Some churches who profess to be Christian and Bible-based seem to have a problem with using a drum kit in church as part of the worship. I have always found this view to be very amusing, even more amusing when I see the reasons given as to why drums should not be allowed in church.

Drums were made before you were born.
This article was borne out of a distaste of websites that go round and round in circles trying to show how drums are evil, voodoo instruments that do not belong in church. I got tired of reading through the less-than-convincing arguments as to why drums are not fit to worship God and so I decided to write about this topic from my perspective.

Now, I am sure that there are churches where they do not have drums and the people still have great times of worship. I am not of the opinion that every church has to have drums. It’s not always possible or practical and it’s about the heart of worship, not the instruments used. It’s where a church denies an instrument to be used because they believe the instrument, or the result of playing the instrument, is evil; this I personally battle to understand.

Waste of time
I have found numerous web sites referencing drums as being evil, unBiblical, demonic, worldly, wild.. the list goes on. They put the drums in Satan’s playground and speak ill of most other instruments except the voice! In fact, so that you know I am not making this up, here are the sites I found:

(I don’t endorse these sites and I surely do not agree with them! They’re here so you can see how crazy some people are! I’m not judging them and pray they don’t have heart attacks when they see the big bass drums at the Pearly Gates!)

• Are drums fit to worship God?
  www.albatrus.org/english/church-order/worship/drums_suitable_worship_god.htm
• Bible guide to Christian music
  www.av1611.org/cqguide.html - (terribly out of date with archaic info)
• Drums and Christian music
  www.wayoflife.org/fbns/drumsand.htm

In verse 1, rhythm is created. In verse 5, rhythm then begins.

After reading through the content on these sites, I felt almost cursed and depressed : wondering why God would put the burden of the curse of rhythm in my life if it was not meant to be used at all, especially in church! What was I to do, being a Christian and being able to play drums… my gift, according to these sites, could not even be used for God’s glory..! Do you see how silly that is!?

Now…let me put forward what I see in the Bible concerning drums and rhythm.

Let’s start at the beginning

Genesis.

Genesis 1v1 : “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Wow! There’s the clincher in just ten words! For me, that solidifies, clarifies, explains and reveals absolutely everything we need to know. God created everything, absolutely everything. All the super-microscopical atoms that make up the matter that makes up everything else, He created them. The sun, the moon, the land, the sea, the rivers and mountains, the tides, the air, us. If you read those first ten words in the Bible, I hope you see what I see. Everything was created by God.

In verse 1, rhythm is created. In verse 5, rhythm then begins. Night and day, night and day, night and day. There’s a pattern right there. And, to go along with that, the planets in their precise orbits. Such an exact rhythm of rotation is created that if one planet was merely centimeters off course, the chaos of collision and upset of galaxical proportions could ensue.

Your very body itself testifies to rhythm and patterns. You’re awake, then asleep, awake, asleep, awake, asleep. The tides of the ocean, the migration of the birds, the seasons…all perfect rhythms. We’re surrounded by them every single day and are just as much a part of them as they are a part of us. And God made it all!

Rhythms and patterns are built into us, so is a desire to worship. Man takes the innate patterns and he creates patterns to enjoy, to use, to worship. We respond to beats, to music. We were created to respond, we were created to worship. So when we take and make musical instruments to produce sounds and rhythms to worship God, I think that is such a privilege to use our creativity to worship our creator.

Perverted creation
Now, the devil (who just happened to be the main worship leader in heaven!) cannot create, but he can take what has been created and pervert it, twist it around and use it for evil. There’s no such thing as a holy note and an evil note. I believe it’s who and what is behind the note that affects its purpose and end result. So, yes, bad people can take drums and use them for bad things but, likewise, good people can take drums and use them for good things. It’s about the heart behind it all.

The Bible encourages the use of rhythm, songs and even drums to worship God. For more information on drums in the Bible, you can read my post entitled “Drums in the Bible (aka. Do drums belong in church?)”

God created rhythm, and He created you.
To conclude, God created everything, including rhythm and including you. With that knowledge, take your rhythms and put your heart behind them. Show others that the true worship of God is possible even with the drums. At the end of the day, it’s about the heart of worship and not the instruments used.

Praise God with or without your drums!

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