Over the years, I have been part of the best & worst of many different expressions of worship from a wide variety of denominations & practices. What I have found is that even in what one might call an uninspired time of worship, the experience can still have value as I’ve learned that worship is not about what I enjoy, but more about what I express.
What I still don’t have a handle or is how divisive the subject of worship is when discussed by various stakeholders. Different churches just can’t seem to agree on what constitutes a valid worship experience. I have my own views on this, which I will hold back for now. Right now I just want to raise a number of questions & get a discussion going, where together we go on a journey of exploration to uncover the mysteries surrounding this thing called worship.
So here are a few questions for you to ponder & answer.
What really lights your lights when it comes to worship? Is it the music, is it silence, is it when you are on your own or is the gathering of the church? (Maybe something else?)
Nowadays, many churches, (including mine) are spending more & more on technology with a view that to be relevant to this generation, you need to be use such devices, & so we see P.A. systems, computers, camera’s, projection screens, expensive projectors & so on; These items are often decried by more traditional churches as unnecessary & irrelevant & too loud. What do you say to this?
When I started getting involved in church worship, it wasn’t the norm to even have guitars in the worship line up. Now we have full bands, including drums, backing vocals & contemporary repetitive songs (choruses) that present much of the music in a lot of churches. What is your opinion about this most divisive of expressions? If you were standing between the minister of a traditional church & the minister in a contemporary church as they discussed this, what would you want to say to each of them? How do you reconcile & validate each expression? Are there certain expressions of worship that you could never validate?
That’s enough to get the discussion going. In the next article I want to raise the issue of searching for truly alternative worship spaces & experiences. For now, keep it real, keep it honest & keep it nice
MM
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June 7th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I have recently come to realise that, in some churches, contemporary or modern practices of worship can be equally as rigid as what they may consider traditional forms to be. There are definitely some things which are considered just as inappropriate or are taboo in modern worship settings. I have several friends who are dancers and love to express their worship through movement. However at least one of them has been asked not to dance in the Sunday worship services. There were a few reasons given for this request (and I must admit some valid) yet something in me rebels against this restriction of expression. It seems that raising hands is one thing, yet moving your feet at the same time is another.
The “Worship Wars” is a hot debate, and from what I can gather both sides seem to believe that musical style or genre has something to do with the validity of worship. (This is how I have come to understand the debate anyway, please correct me if I’m wrong!)
Similarly to MM I have had a diverse range of worship experiences in my life. Among my best are what would stylistically appear to be the most “traditional”. What I love in worship is forgetting about myself and bringing an offering to God, focussing on His splendor. In corporate worship I love the unity between the people for the same purpose. Regardless of how they choose to express themselves, the idea that we are all meeting in one place for the unified purpose of lifting up our God makes it true to me.
Next semester I get to participate in a Post Modern worship class, where we get to take over worship in chapel one day per fortnight. Can’t wait for that one
June 7th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
I love to be immersed in music when I worship. I think agreat PA satisfies this, it doesn’t necessarily just increase the volume but allows the magnification of each instrument to be realised in their full capacity.
But there’s definitely a line with technology. Some of the best worship experiences have been with the guitar and voice.. or just me and my peeaknow..
I reckon the PA revolution was the result of people crying for this worship thing to intercept their world and their reality. The traditional stuff slowly outdated and became irrelevant in the face of a changing world. So the PA, amazing graphic design, the development of modern surroundings was a means to intercept the reality of the current generation. And it has worked. But the extreme cannot happen - where this becomes the sole objective.
Traditional services can be very poignant and powerful.. but should a minister strongly object to the modern church development, I’d believe this person was also objecting to seeking out the most extraordinary method of worship which honors God with the best we have to give to Him and the most powerful way to effectively communicate the character of God to those who don’t know Him..
June 11th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I want to start by answering the question “Are there certain expressions of worship that you could never validate?” with a resounding YES! And it comes in the form of “a giant recorder”. I had the displeasure of witnessing a worship leader get out the oversized, vulgar thing and play it in a way that even a loving mother would be devastated by. He tooted it like it was liquid gold but it was more like sloppy sh…. sorry I digress…….
What I love is seeing corporate worship. more than 1 person, expressing their heart for God in what ever way they see fit. And whatever gets them there is ok with me.
I know we are not out their to move emotions, but we are there to get the world out of the way and let people have a clear path to worship God. This can be done in any variety of ways, a darkened room with silence and candles, loud music that stirs the soul and awakens the spirit, or a drama that makes you realise something about God that you never realised before.
I think when you start saying “worship” and “restrictions” in the same sentance then you are on a dangerous path. Unless of course you are talking about the giant recorder!
June 12th, 2007 at 8:09 am
What really lights your lights when it comes to worship?
The aim of worship is to have hearts turned towards God. A heart on the platform turned towards God has power to move those in the building in the same way.
Technology?
For sure, if Jesus had a mic he would have used it.
If you were standing between the minister of a traditional church & the minister in a contemporary church as they discussed this, what would you want to say to each of them?
I would ask what they are witnessing in their worship services, what is coming from the people there?
As long as worship is god-honoring and there’s people who are benefiting from it then it’s valid. Saying that, it’s every Christian’s job to do what they do to the very best of their ability. I think it’s right to bring people into new realms even if there’s a bit of discomfort in the shift.
Are there certain expressions of worship that you could never validate?
Sure, if it wasn’t producing any fruit, or wasn’t changing.
June 12th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Technology?
For sure, if Jesus had a mic he would have used it.
This comment actually opens up the heart of the technology question & that is, “would Jesus have used a mic because people would otherwise not have heard him, or would he have used a mic because the church leaders thoughtthat the use of technology was part of the outreach strategy.”
So if Jesus would have used a mic, would he have wanted the full blown light show, would he have used powerpoint images when he told his stories, would he have got the band to loosen up the audience first with a few songs? I’m not saying that these things are either good nor bad, but somewhere in the answers to these questions lies a theology about why we use technology the way that we do. My suspicion is that some churches have forgotten the “why” & just use the technology for the sake of using the technology.
MM
June 12th, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Interesting points GB and Scot. I think GB is on the money. You’ve got to look at the fruit. I think Jesus used the medium of his time, to reach the people. Some could argue “why did he tell stories when he could have just told it straight…” The way of the times to present a theory was to tell stories about it round a campfire, that’s what Jesus did. Today we use technology to pass on our opinions/standards/theories etc, so why wouldn’t Jesus use this method today?