Description
Book SynopsisThere has been much passionate debate and emotion aroused by the introduction of contemporary music styles into the modern church. While these debates have rarely produced a victor, the detrimental effects of them have resonated throughout many Protestant churches worldwide. Rather than simply fuelling this debate further, "Open Up The Doors" represents an attempt to provide objective criteria and analytical frameworks by which the quality and function of contemporary congregational music can be assessed. The latest music from Hillsong, Soul Survivor, Parachute, Vineyard, Christian City and others is examined in order to reveal both the beneficial and dangerous trends occurring in modern church music. "Open Up The Doors" considers how well modern music is serving the modern church, and also how effectively it is operating as a musical form in the secular culture that surrounds it.
Table of ContentsA. Preface 1. Contextualising Congregational Music 2. Nothing New Under The Sun: Learning From History 3. Ending The Corporate Worship Wars 4. Resistance or Accommodation: The 'World' of Quality 5. The Rise and Rise of Pentecostal Music 6. Theomusicological Frameworks for Congregational Song Analysis 7. Congregational Song Gets Personal 8. Conclusion: When The Music Fades 9. Appendix: Song Classification and Analysis
