Quote
So what is the difference between a banjo and an electric guitar or a drum kit for that matter? If you've got an audience--your word--of people for whom thats the right worship, why not?
WHERE have I objected to this? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/shrug.gif" alt="" /> The Bible says we may use stringed instruments (Psalm 150:4; Isaiah 38:20; Habakkuk 3:19). I DO NOT have problems with instrumentation in the church (some form of guitars have been in existence from at least Babylonian times). However, I DO NOT think they should be centerpiece of the worship service (an orchestra pit comes to mind). Moreover, they may be misused (too loud, wrong key, wrong mode, etc.). As with Calvin, though he discouraged musical instruments (i.e. the Genevans, three years after his death melted down the pipes of the organ in his church to form flagons for communion), I think in worship modesty, gravity, and moderation should be observed. Calvin held that we should always take care that no corruption creep in, which might defile the pure worship of God. He wrote that at heart singing ought to be understood as prayer. The directing principle which Calvin laid down concerning the tunes which the Church ought to sing is that each tune must show its own character and have "dignity and majesty" (The Genevan Tunes An Introduction, by Dennis W. Royall). Calvin said:

Quote
And surely, if the singing be tempered to that gravity which is fitting in the sight of God and the angels, it both lends dignity and grace to sacred actions and has the greatest value in kindling our hearts to a true zeal and eagerness to pray. Yet we should be very careful that our ears be not more attentive to the melody than our minds to the spiritual meaning of the words . . . Therefore, when this moderation is maintained, it is without any doubt a most holy and salutary practice

(Institutes, Book III, Chapter XX, 32).
Music should be enough to move the heart/soul, but not so much as to move the flesh. Where is line? That is where discernment by those in charge is so very important.