clarence Sexton and Ron Hamilton, who should know better but who are defending the use of contemporary praise music either in word or by example, will answer to God for the souls that cross the bridges they are building to the dangerous world that is represented by this music.
Today if people in a Bible-believing church hear songs by Jack Hayford or MercyMe or Graham Kendrick or Stuart Townend or Darlene Zschech or Keith Getty, songs heard in “adapted form” in many Bible-believing churches, they can easily search for that group or individual on the web and come into intimate contact with these people -- not only in contact with their music (typically played in "real" rock & roll style as opposed to the watered-down soft-rock ballad versions performed in churches that are only beginning to dabble with contemporary praise music), but also in contact with their ecumenical/charismatic/separatist hating/one-world church philosophy.
Let’s say someone hears the choir perform “In Christ Alone” or “The Power of the Cross” by the Gettys. They like the music and decide to check them out on the web. They come across the Gettys rocking out at their concerts, and begin to question their church’s stand against rock music. They see the Gettys associating with anyone and everyone and begin to question biblical separation. “The Gettys seem so sincere and Christ-loving; maybe I’ve been too hard-nosed in my Christianity; maybe the separatist stance is all wrong; perhaps I should lighten up.” They come across Keith Getty’s July 2013 interview with Assist Ministries and decide to listen to what the man has to say. They hear Getty speak highly of Bono and C.S. Lewis, so they decide to take a look at these people, and by so doing they begin to question fundamental Bible doctrines. After time, through the influence of the Gettys, the soul who was once a content member of a Bible-believing church, raising his children in a Bible-believing path, is on the high road to the emerging church and the children and grandchildren will end up who knows where. The same could be said for the influence of Townend or Kendrick or MercyMe or Zschech or hundreds of other prominent contemporary worship musicians, because they hold the same philosophy and represent the same bridge to spiritual danger.
Men such as Paul Chappell and Clarence Sexton and Ron Hamilton, who should know better but who are defending the use of contemporary praise music either in word or by example, will answer to God for the souls that cross the bridges they are building to the dangerous world that is represented by this music.
For documentation of the great spiritual danger represented by contemporary worship musicians that are being used by Bible-believing churches and the fact that this music is a bridge to the one-world church see the following free materials at www.wayoflife.org.
“The Transformational Power of Contemporary Praise Music” (free eVideo download)
http://www.wayoflife.org/free_evideo/
“The Foreign Spirit of Contemporary Praise Music” (free eVideo Download)
http://www.wayoflife.org/free_evideo/
“The Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians” (free eBook)
http://www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/
“Analyzing Adopted CCM Songs”
http://www.wayoflife.org/database/analyzing_adapted_ccm_songs.html_____
About Way of Life - The name “Way of Life” is from Proverbs 6:23: “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.” The biblical instruction that molds men to God’s will requires reproof. It is not strictly positive. It does not focus on man’s “self-esteem.” It does not avoid controversial or unpopular subjects. It warns as well as comforts. It deals with sin and false teaching in a plain manner. It is reproves, rebukes, exhorts with all longsuffering and doctrine (2 Tim. 4:2). This is what we seek to do through Way of Life Literature. The Way of Life preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.
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