Singing about us singing about how we feel ... rather than singing to and about God

David Nelson at Between The Times feels as I do about the way music is often used in what should be worship:

.... We sing and sing and sing and sing and sing. I find myself, in so many of the places I go (and I do travel a good bit in Baptist & Evangelical land) just praying that the music will come to a close. And we so seldom read from the Scriptures, or pray in anything but a cursory fashion, or recite a statement of faith or confession, or observe the ordinances. But we get plenty of music. More than plenty. I don’t know that this would be such a burden to me, except that we sing so much bad music. ....

.... The music is maudlin, it is saccharine, and it lacks the richness, texture, and depth commensurate with the greatness and glory of God. This is true about both texts and music, by the way. I do not mean to single out contemporary music at this point. .... One of my chief complaints is that too much of this music has us singing about us singing about how we feel about God, or how we worship him, rather than singing to and about God himself. ....

.... While the church has always used “disposable” music, historically we tend to cull that music and maintain the best songs. Too often these days we seem to maintain the “disposable” and dispose the valuable. .... [more]

The Return of the Curmudgeon: Disney-World Worship (Part 2): Musical Disproportionality « Between The Times