Just got to reading an article from Collide that I had saved about using Secular Music In Sacred Settings. Our church uses both sacred and secular music selections for a variety of uses and I believe it’s a useful mechanism. As were shared in the comments of the post, we’ve seen and heard from people who were un-churched or uncomfortable with their “foreignness” to church and a familiar song helped them to relax and focus on the message that may have been shared in that song, in others and in the messages shared by our pastors.
There are a number of great points and clarifications of ideas shared by Kyle Baker in the article as well as those commenters after the post. Kyle’s four main points were:
- All truth is God’s truth, regardless of the source
- Not every action during a service or assembly is intended for corporate worship
- Music is part of how we participate in our culture
- There is no clear boundary between the sacred and the secular
I’d love for you to read the article and then share your own thoughts and comments on the Collide site as well as here. What does your church do? When you hear a sacred song in church, what is the first thought that goes through your mind? Is it similar to the first thought that goes through my mind when I hear a “Christian” song in a location I didn’t expect it?
Hey! Thanks for linking to my article!