Second rate? I have a friend who was on the worship team of a new church whose sole marketing magnet was the music. Every member of the band was professional and they were an absolute killer band. But even that wasn't enough. And I have to admit I was kind of relieved that it wasn't.

We are new to our area and have beening visiting churches. One church must not have had any musicians at all but played the cheesiest CD's with the vocals! During the invitation no one in the congregation was singing but listening to this lame CD. The pastor's wife said they were looking for ideas to bring new people in and thought that offering counseling to the community was the answer. It was sad.

I am plating a church in the interior of Brazil. The town where I am has 60 churches, all of them use the same strategy as the church you mentioned, most of those 60 churches are packed. In the church we are trying to plant my wife is the only one that plays something (we are 8 people), she plays the acoustic guitar. We are here preaching the word every week and praying that God will do the work in here, we are not trying to get people from other churches, but sometimes we get some visitors and almost always they say afterwards that it has been a while since the last time they've heard the word been preached. If you all have friends doing a serious work with church planting, encourage them, pray for them, we need it.

I wonder what kind of music Jesus has on his ipod?

sounds like another club with the label of church. They are caught up in marketing their brand and they never share the work of God. They especially never share the gospel. Oh, how I wish these kind would buy a building, put up a sign telling who they really are (a club of disgruntled lost folk). The sad part of this is they will create a group of people in the community who display a form of godliness but deny the true power of God (the ability to transfrom lost sinners into his own workmanship). Next they will produce offspring who are taught false doctrine. They will effect generations to come. If music is all someone wants they can pay their tithe to the allmighty ticket master and go to concerts where their brand of music is played and nothing else. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. I am young, but I enjoy the songs that tell of God's glory, the cross of Crist, His redeeming work, the age to come and Amazing Grace. Anything other brings me great discomfort. As a matter of fact I will not allow secular songs to be sang in the church I pastor.
I understand this is controversial stuff in 2008. In a day when only 70% of Southern Baptist over 55 think adultery is a sin, and 64% 35 and under we have a real problem. Churches are obviously failing in teaching the regenerate work of Christ in the life of a "believer".
I praise God for places like 9Marks, Capitol Hill Baptist, St. Andrews Chapel, Grace Community Church and all the little unknown churches abroad where the Bible is clearly taught and the hearers are expected to adhere to the teachings for full fellowship.
May God Bless your ministry,
pastor Brett Clements

Shawnie:

I'm not too sure what to make of your comment. Are you thinking the postcard was a good pitch? I am serving in my third church plant and your comments bring back memories of my first plant where it was a year or so before anyone with any instrumental talent joined us. Thus, we had to rely on some, admittedly, crummy CD's to provide the music that we sang over top of. Miracle of miracles, people kept joining us. They were coming for the expositional (explicatory?) preaching of the Word and for the fellowship of the saints. With those things at the forefront, the lack of musical quality was simply not a hindrance. Although, once we had musicians join who could lead us, there was much rejoicing! My point is that you can't judge a church, and especially a church plant, by the lameness of the music- it may be all they have. And I think Michael's point may be that you can't judge a church by the "excellence" of its music either. It may, alas, be all that they have as well.

"It really won't be much longer until we just say it: come to our church and we promise not to mention Jesus at all!"

No, this is already happening. A youth pastor once told his students that they could invite their friends to youth on that proviso: We won't mention Jesus.

It seems to me that the church has forgotten Heb 10:23-25. The "church gathered" is for encouragement and exhortation. It is a refuge to meet with one another to build up each other in the faith. Corporately we share our individual expressions of faith. I thought our songs of praise were for our Lord. If I sing off key, what is the difference? I am not trying to impress anyone. It is my heartfelt expression of my love for Him. I come together with other believers to be exhorted and encouraged by the teaching of the Word. If a believer (visitor) comes to a service and cannot see that as the emphasis of our services, I am sorry. Is it not rather a sad commentary on the believing visitor, looking for a church home that the emphasis is on the music, or size of the youth group or how new and swank is the church's building? The question we need to ask is, "Just how critical is this time to me? It it optional or foundational and essential?" If an unbeliever visits a service, I would hope that they would pick up on our heartfelt worship and encouragement. However, the service is not aimed at them. Evangelism is for the "church scattered". It is there in homes, schools, workplace, etc. that we share the gospel. It is the winsomeness of the Savior that should attract unbelievers. Don't get me wrong, I am all for excellence in all that we do. I just won't let the lack of it get in the way of my worship. I remember who I am... as one of my friends used to say... "a good of nothing, saved by God's grace."

Michael, thank you. I think this will help...http://ubcfayetteville.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/a-loss-for-words/

Not only does our church music stink, so does every program there. it's a dying church.

Filipe,

Be encouraged about your church plant. I am kind of in the same boat except that we are starting to grow numerically now. My wife sings and I play the acoustic guitar. That's all we have, but an awesome thing happened without it being intentional. I am sure that we will eventually get more musicians, but playing music the way we do as helped to remove alot of distraction because our church is kind of reforming in that we all come from the seeker, purpose driven, charismatic backgrounds and we are just trying to recover Biblical preaching. Ww want their to be a sense in which the Word of God is central in all that we do. Not having the bells and whistles has helped towards that. In the right season I am sure the Lord will provide us with more musicians, but it we are enjoying what he is doing now too.