What role does secular music have in the church?

This last thursday, the Jr. High team got together for our weekly meeting. This week, we talked over pros/cons of using secular music/media in our ministry. Of course I love these conversations, because it causes us to think on both sides of the lines.

Here are the questions as they were written on our meeting outline:

what does it (really) mean for our ministry to use “questionable” media content?
what message are we sending our students?
how is this different in student ministries than it would be in an adult ministry?
what is our goal for our students in regards to navigating culture?
what would be the most “beneficial” stance for us to take as a ministry?

So, I’d love to pose the same questions to you? What role does secular media take on in your church community? Are we justifying “indecent” behavior inadvertently by playing secular media in our ministries?

Discuss.