A Revival So Profound, It Requires a New Sound

I was recently driving down the road contemplating the things I share in this article, and I heard the Holy Spirit say “I’m bringing a revival so profound it will require a new sound.” I believe it is important for us to do some self-evaluation regarding worship in the Church. This article may bring up more questions than answers, but I hope it stirs up a hunger for the fullness of God.

What It Means When Baptist Churches Are Singing Bethel Songs

At this point, most anyone who would read this article has heard of Bethel Music. They are possibly the biggest producer of church music in the world right now, reaching the same status as a Hillsong or a Chris Tomlin in the number of churches who are singing their songs.

Bethel music started as an expression of their local church’s worship, and it has grown into a separate music label, complete with an artist collective that represents artists that are not officially a part of their church at all.

What’s interesting is that Bethel Church is one of the most influential voices in the charismatic movement and one of the greatest proponents of supernatural Christianity, including healing and prophecy. This is fascinating, because you find churches around the world singing their songs who would disagree strongly with Bethel Church’s theology and practices. What does it mean when baptist churches are singing Bethel songs?

I think it could mean a few things, which I’ll come back to in a minute. For context on what I see, I need to do a brief history lesson.

Roots of Modern Worship

Depending on your age, you may not remember a time when “worship” didn’t equal pop/rock songs on a stage with lights, but it’s actually a fairly recent invention. The common style in many churches we now call “worship” developed in the 70-80s and started becoming popular in the 90s.

Now the style, expressions and sound that emerged in the 90s did not come forth in a vacuum. It was a move of God’s Spirit, not just a move of worship & music. Not only was it a move of God’s Spirit, but it was a rediscovery of certain doctrines and theology that actually birthed this new expression of worship music.

Much of modern worship traces its roots to the Vineyard movement, where there was an emphasis on intimacy with Jesus, authenticity and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. As people encountered God in personal ways, there was an accompanying sound and expression of worship that came forth. It was raw, personal, and sincere. Many of the songs were more like heartfelt prayers put to contemporary music than crafted hymns of theology.

On the heels of this, North America experienced two significant revivals in the 90s – the Toronto airport revival and the Brownsville revival in Pensacola, Florida. This was also in the midst of what some called the New Apostolic Reformation, which included a fresh wave of apostolic and prophetic ministry. Morningstar in Charlotte, NC was a part of this, and worship leaders there such as Don Potter and Leonard Jones released some of the most cutting edge, prophetic worship in the 90s. The fruit of this in Charlotte is now manifesting itself years later in artists like Jonathan David Helser and John Mark McMillan, who were trained at the Morningstar worship school.

So I want you to see something – there was a wave of new worship music, but it was flowing from a move of God’s Spirit. It was birthed in what some call the “third wave” of the charismatic renewal. These places where worship bands developed – where guitars and drums were invited into the church gatherings – were experiencing a move of God’s Spirit that undergirded the new sounds and expressions of worship.

So here’s part of what happened. Because God’s Spirit was moving, there was a vibrancy and fruitfulness to ministries that were utilizing the modern worship style. A desire from church leaders to see growth and vibrancy in their ministries caused many of them to want to adopt the modern worship styles and expressions. There was some strong pushback, and the “worship wars” emerged. By now in 2017 the worship wars have subsided and the pop/rock worship sound – with guitars, keyboard and drums – is generally accepted as normal in most thriving churches. There are certainly still liturgical churches that reject these forms, but most congregations have settled in to either rejecting or accepting that style of worship. Unfortunately, the worship wars focused on the style and expression of worship, and bypassed the spiritual root of the new sound.

The Root and Fruit of Spiritual Breakthrough

Here’s where it gets weird. I have talked to some people who think they are helping traditional, religious churches because they are helping them shift into a more pop/rock worship style. They equate a shift in style or expression with a spiritual breakthrough. Or they at least see this stylistic shift as being the root cause of spiritual breakthrough. For instance, they believe that utilizing more modern music will attract more people, so then more people will get saved, etc. The formula is… upgrade style = spiritual breakthrough.

The problem that some people miss is that the breakthrough of the modern worship style was not the root but the fruit of spiritual breakthrough. The new musical sounds, the more personal lyrics, lifting hands and dancing was because people were encountering the presence and power of God in new ways. The fruitfulness of these churches and movements was not primarily because of the worship, but because of revival. There was biblical theology being restored and personal experience with God that brought it forth. If we utilize a new form of worship but miss the heart of it, then we’re not actually moving forward.

I do believe that the songs and sounds supported and fueled the move of God in the 90s. In fact, every major move of God has had a “soundtrack” of new songs (think about the Great Awakenings, the Wales Revival and the Jesus Movement), which bring strength to the movement or revival. However, it is possible to continue in the form, sounds and styles of a move of God long after the fire of God’s presence and power is gone.

Maybe they Are Hungry

I’m also hopeful that Baptist churches are singing Bethel songs. Perhaps more traditional churches will enjoy the music, and it will draw them into an encounter with the Holy Spirit, along with the underlying theology that birthed the songs. The “second wave” of the charismatic movement in the 1960s was this very thing – many mainstream protestant denominations and catholics began experiencing Holy Spirit during that time. Maybe God will use modern worship songs as a means to spiritual breakthrough for some of these communities. My concern is that it is all too easy to enjoy the novelty of a new song and believe something new is happening in your heart, when it is really just an emotional reaction. It is so easy to be religious, enjoying a form of godliness without the power (2 Timothy 3:5).

There Must Be More

I am not trying to be totally cynical here. I know God is moving powerfully in some ways. I know there is a fresh focus on the Gospel, an unprecedented prayer movement and a renewed emphasis on everyday believers engaging in supernatural ministry. I also have an underlying sense that there’s more.

I am concerned that we have gotten so comfortable with the form that we do not realize that much of the power and glory and fire is gone. Pads, guitars, drums… words up on a screen… we lift our hands, close our eyes. It can become a formula.

When I go back and watch some worship videos from the 90s, I can feel it… something is missing. Here’s a few older worship videos to check out for yourself:

Lingering Questions

A few questions I am wrestling with….

Why do many non-charismatic (for lack of a better term) churches feel totally comfortable singing songs from spirit-filled churches? What causes someone to believe that the styles of “modern worship” are the key to spiritual breakthrough? Have we lost touch with the roots of spiritual breakthrough?

In modern churches, even most charismatic churches… How would we know if our worship times are full of God’s presence or not? What would be different? If we can’t tell, should we stop and re-evaluate what we are doing? Or should we continue on covering the latest Bethel/Elevation tracks, loading them into Planning Center, cueing up the lights and loops and keeping the show running?

Why are we generally singing songs that are the same style as they were 20 years ago? Why are we still calling it contemporary or modern? Is it an indication that there’s a need for a new move of God to spark new sounds of worship?

Has the fire that launched the “modern” worship movement in the 90s burned out? Are we singing songs about things that we are not actually experiencing? Ie. fire, glory, revival, awakening. Are we due for a fresh move of God that will bring forth new songs and styles? A revival so profound it requires a new sound?

I wonder sometimes that if we peeled back the surface of the Church, if the fire would be dying out. The fires of glory and presence and repentance and holiness. The zeal for the lost and a burning love for Jesus. Am I the only one? Maybe I’m missing something? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.