A couple of months ago, I wrote about “The New Traditional Church.” That particular post focused on the discipleship strategy. I thought I’d pick up where I left off and share a few more characteristics of the new traditional church. Today, I’m going to focus on music.
Remember the days when the only worship music was hymns? We were stuck there because that was clearly the “sacred” style of worship music. Then the 80s hit and Willow Creek made it possible for us to use current music styles in worship services to connect with the unchurched.
Only it’s as if we got stuck in the 80s. While the church still leans on a mix of rock and pop music as the preferred worship genre, our culture has shifted once again. Now, according to iTunes, 1 in 3 of the top 100 songs in the country is either hip-hop/rap or R&B/soul. My guess, though, is that you can’t name a church in the country that’s using these genres of music for worship. Why is that?
Now, before you let your “it’s-not-our-culture” bias set in, consider this. Most of the hip-hop and R&B music has been recorded by black artists. 14% of the U.S. population is black. But, remember, nearly one-third of the music purchased on iTunes is one of these two genres. You do the math. White people like hip-hop.
ahhh…i remember this post…
And even the music that isn’t hip hop, has been heavily influenced by it. Everything from country, to rock, to pop has a flavor of Hip Hop in it. Though sales for hiphop albums are down since the beginning of the decade, influence is way up.
Great post regarding the developing “influence” of hip hop/r&b on music preference.
Really, I think people want to experience music. They want to feel it in their bones and they want to hear a good story. I’d think country music is pretty high up on the charts as most downloaded genre as well. Even this African American like a little Rascal Flatts.
But I wouldn’t say “you can’t name a church in the country that’s using these genres of music for worship”.
That is simply not true. Maybe there are no “white” churches using hip hop/r&b but the black church certainly is and has been. It was the influence of soul/blues/jazz that created gospel music and the black church is progressively finding new ways to use rap in the worship service.
If you are ever in Minneapolis, MN then you must visit Efrem Smith’s church Sanctuary Covenant Church. They use the breath of hip hop culture (not just the music) to share the good news. Rap, dance and art-AKA graffiti are regularly used in the worship service. What I love most about this church is that is ethnically and culturally diverse.
Yes, white people do love hip hop. With ya’ll the industry would not thrive…fo real.