My wife, who is usually a late service kind of girl, came to our early worship service last Sunday. So, after I had finished leading the songs at the beginning I found her--in the very back--and sat down next to her. Immediately in front of us I noticed an acquaintance and her husband. He comes from an ancient, liturgical and very universal Christian tradition, and I wondered what our worship gathering looked like through his eyes.
This was all conjecture of course - but the first big question I came to was this: How much understanding do those of us who meet together at JSCC every week have regarding the various elements of our communal worship?
The second big question I came away with flows from the last two words of the first: In our communal worship are we still more concerned about our individual preferences than about the adoration of God, proclamation of his truth, re-enactment of his redemptive story, and submission to his will?
You can probably venture an accurate guess about my short answers to those questions.
So, we must continually and prudently teach about the preeminent themes of Christian worship at various levels. We must consistently enact worship practices that glorify God and edify the Body of Christ.
I even dare to suggest that we step outside of the "me & Jesus" perspective that dominates our culture. Bear with me here - this is something so ingrained in many of us that we're afraid to question it.
Let's assume for a moment that those who plan and lead congregational worship are conscientious, knowledgeable, skilled, and maybe even called. They may - depending on the theme of the text, leading of the Spirit, tradition of that movement or denomination, and the specific history of the local body - employ a variety of elements and techniques to facilitate worship and equip his saints. If those choices do not entirely match up with your preferences, what do you do?
Do you complain that the songs are not contemporary enough? Do you complain that we don't use enough "proper church music"? Do you write an anonymous and sarcastic note to complain that the sound system was too loud? Do you grouse to members of your small group about the way we celebrated the Lord's Supper last week? Are you uncomfortable when we read prayers of confession in unison?
Or do you recognize that these - and other - expressions of worship are perhaps valuable and edifying to someone else?
Maybe the 78-year-old widow exalts God most highly when we sing "Great is Thy Faithfulness." Maybe the recovering addict finds transformational power in the words "This is the Body of Christ, broken for you." Maybe the young couple who just lost a child finds strength through their tears as they sing "my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name" with tightened throats.
May our worship be filled with compassion, because the Lord is merciful and Christ's Church is a living testimony to his great love.
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Bill,
I have to say that these are the very things I had to deal with, and I was not in charge of the music, at the last church I worked at.
People were complaining that the new music didn't minister to them and while the people picking it said it would minister to new people and people from my generation, they said that we needed to minister to the people already members of the church.
It was an entangled mess that was easy to see during the service, since the church was so small.
I think the one thing I really came away from it with is people, regardless of beliefs, age, sex, social status, musical opinions and preferences, will appreciate music played well and played with a lot of heart all of our souls.
At Jeff St. I feel that. Having my first chance to play last week was amazing, for once my remedial skills were not being pulled down by the rest of the band because the rest of the band was better than I was and just as passionate.
I think what is most important to note is that people like you, Bill, are choosing the songs, not so much on preference for style, but because of how they fit with the service. To sing O For a Thousand Tongues in a service about prayer, is really powerful.
For me, it's all about connectivity and reminders. How does this song connect to what the theme of the service is? At too many churches new songs are selected because they are new, not because they fit the theme. Same goes for hymns in older churches, they are only selected because they are hymns, not because they help tie together the theme for the service.
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