I’m posting my half of an email conversation with a young worship leader who was a student of mine. In giving an assignment for my music and technology class, I insisted that the students not use a modern worship song as the basis for the project. My purposes were completely pragmatic. Most of them have grown up inside the church, and the walls of the platform mark the boundaries of their musical experience; I wanted to push them to explore new avenues, new modes of expression.
In talking with this young worship leader, I defended my objection to using modern worship songs as the basis for the project, and in so doing, wrote what I think might be my manifesto on art as worship. I’m including it here for your abusive comments and derisive mocking. This means you, Chad.
Ok, now I’m totally done with teacher mode, so feel free to disagree with me, to tell me to shut up, whatever.
Here’s the thing - you will be so much better as a worship leader if you cultivate your musical tastes outside of worship music. God created this wondrous, beautiful, mysterious, complex world for us to dance within, but the music we use to respond to him is so limited. Shouldn’t it be wondrous, beautiful, mysterious, and complex?
It sounds like your heart is totally focussed on music as a tool for the spiritual act of worship. Awesome. I think there can be no higher purpose for art. But just for a season, for a few months, or a year, go soak in what people outside the church are doing with art. Go listen to street poets. Go listen to experimental music. Go listen to symphonic tone poems. Go watch a modern dance company. Go to the opening of a new art gallery show.
Are the artists all intending to honor God? Of course not. Many of them would curse him if he ever laid foot inside their galleries and studios. But this is the part where the grace of God causes me to stumble back in wonder - they don’t intend to honor God, but they can’t help it! Beauty honors God! Art reveals God to the unsuspecting audience! Creativity echoes the image of God still lingering in even the most craven artist.
Learn how to worship without words, how to worship God with the wondrous, beautiful, mysterious complexity of art in it’s own right. Use it as a tool to reflect him.
Then add words.
-ml
I have no smarmy comments, as I wholeheartedly agree. “Worship Music” is a genre. It has it’s own set of rules, regulations, and even it’s own section at the local Christian Bookstore.
You could kill the lyrics of 2 tracks, and I could tell you just by listening which was the worship tune and which was the mainstream rock tune.
Get out of the worship headspace. There’s nothing wrong with it, and I REALLY REALLY love some worship music (Tim Hughes’ new album, Dave Crowder, Tommy Walker, etc…) but I would guess dollars to pesos that their iPod playlists aren’t populated with other worship leaders.
My $.02
Dig it. Of course, I think even the most craven artist IS looking for God, even if she wouldn’t say it that way. “Expressing the transcendent” maybe, or “painting the soul”…we must look for ways to point to Eternal God that speak her language. Part of the problem with worship as a genre is that it limits our vocabulary, and we suffer not only in our ability to truly create, we suffer in our ability to communicate to those already creating. Not a good scene.
-ah
“We suffer not only in our ability to truly create, we suffer in our ability to communicate to those already creating”
Ok, lemme chew on this for a few days. I think that’s a really, really important point. I don’t know if anyone outside of the faith community has ever peaked inside and said, “Now that is some interesting stuff” but I find myself all the time floored by the complexity and beauty of those creating outside of our protected communities.
One caveat - art for common participation is a unique genre; most artists aren’t striving for a communal voice in their work. There is a real sense in which the scope and, for lack of a better term, novelty of art for worship is limited by it’s function in corporate life.
I love Mark Rothko. His work honors God, without intent. But is not well suited to the function of corporate worship, at least in most settings.
I love the Chronos String Quartet. Again, their work is not well suited for corporate participation.
you know, the whole history of alt worship/emerging church in england can be 90% put down to people saying “this worship music sucks! but the stuff we’re listening to at home/clubs is what we really want to worship with!”
something to do with emotional complexity and having a complicated/critical relationship with the ‘you’ of the song. nearer the truth of our feelings to god.
“…art for common participation is a unique genre; most artists aren’t striving for a communal voice in their work. There is a real sense in which the scope and, for lack of a better term, novelty of art for worship is limited by it’s function in corporate life.”
I think this is definitely true under our current paradigm of “worship services,” but I’m starting to suspect that our definition of “corporate” could use some expanding. I don’t think it means we all have to be doing the same thing all at the same time, corporately; I think it may mean that we allow our individual bodies to be animated by the same spirit, thence becoming one body (corpus). Individual parts of the one body may respond in worship by painting, dancing, meditating, singing, sculpting, praying in posture, etc…but we’re offering all that the one body has to offer, sacrificially in worship, corporately.
We have not done well at giving individual bodies, animated by the spirit, the opportunity to worship in their own unique ways. It’s dangerous, unpredictable, and pretty much un-programmable. But that doesn’t mean it’s not doable.
“It’s dangerous, unpredictable, and pretty much un-programmable. But that doesn’t mean it’s not doable.”
Any thoughts on how to do it? Un-programmable is not terribly friendly to the modern church environment.
I’ve never seen a Willow Creek resource that speaks to this issue… How am I supposed to deduce this on my own?
I could not agree more. I am a worship pastor for youth in Mt Vernon WA, and our worship is not of a “church” style. Most of our musicians have a secondary desire to play music.
Their first is an art. Hince the title “worship arts ministrty.” Worshis IS an art and there IS beauty and glory in it.
My desire daily is to live beyond the expectations of “church” worship. I dare not diss worship in the church but sometimes we become closed off to this worship around us and outside the 4 walls of our building.
God called us to LIVE A LFIE OF WORSHIP. My team and I have commited our life and our music to this and are passionate about being and instrument that is played by the almighty.
Art is all around us. I’ve learned we can’t control it. No matter how are we try to disagree, we are art!
David