thanks so much everyone who left comments/ideas relating to issues in worship. i tried to weave the themes in though there wasn’t time to quote directly. the day went really well. everyone seemed engaged and stimulated by it and there was a surprising consensus around the challenges the church faces with the wider cultural changes…
graham kendrick kicked off with a few thoughts. i jotted a few headlines from each speaker so some of graham’s were
- when you look around when you are leading, not many people are singing. why?
- what began at the grassroots as a movement in worship is now more driven by the culture industries and that creates issues for worship in local contexts.
- the worship movement around modern worship songs has come from the 60s. a lot of what we see is still based on that and it has strengths and weaknesses. a weakness is that one personality fronts it.
- because the movement was recovering heart and feelings in worship, after a few decades have other things got lost?
- there is a tension between festivals (big experiences in worship) and how worship gets experienced in local churches. we have to understand these are different. worship leaders are the gatekeepers who should ensure this tension is handled.
- in song based worship we have lost the sense of story or journey through the whole of worship. need to recover it.
- 3.5 min pop song genre (where the modern worship song has its roots) has its weaknesses
- we have an issue around event dependence vs lifestyle
- psalms are a key to rediscover for a daily prayer and worship life
- tension between old and new. we are in danger of historical amnesia (i.e. we want the latest newest songs) at a time when culture is desperate for things with weight and roots.
mark earey, who i didn’t really know, lectures at queens in birmingham in liturgy. his main critique was in response to the question ‘where is jesus?’ he suggested that the default for many is that jesus is encountered in singing in worship. so do we expect to meet jesus anywhere else? maybe that’s our problem! he also raised questions about the use of technology in worship suggesting that the current cultural transition may have the depth of change about it that the shift to print did.
joel edwards, director of the evangelical alliance was excellent – i like him a lot. he brought a perspective from a pentecostal background. a few comments of his really stayed with me.
- worship has often been too cosy – a retreat from alienation rather than an engagement with pain.
- there is a new ecumenism where denominational ties and so on are not such a big deal.
- i thirst for something new. i am mostly bored. worship is narrow and predictible. is god vaguely bored too?
then i was up. i confess i got a bit emotional but it’s late so i will post a few of the things i shared tomorrow…
the rest of the day was a wide ranging discussion in response to that. it was a real surprise to be honest how open and frank the discussion was.
sounds really interesting, good to hear there is some debate and engagement with the issues going on at ‘higher’ levels!!
I agree. We’re bored with a disjointed series of pop songs. That’s why we’re not joining in. Putting singers and musicians at the front leads to a passive listening. The set up is that of a mini-concert where you would only join in very occasionally. Plus a lot of recent worship songs are so bland. There are plenty of Christian songs of more depth than we sing – but it is thought to be radical to bring out a hymn now and again. And where are the songs of lament like I read in the Psalms?
But I trust that you were able to take the discussion on to show how worship leaders could put more time and effort into preparing worship gatherings, to bring more creativity into worship and to recapture that sense of journey, tying the whole worship service together and getting people involved in the planning. Our longings will not be satisfied by just hyping things up. Some people may meet Jesus in the music but for crying out loud, haven’t they got it yet – worship is more than music.
I’m a Roman Catholic and never thought to question ‘worship’ until I became ecumenical in outlook. Clearly we are focused on communal worship here but we are all free to worship when we are alone or in small groups. I have felt quite euphoric in the Spring Harvest Big Top worship, intimately worshipful in the chaos of the Greenbelt Communion service and probably felt as though I was getting it right in housegroup settings and in a group of 3 I used to meet with for prayer. And as much I love exploring alt worship concepts, I’ve never picked myself up to attend any of the stuff available (shame on me!). But it’s horses for courses. A lot of people might get upset if we threw out the baby with the bathwater…but I take Joel Edwards’ point that it is desirable that worship might engage with the realities of the world.
This discussion put me in mind of the ASBOjesus cartoon No337, 8/1/08. D’ya think Joel Edwards reads ASBO?
The problem is those critiques aren’t even anything new, even lots of worship leaders spout the same things. its even the new marketing strategy such and such new worship leader or new CD is a refreshing break from such and such that is so wrong with modern worship these days.
Its like the emperors new clothes everyone starts critiquing modern as shallow or bland or Jesus is my boyfriend as if they don’t contribute to that but without pointing fingers or naming names as they’re all linked by relationship, record label, conference or network in the end
I get the impression that Graham at least might have owned his critiscm
Lots of good stuff there Jonny.
I decided this was worth a comment tho – from above (sic):
“worship has often been too cosy – a retreat from alienation rather than an engagement with pain.”
I think both of these are important. A little escapism from coping with reality never hurt anybody.
this is true and this was from joel edwards in the context of black afro-carribbean communities who received a rough ride economically and in almost every way. a bit of comfort for sure! but i guess he was saying the pendulum swang too far in that direction.
Of course there is still a lot that is good in modern worship styles; perhaps our criticisms can stereotype it too much. But I think there are always dangers such as worship being considered as entertainment or us getting into a rut that mean that we fail to engage God. Don’t we need to be continually pushing outside of the envelope with new experimental formats to stimulate and challenge ourselves as worshippers?