Who influences you?

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮? You may have heard, “Good people have a good influence, and bad people have a bad influence.” Parents often recognize and acknowledge this.

Researchers have identified that the “𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭” (or “Social Baseline Theory”) plays a role in influence. People who hang around smokers or drinkers are more likely to smoke and drink themselves. And you’re more likely to buy the things the people buy that are closest to you. Their values become your values.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. North Korea, China, and Russia ban certain songs because the lyrics influence their citizens. Even a composer’s identity is considered influential. The Nazis prohibited the composer Mendelssohn’s music because his Jewish heritage could enable the acceptance of Jews in society.

𝐈𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬. This concerns some church leaders (Baptist and Lutheran, for sure) because songs from different doctrinal backgrounds 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 church members’ faith and their understanding of Scripture, often shifting from knowledge-based to experience-based.

𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. Theologians warn that even when churches do not affirm or teach charismatic theology, their worship becomes like it through their song selection. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬: the music written with a charismatic purpose provides an emotional experience (which, therefore, sounds beautiful). Christian Contemporary Music is often written within a tradition in which worship music is a sacrament, and churches that sing it are slowly treating it as such.

𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡’𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧) 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝. Scripture warns us to be careful. Psalm 119:63 says: “I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts.” 1 Cor. 15:33 says, “Bad company ruins good morals,” and it may ruin good theology as well. Likewise, if we walk with the wise, we will become wise, but being around fools is not good for us (Proverbs 13:20).

When churches look for sound theology in song and music, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 to sing songs that might lead them from being distinct to being generically Christian. They intentionally seek to sing songs that explicitly breathe the full counsel of God in Scripture and their Confessions. Rather than focusing on what they don’t have in songs and liturgy, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞.

How we are influenced is not fate but a choice, and that choice has consequences.