I have always made an attempt to be able to make conversation about many topics. My secret is to learn enough about a topic to ask good questions. Then if someone I encounter shows some expertise in a subject I can ask a question or two and reveal that it is not the first time I have thought about the issue or topic. It works well just about all the time; especially if I don't try to pass myself off as an expert. People love to talk with someone who is interested in their vocation or passion.
But there is an area in which I have no ability to do anything but to appear completely lost. That's because I am lost. Back in my early 20's I served briefly as a sound man at my church. It was a simple sound board and it didn't take much technical knowledge to run it. Mostly if I watched what was happening and kept anyone from picking up a dead mike I was okay. I didn't like doing it, however, so when someone came along who did enjoy it, I was glad to hand off the job. It was then that I decided not to try to stay current in my knowledge of sound technology. That was back in the days before personal comupters and video screens. Multimedia at that time meant carousel slide projectors, overhead transparency projectors or 16mm movie projectors. That was in that era that I stopped learning about those things. I wanted to be seen as "not an option" for any future sound booth assignments. My strategy has worked perfectly for years.
Fast forward to today. I am a pastor of a church with an intimidating array of multimedia equipment. I am the one who is at the church during the week, so when visiting musicians or preachers come, they also come to me with their technical questions. My batting average is perfect. I always give moronic answers because I don't even know what to call the various thingamabobs that are back there. I know we can show a video, but don't ask what format. I know we can mike a guitar, but don't ask me about anything more than that because you will get a blank stare and a shrug of the shoulders. I know we have internet, but don't ask me if we have a static IP address. I don't know and I don't want to know. We have some amazingly proficient and faithful technical people who happen to work at jobs which won't allow me to call them and quiz them about technical matters during the day. In this connected day and age, I sound increasingly old and outdated. Maybe that is why the lady at Taco Bell assumes that I qualify for the senior discount and gives it to me without even asking. Seven years from now I'll actually qualify.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Generational Worship- part 4
As I bring this series to a close I'm afraid that I've identified more questions than answers. I have heard of and witnessed several approaches to "all generations" worship and none of what I have seen has been completely successful. I don't like the idea of separate services; they only serve to further segregate the generations. But let's face it. Most people who lead worship today in our growing suburban churches are leading contemporary songs. Many pastors, trying not to alienate anyone, advocate a "mix". Usually this means that the contemporary worship leader is forced to sing a hymn or two to pacify the old folks (translated: consistent tithers). What tends to happen is one of two things: One, when the hymn is sung the old folks over-respond to demonstrate how this music moves people more than that new stuff and if we would just go back to the old stuff we could really see a move of God like we used to see. Then they stand stone-faced and unmoved during the contemporary songs.Or two, the contemporary worship leader dresses up the old song with newer chords, rythmns and phrasing, and it becomes just as unsingable as the new songs they already don't know. The mix doesn't satisfy when its' intent is to pacify strong personalities and their preferences. The issue is much deeper than the song selection.
On the other hand, the contemporary devotees are quick to say that the older folks should "get on board or get out of the way" and make it appear that only the old are stuck on their music. But let it be known that a traditional group is coming to perform, and it will be very difficult to find a young person in the house. They are just as guilty of being snobby about their music, and have decided that only music written by a select cadre of contemporary worship artists and written in the past 10 years can usher in the presence of God. That is every bit as wrong as the belief that God only speaks through southern gospel music. (I've actually heard that assertion.)
My travels to other countries has taught me much about the banality of style preferences in regard to connecting with God in music. I've been in a tiny church dug back into a hill in Peru where a tambourine was the only instrument. I not only couldn't understand the words, the tunes were not familiar to me either. But as I watched the faces of the out of tune singers as they lifted up the name of Jesus, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing because the presence of God was so heavy in the place. I have witnessed the same thing in Nepal, Russia, Suriname, Cuba and other places. Where there is a hunger to connect with the God of all creation who desires to inhabit the praises of His people, God shows up. When there is a desire for a concert, a concert shows up. When God shows up, no one critiques the music. At a concert, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
I believe that everyone should have an opportunity during a weekly service to throw their head back and sing a song they already know. The reason is not that the songs we know are better than songs we don't know, but worship is all about release. Releasing our troubles and aggravations for a few moments and feeling the sweet presence of God. This is difficult to do when you are attempting to learn a new melody and words. This should be an easy thing for pastors and worship leaders to agree on. The quality of the concert is secondary to the quickening of the Spirit. And there should be great sensitivity to the specifics of a local congregation. Remember that you are leading, not herding your flock. If you're leading, but no one is following, you are just out for a walk. I've found few who were truly obstinate about their music style. Most are afraid of being marginalized, or they have a desire to connect with God again, and think that returning to the forms which were in use when their relationship was new and fresh is the way to reawaken it. Sadly, multi-generational churches are rare because of the insensitivity or lack of wisdom of church leaders; both pastors and worship leaders. As a pastor, it is my desire and fervent belief that Jesus is Lord of all, and he can connect with all, even when they are in the same room.
As Rodney King said, "Can't we all just get along?"
On the other hand, the contemporary devotees are quick to say that the older folks should "get on board or get out of the way" and make it appear that only the old are stuck on their music. But let it be known that a traditional group is coming to perform, and it will be very difficult to find a young person in the house. They are just as guilty of being snobby about their music, and have decided that only music written by a select cadre of contemporary worship artists and written in the past 10 years can usher in the presence of God. That is every bit as wrong as the belief that God only speaks through southern gospel music. (I've actually heard that assertion.)
My travels to other countries has taught me much about the banality of style preferences in regard to connecting with God in music. I've been in a tiny church dug back into a hill in Peru where a tambourine was the only instrument. I not only couldn't understand the words, the tunes were not familiar to me either. But as I watched the faces of the out of tune singers as they lifted up the name of Jesus, I couldn't stop the tears from flowing because the presence of God was so heavy in the place. I have witnessed the same thing in Nepal, Russia, Suriname, Cuba and other places. Where there is a hunger to connect with the God of all creation who desires to inhabit the praises of His people, God shows up. When there is a desire for a concert, a concert shows up. When God shows up, no one critiques the music. At a concert, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
I believe that everyone should have an opportunity during a weekly service to throw their head back and sing a song they already know. The reason is not that the songs we know are better than songs we don't know, but worship is all about release. Releasing our troubles and aggravations for a few moments and feeling the sweet presence of God. This is difficult to do when you are attempting to learn a new melody and words. This should be an easy thing for pastors and worship leaders to agree on. The quality of the concert is secondary to the quickening of the Spirit. And there should be great sensitivity to the specifics of a local congregation. Remember that you are leading, not herding your flock. If you're leading, but no one is following, you are just out for a walk. I've found few who were truly obstinate about their music style. Most are afraid of being marginalized, or they have a desire to connect with God again, and think that returning to the forms which were in use when their relationship was new and fresh is the way to reawaken it. Sadly, multi-generational churches are rare because of the insensitivity or lack of wisdom of church leaders; both pastors and worship leaders. As a pastor, it is my desire and fervent belief that Jesus is Lord of all, and he can connect with all, even when they are in the same room.
As Rodney King said, "Can't we all just get along?"
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Generational Worship- part 3
I don't pretend to know nearly as much about the heart of the contemporary form of worship, so I speak as an observer rather than an insider. But I must say that I have been blessed, impressed and challenged on many occasions while being around those who are immersed in the contemporary worship. I make it a habit to cultivate relationships with young people who are passionate for Christ. I have been around many on mission trips, in youth services, and at large gatherings. Their worship is honest, genuine, heart-felt and demonstrative. For them, worship is less about the community gathering and more about a personal encounter with the Spirit of God during worship. They are passionate about their music and the effect that it causes in them during the worship experience.
Once again, I am more of an observer and I welcome correction of my observations, but it appears to me that the "singability" of the song or even a knowledge of the words is less important than having the song in the air creating the atmosphere that ushers them into the presence of God. Standing, arms uplifted, eyes closed, this worship experience seems to close in around the individual and there is no hurry for those involved to move on to other elements of the service. If the song goes on, no problem. If the words are not entirely known, no worry. It is present, and the worshipper has an exclusive audience with their Lord.
Two other major differences from traditional worship exist: New songs are introduced regularly, and the quality of the musicians and vocalists is usually quite good whether there is an entire worship band or just one person with an acoustic guitar. Today's contemporary worship leaders are quite gifted creatively and musically. The chords are different, the rythymns are different, and the phrasing is different and this is the major source of conflict with those who prefer the traditional songs. Just as a new song begins to become familiar, it goes away in favor of a new song, hence the charge that the new songs have no "staying power". I answer this charge by saying that as this is a fairly new genre of music, it is going through an explosively creative era and there is a constant weeding out of the songs which will not endure. The songs in our hymnals represent only a fraction of the songs written during that era, but only the hymnal songs made the cut. Since they are published in a book and the others have vanished, it gives the illusion that the songwriters of that era wrote only classics. But many of the songs written decades ago had no staying power. Forty years from now, a hundred or so songs from this era will still be known. Prediction- Shout To The Lord will make the cut; I Went Into The Enemy's Camp will not.
The potential shortcomings of contemporary worship is the opposite of those of traditional worship. Rather than becoming dry and formalistic, the contemporary form lends itself to the potential of narcissism, and the constant chasing after the new and fresh. This reveling in the individual experience can result in a prideful, self-righteous spirit that dismisses the perceived lack of spirituality of the older set. We disregard the community of the believers at our own peril.
I do envy the passion and emotion that our young worshippers display during the worship service. There is something simple and profound in the individual experience. An old hymn describes being "shut in with God in a secret place" and I see that in the worship experience of the contemporary worshipper. We old guys can learn a lot about appreciating the "fresh" and being more concerned about connecting with God than with how many times we sing the chorus.
Tomorrow I will attempt to propose how we can all worship in the same room.
Once again, I am more of an observer and I welcome correction of my observations, but it appears to me that the "singability" of the song or even a knowledge of the words is less important than having the song in the air creating the atmosphere that ushers them into the presence of God. Standing, arms uplifted, eyes closed, this worship experience seems to close in around the individual and there is no hurry for those involved to move on to other elements of the service. If the song goes on, no problem. If the words are not entirely known, no worry. It is present, and the worshipper has an exclusive audience with their Lord.
Two other major differences from traditional worship exist: New songs are introduced regularly, and the quality of the musicians and vocalists is usually quite good whether there is an entire worship band or just one person with an acoustic guitar. Today's contemporary worship leaders are quite gifted creatively and musically. The chords are different, the rythymns are different, and the phrasing is different and this is the major source of conflict with those who prefer the traditional songs. Just as a new song begins to become familiar, it goes away in favor of a new song, hence the charge that the new songs have no "staying power". I answer this charge by saying that as this is a fairly new genre of music, it is going through an explosively creative era and there is a constant weeding out of the songs which will not endure. The songs in our hymnals represent only a fraction of the songs written during that era, but only the hymnal songs made the cut. Since they are published in a book and the others have vanished, it gives the illusion that the songwriters of that era wrote only classics. But many of the songs written decades ago had no staying power. Forty years from now, a hundred or so songs from this era will still be known. Prediction- Shout To The Lord will make the cut; I Went Into The Enemy's Camp will not.
The potential shortcomings of contemporary worship is the opposite of those of traditional worship. Rather than becoming dry and formalistic, the contemporary form lends itself to the potential of narcissism, and the constant chasing after the new and fresh. This reveling in the individual experience can result in a prideful, self-righteous spirit that dismisses the perceived lack of spirituality of the older set. We disregard the community of the believers at our own peril.
I do envy the passion and emotion that our young worshippers display during the worship service. There is something simple and profound in the individual experience. An old hymn describes being "shut in with God in a secret place" and I see that in the worship experience of the contemporary worshipper. We old guys can learn a lot about appreciating the "fresh" and being more concerned about connecting with God than with how many times we sing the chorus.
Tomorrow I will attempt to propose how we can all worship in the same room.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Generational Worship- part 2
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine,
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine.
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song;
Praising my saviour, all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song;
Praising my saviour, all the day long.
I just typed the words to the first verse of this hymn from memory, even though I have not sung it in a church service for decades. That is an illustration of the influence of the songs we sang in church as I grew up. When I was a boy, we sang many songs that people the age of my grandparents would have also sung. We sang them from songbooks which changed only once in my lifetime. The "Melodies of Praise" hymnal was replaced in my early teenage years by "Hymns of Glorious Praise" only after much consideration and discussion. It really was a really big deal to make any changes to the songs we sang. New songs were to be sung as "specials", and choruses were to be sung during extended altar times or during baptismal services. As I write this, there is no hint of a smirk or dismissive attitude, because I love the influence that those timeless songs still have on me. They are still the songs I sing in the car or when I'm alone. Although many times they were led by people of poor voice and were accompanied by a piano and organ which might be poorly played, they still, through their repetition, got into my spirit and still reside there today.
The "song service" consisted of three or four songs from the hymnal. Everyone was expected to participate, whether that person could sing well, or not. Very seldom did anyone get carried away during the song service, but it was a time of community worship in song, where no one was excluded. There would be a hymnal for everyone. You held a book in your hands and it was the same book year in and year out. It spoke of permanence; of stability; of community. Over the years, these songs were imbedded in our psyche and they remain to this day. Our services resembled very closely the services my grandparents attended; the only difference was air-conditioning and better sound systems.
But there was a problem with the hymnal style of worship. The songs could become so familiar that those who sang them sang them without internalizing the message the song conveyed. Many times the song service would just occupy the first 20 minutes of the service, serving as a spacer between the opening comments and the offering. It became possible to sing powerful messages such as "Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified. Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied for me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary" without even realizing the message that the song was conveying. The permanence which had seemed so comforting devolved into formalism and in some cases, legalism. Any attempts to change were viewed with suspicion or even hostility.
It is a shame that the younger generation did not get to bond with these songs, but the reality is that they do not connect at all with them in the manner in which they were performed. The rythmns and the phrasing just do not resonate. Popular music began to change drastically in the 60's and the baby boomers began to break with anything that spoke of their parents' music. The change in church music came several years later. If I could ask anything of the young people of today I would ask them to have some appreciation of those who preceeded them. You don't have to embrace the music they prefer, but it should not be dismissed out of hand, either. In this world where technological changes occur continually, there is something attractive about those songs that transport the older generation to the years of their spiritual formation; when they were young and sorting out the complications of marriage, career and children. Those songs, passed down to them by those who had gone on before, were an anchor in the stormy seas of life. They didn't change like the world around them, and they offer safe haven to those who love them. Maybe you could find some of these old treasures, rework the chord progressions, and give them to a new generation, while showing some love and respect for those who most likely sacrificed to pay for the church you attend today.
Oh what a foretaste of glory divine.
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of his spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song;
Praising my saviour, all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song;
Praising my saviour, all the day long.
I just typed the words to the first verse of this hymn from memory, even though I have not sung it in a church service for decades. That is an illustration of the influence of the songs we sang in church as I grew up. When I was a boy, we sang many songs that people the age of my grandparents would have also sung. We sang them from songbooks which changed only once in my lifetime. The "Melodies of Praise" hymnal was replaced in my early teenage years by "Hymns of Glorious Praise" only after much consideration and discussion. It really was a really big deal to make any changes to the songs we sang. New songs were to be sung as "specials", and choruses were to be sung during extended altar times or during baptismal services. As I write this, there is no hint of a smirk or dismissive attitude, because I love the influence that those timeless songs still have on me. They are still the songs I sing in the car or when I'm alone. Although many times they were led by people of poor voice and were accompanied by a piano and organ which might be poorly played, they still, through their repetition, got into my spirit and still reside there today.
The "song service" consisted of three or four songs from the hymnal. Everyone was expected to participate, whether that person could sing well, or not. Very seldom did anyone get carried away during the song service, but it was a time of community worship in song, where no one was excluded. There would be a hymnal for everyone. You held a book in your hands and it was the same book year in and year out. It spoke of permanence; of stability; of community. Over the years, these songs were imbedded in our psyche and they remain to this day. Our services resembled very closely the services my grandparents attended; the only difference was air-conditioning and better sound systems.
But there was a problem with the hymnal style of worship. The songs could become so familiar that those who sang them sang them without internalizing the message the song conveyed. Many times the song service would just occupy the first 20 minutes of the service, serving as a spacer between the opening comments and the offering. It became possible to sing powerful messages such as "Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified. Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary. Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied for me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary" without even realizing the message that the song was conveying. The permanence which had seemed so comforting devolved into formalism and in some cases, legalism. Any attempts to change were viewed with suspicion or even hostility.
It is a shame that the younger generation did not get to bond with these songs, but the reality is that they do not connect at all with them in the manner in which they were performed. The rythmns and the phrasing just do not resonate. Popular music began to change drastically in the 60's and the baby boomers began to break with anything that spoke of their parents' music. The change in church music came several years later. If I could ask anything of the young people of today I would ask them to have some appreciation of those who preceeded them. You don't have to embrace the music they prefer, but it should not be dismissed out of hand, either. In this world where technological changes occur continually, there is something attractive about those songs that transport the older generation to the years of their spiritual formation; when they were young and sorting out the complications of marriage, career and children. Those songs, passed down to them by those who had gone on before, were an anchor in the stormy seas of life. They didn't change like the world around them, and they offer safe haven to those who love them. Maybe you could find some of these old treasures, rework the chord progressions, and give them to a new generation, while showing some love and respect for those who most likely sacrificed to pay for the church you attend today.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Generational Worship- Part 1
This is the first of four posts that have been on my heart concerning music and worship in the local church. I know that being 54 makes me an official member of the old guy club. However, I was still a young man when the current wave of contemporary music and worship styles burst upon the scene. I hope to give some perspective on this highly emotional and often conbtroverisal and divisive issue in church life. It is not my purpose to declare anyone "right" or "wrong". I will attempt to share some insight into the strengths and potential weaknesses of both the older and younger generational preferences for worship. Be aware that I will always approach these styles as preferences because when we take either preference and lay it alongside the timeline of the church since its inception on the day of Pentecost two thousand years ago, both are tied to really short snippets of time. Both "Just As I Am" and "Days of Elijah" would seem strange to the first century believers.
In the next post I will attempt to describe the worship style of the generation that preceded me; many times referred to as "traditional." After that I will again try to describe the "contemporary" form of worship. The final post will discuss the possibility of both generations having respect for each other and making some room for the possible merit of the other generation's worship preference. I am not yet convinced that there is only one way to connect with God through music, but I am convinced that our adversary would like us to feel that if the other generation "wins" my generation "loses". I think we can be better than that.
In the next post I will attempt to describe the worship style of the generation that preceded me; many times referred to as "traditional." After that I will again try to describe the "contemporary" form of worship. The final post will discuss the possibility of both generations having respect for each other and making some room for the possible merit of the other generation's worship preference. I am not yet convinced that there is only one way to connect with God through music, but I am convinced that our adversary would like us to feel that if the other generation "wins" my generation "loses". I think we can be better than that.
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