"Sing to Him a new song." –Psalms 33:3

I was introduced to contemporary praise music when I became active with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) in college. The music was part of our big-group Tuesday night worship sessions, and we also had a smaller, music-only meeting on Sunday nights at our leader's house that I absolutely loved.

Even though I grew up in a traditional Baptist church (no song brings me to tears faster than "Because He Lives"), I immediately embraced this "new-to-me" music. Even though it had been around awhile, in churches other than my own, I had never heard or sung these songs.

In this issue, Ryan Dahl, founder of an online contemporary worship music publishing company, tackles music trends and the ongoing issue of traditional vs. contemporary music.

 "It is time we leave the stereotype behind that says contemporary and modern worship represents passion and emotion, and traditional worship represents theological depth," said Dahl. "Based on a narrow selection of songs, that may have been true at one time. The fact is, the contemporary worship movement that spawned in the late 70's has now blossomed and matured."

What's clear is that there certainly exists room, and plenty of venues, for both forms of worship through song. To me, it's not an issue of mutual exclusivity. I personally fall into the "love them both" category. I am so moved every Sunday after hearing my church musicians rock the house while singing lyrics projected beside the stage. I'm equally moved when I visit my sister's church and sing from the decades-old hymnal with an organ accompaniment.

As we transition into a new year, you'll see that we've hit the ground running. We cover quite a few high-interest topics this month, from buses and church management software to office equipment and projection tools.

I'm always interested in hearing from you. You can reach me at jill@rpnmag.com.

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro
Managing Editor