What's Good Church Music

I'm sure there are many college classes which focus on music performed in churches. There must be tomes written on the subject. The music now performed in the church I grew up in is today so different as to be unrecognizable. It seems like deciding what is "good church music" is like deciding what is "good food." Yet, there are people making a living telling others they themselves are authorities on what is good and bad church music. The link says, among other things, pipe organs are the best musical instruments.  

I recall an evening as a boy attending our local evangelical church in our town of 100 people. It was a special night because my uncle was preaching. He was a missionary in Alaska and came to area once or twice a year to visit his parents, my grandparents. One that night he riffed into the topic of music and complimented our little church, the one he attended growing up on our farm, on its ordinary old hymns. It was good, he said, our music did not have "syncopation." Apparently, natives in Alaska liked some other kind of music he thought sinful. 

Once I watched Pat Robertson on the 700 Club carry on about acceptable Christian music. He said the music to be avoided was that which had "a strong base beat." 

I watch videos produced by some young pastors in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. These pastors believe their denomination will eventually disappear if it does not accommodate some new ideas in theology and worship practices. One made as aside recently, "Will we ever allow drums?" in the denomination's contemporary church music. 

Years ago I was invited by a friend to an anniversary church service at an Assemblies of God church. There was some hype about the guest preacher. He was an older man and I recall he was rather cranky and talked a long time about the sin in the world. Suddenly he said in a loud and annoyed voice, "Could I have the musician up here please." It seemed he had requested they remain on stage at the ready but they had taken seats elsewhere. They plugged in their electric guitars and played some dreamy-type background while he ended up his sermon and gave a closing prayer. This is probably very common but not part of my church experience.  

I predict that if there are Christian church services still being held 50 years from now, there will be people arguing about what is the real or best Christian music.