Two Critiques 

Frame, John M.  Contemporary Worship Music, a Biblical Defense
Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 1997

p 6: major Christian Worship Music [CWM] publishers: Maranatha! Music; Integrity's Hosanna! Music; Scripture in Song; Birdwing Music; and Mercy Publishing (Vineyard)

p 8:  (1) CWM is far more contemporary and popular in its literary and musical idioms, rather than traditional or classical.  (2) Most of it consists of one-stanza choruses as opposed to the multi-stanza poetry of traditional hymns.  (3) The texts of CWM tend to be far simpler than those of traditional hymnody.  (4) In CWM there is far more emphasis on praise (as opposed to lament, confession of sin, teaching, personal testimony, or supplication) than in traditional hymnody, though other aspects of worship are also present.

Some obvious virtues of CWM:
p 31: The first thing to be said [in favour] is that CWM is profoundly God-centered and therefore Christ-centered. ... That theme of adoration pervades MMPCB and CWM generally. Hence these hymns are often called "praise songs."

p 32: CWM is also, for the most part, scriptural, and strikingly so. ... CWM is typically scriptural...[in] being close to the biblical text itself. In CWM we hear actual biblical language, over and over again.

p 35: CWM must also be tested in order to become part of that [hymnic] tradition. Much of it will not be heard thirty years from now. But some of it will be tested and survive that test. And certainly, as long as God's Spirit remains with his church, the spirit of CWM, that of meditation on the very words and concepts of Scripture, will continue.

p 40: Most everyone grants that CWM has a contemporary, fresh feel to it. And most everybody grants that freshness is something good. ... These songs tend to communicate especially vividly with young Christians and unchurched visitors ...

p 39: What I advocate is not either-or, but both-and.

The case against CWM:
p 46: quotes David Wells about various ways in which secular culture has influenced evangelicals.

p 47: CWM is often associated with Contemporary Worship which is often associated with "seeker services," "felt needs," multi-media, etc. (all of which are different from traditional worship).

pp 48-49: uses David Wells' critiques of evangelicalism to be critical of CW, and, by implication, of CWM

p 52: No doubt many advocates of CW and CWM are to some extent ignorant of, even seeking compromise with, the wickedness of contemporary culture. But I don't think I am entirely mistaken when I claim to see among some CWM critics a certain amount of aesthetic snobbery, idolatry of the intellect, romanticizing of past history, denominational and theological chauvinism, and indifference to biblical principle (particularly the mandate of evangelism and the principle of intelligible communication in worship).

p 58: When one listens to the God-centered content of these [CWM] songs, the counter-cultural thrust of them is obvious.   p 61: Certainly the CWM songs, saturated as they are with praise, press us in the right direction.   [BP: Frame is talking here exclusively of the texts!]

p 65: CCM [is] the highly commercial vehicle for artists appearing in concert and making records. CWM [is] the movement developing contemporary songs for Christian worship. CCM is celebrity-driven, CWM song-driven. But of course CWM is commercial too. It too is recorded and published by divisions of large, secular corporations.

Is CWM authentically Christian?
p 78: ... a brief perusal of MMPCB reveals songs dealing with many aspects of the gospel: the person of Christ (focus of many praise songs), his incarnation, his death as a sacrificial atonement (many songs abut Jesus as Lamb of God or as giving his life for us), the Resurrection, Jesus' ascension at God's right hand, God's creating new hearts within us (arrangements of Ps 51, prayer that God will "Purify my heart," etc.), the forgiveness of sins through Jesus, assurance that we are children of God through Christ, the church as the body of Christ, expressions of trust, exhortations to consecration, prayer for the coming of God's kingdom, the spiritual warfare being fought today between God's people and the Evil One.   [BP: Frame doesn't cite any examples at this point!]

p 78: There are some rather striking omissions in MMPCB. I was unable to find any song specifically referring to justification by faith alone, though there are many songs proclaiming the merits of Christ's life and death as the righteous Lamb and expressing our faith in him alone. Another remarkable omission in MMPCB: I cannot find any song focused upon Jesus' second coming. That is surprising, because it would seem that songs about Jesus' glorious return would be right up the alley of the praise-song composers. ... I am usually better able to find musically adequate songs about the doctrine of adoption in MMPCB than in the traditional hymnals. I also believe that CWM provides, on the whole, better selections than traditional hymnody on the subjects of humility, servanthood, and love for other believers.   [BP:  again no examples are given]

p 78: I certainly see no tendency in this [CWM] literature to substitute for the gospel of salvation a religion without "creation, sin, and grace," devoid of "repentance," favouring only "fun and personal growth and ... self-esteem."   p 80: I am willing to concede that there are differences of "emphasis" between Traditional Worship and Contemporary Worship. This difference is certainly not the difference between an emphasis on the gospel and an emphasis on fun and personal growth and self-esteem. It is, rather, a difference of emphasis among the aspects of the gospel... The main difference in emphasis is that CW is, like the Sunday worship of the early church, primarily a celebration of the Resurrection. Thus there is a large emphasis on joy, celebration.

p 83: There are many CWM songs that speak of the church as a loving family of God in which believers take responsibility for and care for one another. The MMPCB topical index list fifteen songs of this kind, and of course there are many in other books.  In MMPCB there are many songs that speak of obedience and commitment to the Lord (fifteen in the index)... Many songs focus on Jesus' shedding his blood in atonement.

p 84: We have seen that praise songs are often explicitly Trinitarian, that they speak of Jesus' atonement, his resurrection, the Spirit's indwelling, etc.   [BP: but Frame offers no examples]

p 84: I believe it is beneficial in worship to include both longer hymns that cover large doctrinal areas and shorter ones that focus on a few points with more emotional power and vividness.  For the former purpose, [p 85] traditional hymns are generally best in our present situation, CWM for the latter purpose.

pp 109-115: Frame refutes arguments by Hart against CWM

pp 118-121: Frame comments at length on "Shine, Jesus, shine."

pp 121-125: comments on repetition

p 126: CWM needs greater doctrinal coverage. It deals excellently with topics such as praise, divine attributes, names of Jesus, the person and work of Christ, and the church as God's family. But other topics are not covered as well. CWM songwriters should create more songs especially on the subjects of the Word of God, creation, providence, humanity as God's image, sin, the Fall, the Resurrection, predestination, effectual calling, regeneration, saving faith, justification, sanctification, and the return of Christ. There are CWM songs on all these subjects, but not nearly enough.   [BP: again, Frame gives no examples to substantiate this claim.]

p 139: [CWM] emerged in a background of charismatic theology, though for the most part it does not urge charismatic distinctives upon the worshiper.

p 140: CWM is potentially a major ecumenical force. It does unite believers of many denominations and traditions. It focuses on common, core beliefs, rather than on what divides. ... But we should also make glad use of hymns that unite us to Christians outside our immediate [p 141] circle. Many traditional hymns help us to do that, and CWM songs provide additional help in that direction.

p 145: ... I look for songs that are consistent with Scripture and Reformed doctrine, excellent in musical and poetic quality, and singable-songs that communicate well with people today. 

p 167: ... CWM is pretty successful at insulating itself from false teaching, simply by sticking close to the scriptural text. My own view is that for this reason there is probably less heresy in CWM than there is in any other tradition of hymnody.

p 170: If one flips randomly through MMPCB, one finds quite a lot of references to God's attributes and actions, many to his Trinitarian character. 

 

Plantinga, Cornelius, Jr.  "Theological Particularities of Recent Hymnody"
         The Hymn, 52 (October 2001), 8-15

[p 14] Let's turn our attention to Praise and Worship songs. They are in collections such as Songs for Praise and Worship published by Word and in the Maranatha! Music Praise Chorus Book. Except when specifically noted, these observations refer to the first of these collections, though most of what I say applies in either case.

Theologically, very many of these songs center on the attributes of God, and on the person of Christ, especially on Christ as King and as Lamb. These songs do not center on the person of the Holy Spirit, but they do include a few prayers to the Holy Spirit to come to us, and a few that offer hospitality to the Spirit in case the Spirit should come. Only three songs even mention all three persons of the Holy Trinity, and no songs focus upon the Holy Trinity itself. No songs even mention the Trinity, or the tri-unity, or the [p 15] three-in-oneness of God. No songs do that; not even one song. Very few Praise & Worship songs praise God for the church, either, or for covenant, or for holy communion, and none do this for baptism, the sacrament that publicly recognizes our union with Christ and with the body of Christ.

What's absolutely characteristic of Praise and Worship songs is that they focus independently upon the person of God the Father, or of Jesus, or of an indeterminate person addressed simply as "You" without antecedent. They then praise the majesty, awesomeness, glory, holiness, faithfulness, love, or might of this divine person. The songs either praise this person or else they say they will praise this person. Often the hymns take the name of God or of Christ as synecdoche for the attributes I have mentioned, and in good biblical fashion praise God's name as God's alter ego. 

What is striking about Praise and Worship songs is that they often detach God's attributes from God's acts. More than half the time it's not at all clear from inside a song why God is so praiseworthy or so worshipable. The Scriptures, as you know, typically give us reasons for praising and worshipping God. They tell us of God's mighty acts in creation and in the liberating exodus and in the resurrection of Christ, which is the new exodus. They tell us of the way God overturns corrupt social structures and elevates people we would never have guessed. They tell us of election, redemption, forgiveness, and culmination in Christ. They tell us why we sing.

But many-perhaps more than half-of Praise and Worship songs leave our praise detached from the mighty acts of God. It's apparently not necessary to remember them. Instead, "Let's just praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let's just lift our hearts to heaven and praise the Lord!" But detaching the mighty acts of God removes our context, as in the old Saturday Night Live sportcast: "And now for today's baseball scores: 2-1; 5-2; 6-2; 4-0."

Praise and worship are good things to do. They are healthy things to do. They are obedient and lovely things to do. Healthy people are always praising others and praising God, and they are always calling others to do the same. The psalms ring with praise. Praise and worship give God due honor, and they therefore serve as an antidote to the self-centeredness that we often bring to church with us.

But praise and worship is not enough. When we sing we do need to praise and worship, but we also need to say why. We need to praise and worship but also to lament and to ask hard questions. We need some of our [sung] confession [to be] of incarnation, Trinity, and atonement; of creation, fall, redemption, and renewal; of church and sacraments and mission in the world. We need a Christ who dwells within our hearts, but also a Christ who is bigger than our own hearts, bigger than our interests, bigger than any experience of which we are even capable. We want Christ who calls the whole world to justice and peace. We want the Christ by whose light everything in heaven and on earth is illumined.   [BP: Plantinga cites no specific examples]