Donald Sensing refers to "the new erotic-worship genre" (not his term) and links to some Christians who feel that many modern worship songs are focused on the supposed-worshipper instead of on God. Rather than quote his quotes of other people quoting various articles, just follow the first link; I'll wait.
One of the posts he links to cites the song "Breathe" by Marie Barnett as archetypal of the "new genre".
This is the air I breathe, this is the air I breatheI happen to like the song, and I don't think it's particularly "erotic" (perhaps the writers were projecting their own emotions?). Both metaphors -- God's word as bread the Holy Spirit as the breath of life -- are directly from the Bible. As for emotion, compare it with the longing expressed in the Book of Psalms.
Your holy presence living in me
This is my daily bread, this is my daily bread
Your every word spoken to meAnd I--------, I'm desperate for You
And I--------, I'm lost without You
Psalm 5And so on. I could go through the entire book and find dozens more.1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.
2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.
As for eroticism, just go read Song of Solomon, which describes the relationship between God/Christ and his chosen people (Israel, and arguably, to some extent, modern Christians as well) using the metaphor of marriage.
Anyway, I agree that worship music is about God, not about us. In reality, singing is only one way to worship God, and not even the most important way. Perhaps one of the biggest failings of modern Christianity is mistaking mere singing for worship, of which it is only a part. More importantly, we should worship and honor God in everything we do, and in every aspect of lives. (Including the erotic.)
Even though a famous Christian band is named after me, I have usually found it difficult to listen to "Christian music." I tend to turn more towards secular musicians who have Christian-themed hits. I LOVE Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine", most of "Creed's" songs in general and even "What If God Was One of Us?" by Joan Osbourne.
Interesting that Petra named MercyMe as a secular band (or at least implied that) - they are the archetypical Christian worship band.
I didn't read the post you are referring to here, but people who count the "I"s and "Me"s in worship songs are missing the point, I believe. Your reference to the Psalms was well-put.
Breathe is a great song!
I may be hopelessly old-fashioned but I'll take the Psalm. For one thing, it correctly places two beings in their proper relationship: one a supplicant, one a God. I find the new attitude that "Christ is my pal" a bit off-putting. He is my Brother, my Savior, my Example, but not my 'pal'. He is my Lord.
Lyrics to a (contemporary) worship song, "The Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman:
+--------------------+
When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You look much deeper within
Than the way things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, all about You Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, all about You Jesus
+--------------------------------------------+
This is a song we sing at our church periodically as a reminder that worship is coming before the God of the universe Himself, and not just the singing of songs (whether they be traditional hymns or contemporary praise songs), as you correctly noted in your post. The song or the music can be the vehicle by which we arrive in the presence of God, but it is not the end in itself.
The worship song printed here is probably one of the most beautiful written for some time and just fills my heart with joy and grace that is unbelievably comforting.