3 Generations, 3 Worship Styles: Disagreeing with Love

My 1980s father on a stage with a mic: “Let’s stand and sing all eight verses of Abide With Me on page 783.”

Me, his teenage daughter, in a pew with a whisper: “Let’s not and say we did.”

I’m not proud of my attitude 35 years ago, but that was my reality at the time. My parents’ world revolved around hymns; I preferred modern worship music and a much faster metronome. 

Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith scratched that itch for a while, until DC Talk came along in 1987, and I knew my Walkman would never be the same. 

My parents probably wondered how long this hip-hop and rap sound would continue to emanate from my bedroom. I couldn’t be sure, but all of a sudden Amy’s “El Shaddai” and “Lead Me On” didn’t sound cool anymore. Turns out, TobyMac’s sound was the gateway drug that led me to Lecrae, Tedashii, and Forrest Frank.

Fast forward to this summer: God dumped a seminar idea into my brain as I flopped into bed one night. Instead of assuming I would remember it in the morning (never happens), I made a note in my phone.

Three generations… different music… same God.

Our son was on summer staff at Mount Hermon, and my parents were on their way to be with us during family camp. So when I realized my dad and son and I would all be there at the same time, I thought it might be fun to teach a class together.

With less than four weeks to spare, I pitched it to the director of family ministries, got a yes, and then texted my dad and son and got this:

Boomer dad, Dave: “Sounds great!”

Gen Z son, Brock: “sweet lmk whatchu tryina do chief”

The Sound of Worship

Differing worship styles in churches and across generations is not a new issue. The subject of music has even caused rational people to act irrationally and some solid churches to break apart.

We can wring our hands, shake our heads, and muse, “What a shame.” Or we can search our hearts, start conversations, and open our minds to different ways of looking at the same thing. 

Most people already have strong opinions about music they don’t like, so the goal of our seminar was not to try to convince the audience that our particular music style is the best. It was more about bridging the gap between generations and showing how we have more in common than we think.

Did you know there are actually a ton of Christian kids who are listening to the same lyrics as their grandparents? And neither of them knows it. My dad listens to the original version of Amazing Grace, I listen to Forrest Frank’s version, and my son listens to the Citizens’ version.

Which is proof that the issue so many churches and families are having is not about the lyrics as much as it is about the sound, rhythm, tempo, style, and volume. 

(P.S. Pleeease stop complaining to your church’s sound crew about the volume.)

Among all the young people looking up two generations to their grandparents with judgmental eyes, and all the older people looking down two generations to their grandkids with judgmental eyes, it would do them all well to remember this:

• different sound, same lyrics
• different sound, same message
• different sound, same God

Same thing happened when we moved to Mexico and attended church for the first time. I’ll never forget when I heard a song in Spanish that I already knew in English. Looking around the church I suddenly felt surprised. All these strangers from a different country and culture, who spoke a different language, were worshipping the same God that I was? Wild.

Not wrong, just different. 

Seminar Highlights

Here were our main points during our talk:

Dave’s Perspective: Hymns have lasted because they’re rooted in scripture. Not all modern worship songs are.

Carrie’s Perspective: Hymns have a rich tradition and deep meanings, while contemporary music engages younger generations & fosters a connection with God in a modern, upbeat, fun way.

Brock’s Perspective: We all need a fresh perspective, we can appreciate all types of worship music, and our personal journey with Jesus is what matters most. 

All three of us agreed—since multiple artists have recorded different versions of hymns, bridging the gap between the generations is easier than ever. 

Amazing Grace Sounds

To prove a point at the end of our seminar, I had a few versions of Amazing Grace that sounded drastically different, strung together in a one-minute playlist. The sound of the first four lines ranged from slow to fast, and country to pop, but the words were all identical.

Here are the songs I pulled, all of which can be found on Spotify:

Opera: Andrea Bocelli

Country: Josh Turner

Spanish: Fernando De La Mora

Africanized Pop-Fusion: The 5 Strings (interspersed with Swahili)

Contemporary: Hillsong

Modern: Citizens (Indie/alt-worship, rhythmic)

Pop Fusion: Forrest Frank

Same words, different sound. Different sound, same God. 

What Now? 

Here are the questions I threw out to the audience to either answer or throw back to us: 

1. How can we encourage younger worship leaders to explore & appreciate hymns, not just newer songs?
2. How do we honor older generations’ love for hymns without alienating younger people who prefer modern worship? 
3. Can we blend hymns & modern worship in the same service without it feeling disjointed?”

Something to think about when you picture your church, your music style, and your worship experience. 

Postlude

At the end of the idea, prep, practice, and delivery of this seminar, I think all three of us came away with a new level of respect for each other’s music. 

That doesn’t necessarily mean my son wants to listen to the slow version of How Great Thou Art. Or that my father wants to listen to 8 minutes and 55 seconds of Oceans. And it doesn’t necessarily mean I want to listen to either of them. But it does mean that we all acknowledge we’re worshipping the same God in our own ways, and can encourage one another in that practice. 

And this, at the end of the sheet music, vinyl, cassette, CD, download, or playlist, is amazing grace. 

If you’re interested in listening to our seminar, here’s the link. It’s unedited, so we don’t start until minute 1:55, but Mount Hermon will have the finished processed file online after Labor Day.

And if you’re interested in watching my dad play It Is Well, here’s the video I took at the end of our seminar:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

that saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

was blind, but now I see.