Obvious Virtues of CWM

Christ-centered or God-centered. CWM is devoted to the adoration of God, to praise Him. As a matter of fact, CWM is youth music. Young people have the reputation of being self-preoccupied and self-indulgent, and certainly those traits have often appeared in the history of Christian youth music. However, they had learned to praise!

Scripturality. CWM is also, for most part, scriptural, and strikingly so. It is not necessary to reproduce the biblical phrases and cadences, but as an application of God’s Word, not a mere repetition of it. It is therefore legitimate for song in worship to use words, phrasing, and cadences different from those of Scripture itself. CWM does not, certainly, in itself give sufficiently broad coverage to sustain all aspects of evangelical worship over many years. The use of both CWM and traditional hymns are advisable.

Freshness and Communication. CWM has a contemporary, fresh feel to it. And most everybody grants that freshness is something good. These songs tend to communicate especially vividly with young Christians and un-churched visitors, and, communication to those groups is biblically important. There should also be concerted efforts to challenge mature believers, and CWM is less useful for that purpose, though not entirely irrelevant as we have seen.

Reference:
John M. Frame, Contemporary Worship Music: A Biblical Defense. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 30-42.