It was a long time before I realized the importance of different Christian music genres.
As a veteran praise-team leader and the resident vocalist of the family, I’ve sung a lot of “church music.” Hymns and contemporary Christian music were my go-to. And I must say, as the years go on, there seems to be more and more to choose from. But back then, in little ole Hannah’s mind, if it couldn’t be sung in a backroad country church, it probably wasn’t Christian. Very few fast-paced songs made it into my repertoire, and I fully believed that was the way it was supposed to be. That was until the Lord started to teach me a thing or two about the individuality of His creations.
He first started teaching me this lesson back in high school. I heard a Christian rock group at a youth conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They came on stage with dark costumes, smoke, lights, and the whole shebang. Not to mention, this was the group that was supposed to lead us to the throne before the pastor brought the Word. But for this little Baptist-born babe, I was absolutely positive that nothing coming out of their mouths was Christ-like. Truly, I found myself crying because I thought they were satanic. Our pastor assured me they were not, but for a long time, I had my doubts.
Then, one summer I went to Las Vegas, Nevada, and interned with a church plant. First of all, Vegas in and of itself is a different world, much different than those cozy country church pews I once sat on. But after a few weeks there, I had an opportunity to bond and lead alongside their praise team. Once again, I noticed a shift in the type of “praise music” they listened to and sang. I heard a lot of Christian rap and rock, and many individuals were responding to it. Again, I began to wonder – is this “Jesus” music? How are people responding to rap? Rock? This can’t be right.
Flash forward to dating my now-husband. He has a love for music the likes of which I have ever seen. All genres, sounds, and even languages are on the table. A short car ride felt like a ride around the world. It wasn’t until I heard him bounce between a Christian rock song and Tamela Mann’s “Take Me to the King” that I began to understand his love of music. As I turned my head to hear him shout praise and saw the tear well up in his eye, I began to understand why God gave us different genres of music.
At that moment, the Lord quietly revealed His uniqueness. He can speak through hymns, but he can also speak through Christian praise, metal, rap, or any other kind of music. And how dare I put Him into a box? Sometimes music touches where words cannot, and if He is preparing these artists to share these lyrics, He has a purpose. Who am I to stand in the way? Nowadays, when those thoughts of “Christian-music-shaming” pop into my mind, I’m reminded of Genesis 1:27.
So God created mankind in His own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
He created us in His own image. Maybe instead of just old-timey hymns, even He likes to mix up the playlist. The next time you hear an upbeat or unconventional “Christian” song, it may be precisely what someone, or even yourself, needs to hear. Praise Him anyway!
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered. (Psalm 71:23)
