Music and Religion

I have attended a Southern Baptist church for as long as I can remember. In fact, I have never attended any other church than the one I currently go too. I have visited other churches because of chorus or different family members but nothing really came close to the experiences I received at my church. My grandma started taking me to church when I was about six years old. Because of her influence, I enjoy attending church every Sunday and I have grown to love the traditions we have as baptists. I am familiar with the catholic episcopal traditions, but the Baptist tradition is where my heart truly resonates.

Music within the Baptist tradition is rooted on congregational hymn-singing. At my church, we always begin Sunday service with a hymn that the whole congregation sings together. Following that, our adult choir sings a few more on their own. We also have solo singing as our prayer opportunity that allows more modern gospel music to be shared. Our church doesn't tend to sing any sacred music though. Music is our worship. We typically don’t dance or yell as much as some churches, although we do encourage and appreciate this, we just simply worship by praying at an alter or raising our hand to the lord. As my preacher always says, we allow music to be a part of our personal time with Jesus . This is our way of thanking and praising the lord for what he has done for us. We truly sing for the honor and glory of the lord. Hymn-singing in this fashion allows for a sense of connection with the entire congregation and I think this makes each service special.

One of my favorite hymns that is commonly sung during our services is “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.” This is referencing God’s death and how he shed his blood for us on Calvary. I enjoy this hymn because it helps me to express my gratitude for what God has done for me. Music, here, is a replenishing award. It constantly reminds and fulfills the church. 

Though our music connects the church as a whole, the choir music is somewhat exclusive.  Everyone is encouraged to sing if they are capable to do so, but at the same time, there seems to be a limit on the amount of people who can perform or particpate. I have always been apart of the choir and I am the only one who has majored in music, yet I am involved virtually in nothing relating to the musical aspects. This creates an idea of a possible clique. I don't know if all baptist churches have this same issue but it is something I have noticed through my time spent as a baptist. With this being a issue within my church and one that I don't considerably like, I still enjoy the other traditions we share outside of that.

I love being of the baptist culture but I hope to expand and learn more of the different ones!