As I write these words, I'm listening to some beautiful, slow worship music. How wonderful! How glorious! How many times I have encountered the Lord with the help of such songs, laying on my face in tears of adoration and awe. What a Savior! What a God! I will never tire of singing these Jesus-exalting, Spirit-empowered songs.

But I've noticed something missing in the midst of my ministry travels. In some of the meetings, every song is slow. Every song seems like the last, with little variety. And as much as I've enjoyed beautiful times of worship in meetings like this, I've also found myself asking, "Where is the joy and celebration? Where are the songs you can dance to and jump to? Where's the time for breaking out and breaking free?"

I'm not talking about working things up. I hate hype and emotionalism. Even more, I hate manipulation.

I'm talking about a contagious joy that is captured in the lyrics and the music. I'm talking about something that transcends happiness, that transcends a lively beat. I'm talking about what Peter calls an inexpressible and glorious joy (1 Pet. 1:8).

And while we can find that joy in slow worship songs (or even without music at all), we can find it in a unique way in upbeat praise.

It lifts us out of ourselves into another realm. A realm of celebration. A realm of freedom. A realm of liberation.

Sometimes our worship can be so somber (not just reverential, but somber). The songs almost drone on. And I wonder, Are these a reflection of our emotional state? Perhaps we need a change? Perhaps a change in music would help?

Before I came to faith in 1971 as a heroin-shooting, LSD-using, hippie rock drummer, music was front and center in my life. Hard rock music. Heavy and loud music. read more