I spent a good portion of last week at Olmsted Manor (a United Methodist retreat center just outside of Kane, Pennsylvania). I was there for the purpose of facilitating a 4-day workshop on the subject of creating new worship experiences in church settings where there are already well-established services of worship. About 40 people were present for the workshop. Most of the people were over the age of 50, and most were United Methodist by denomination (although there were a few Lutherans and Presbyterians in the mix). All but a couple of the participants were non-clergy.
The dialogue in the workshop was rich in its content and vibrant in its spirit. It made me remember how much I love discussing liturgical matters with people who are passionate about worship.
One of my first orders of business was to articulate my reluctance to employ adjectives like “traditional” and “contemporary” when describing worship, since so much of what we call “contemporary” these days is not really all that new. Likewise, so much of what we call “traditional” only goes back a century or so. The flippant and imprecise usage of such adjectives simply bears witness to the poverty of nomenclature with which we struggle in our conversations about worship.
Not surprisingly, the issue that generated the most conversation at the workshop was the issue of music.
Just in case you might be interested, the following is a list of convictions that I shared with the workshop participants. This list represents some of my most deeply held beliefs concerning the development of music ministry in newer worship events. As you might imagine, this list generated a great deal of conversation in the workshop.
Some Personal Convictions
Concerning the Development and Implementation
of the Music Ministry for a New Worship Experience
Eric Park (June 2007)
1. Church musicians emerge from strange places. Sometimes they are to be found in congregations. Other times, they are found in bar bands, coffee houses, and high school orchestras. In other words, look everywhere.
(The question most frequently asked by those beginning a new worship experience is this: “Where can I find good musicians?” There is no reliable and succinct answer to that question. The “right” musicians are normally found over time, at the serendipitous intersection of prayerful searching, word of mouth, and creative networking with area musicians.)
2. Musicians committed to excellence tend to draw other musicians with a similar commitment.
(When a quality musician is in place, he/she may become the instrument through which the Spirit attracts other musicians.)
3. The best ministry of music will build an artistic bridge between that which is considered “traditional” and that which is considered “contemporary.”
(Too often, a church’s music ministry operates with an “either/or” mentality—the music, in other words, must be EITHER traditional OR contemporary. Newer worship experiences must find ways to resist such a restrictive mentality, so that ancient hymns might find new expression, and so that the best of the contemporary praise choruses might be given a rich liturgical environment in which to resonate.)
4. The best ministry of music will maintain both high energy and artistic elegance.
(If we read the Psalms holistically, we are compelled to come to the conclusion that worship music must have about it BOTH the energy of loud, clashing cymbals and the artistic elegance of the lyre. God, after all, deserves both moods—energetic praise and elegant adoration.)
5. The best ministry of music will lead the congregation into both vibrant celebration and quiet attentiveness.
(God deserves loud songs of praise. But God also deserves the kind of stillness in which God’s presence might be discerned and encountered.)
6. The best ministry of music will place the focus, not upon the personality of the musicians, but upon the majesty and mystery of God.
(It is important that the musicians, and all leaders of worship, see themselves as servants of the Word and not stars of the show. This distinction helps one to understand the difference between music as an offering and music as a performance.)
7. Lyrics are important and deserve careful attention.
(Not all songs that mention “God” are appropriate for every worship setting. It is best when musicians place before the worshiping congregation lyrics that have about them both theological and artistic integrity.)
8. Music tends to inspire passionate opinions. Prepare for the various reactions to newer musical expressions, and be patient.
(No portion of worship generates more heated debate than the ministry of music. Helping a congregation through these issues is hard but important work.)
9. Music touches places in the soul that the spoken word cannot reach.
(The journey toward excellence in music ministry, then, is well worth the struggle.)
10. Music can become either a liturgical enhancement or a liturgical distraction.
(We will not always land on the right side of this distinction. But we must always be aware of it.)
I agree with your convictions; good food for thought. Like you, I am troubled by imprecise language such as “traditional” and “contemporary”. Also, I’m dismayed at times at the shoddy ways we formulate liturgy, unaware of what we’re actually saying with the liturgical forms and prayers we use (or reject). I’m also really bothered by the huge number of poorly written “contemporary” songs. I’m sure there have ALWAYS been poorly written hymns, but only the good ones (for the most part) seem to have survived (though I’ll throw a party when “I’ll Fly Away” finally dies). Sounds like a good workshop; hope it was fruitful for you.
Eric -
As a guy who is trained in both theology and music, I must say that I’ve never read such a succinct presentation of my own convictions about worship in the church. I’m sorry I missed your discussion at Olmstead…please let me know if you ever plan on doing it again.
I’m especially grateful for your statement that quality musicians are necessary. I’ve always been turned off when people say to me, “We shouldn’t put too much emphasis on the quality of our music, because we don’t want to make this a performance. It’s about God, not our music skills.” On the contrary, I think when the music is done well, it naturally allows for the congregation to take their focus off the musicians and put it where it belongs. Conversly, when music is not done as well, it’s hard for the congregation to get their focus beyond the individuals who are playing/singing off-key and out of tempo.
Thanks again for those reflections. I plan on sharing them with my church’s worship team!
Jeff
P.S. - Thanks for your comments on my blog as well. My week at Wesley Woods was indeed a kairotic experience!
Eric:
I agree with the need for excellence in musicianship. I especially appreciate worship leaders who can lead worship, model excellence, and train up other musicians, especially our youth. This obviously involves some risk, but I think congregations that I have been in have been pretty good at extending an extra measure of grace to our young musicians.
A question I have is this. How do we express appreciation to our musicians who do well leading us, without it becoming an ego-boosting session? I think it is unfortunate when we don’t say thanks, and equally unfortunate if we shift the focus from worshipping God to worshipping talent.
Hi Brad.
Good question.
I do not think, however, that the solution is to stifle our heartfelt gratitude for those who lead. As one who has been doing this church thing for a few years, I have come to believe that the danger of “under-affirmation” is currently far more of a reality than “over-affirmation.”
The challenge is to affirm the musician without worshiping the musician. In my mind, the following words might be a healthy affirmation: “You are a gifted musician, and I am grateful for the way you share your gifts with us.”
This, on the other hand, is something different: “Worship when you sing is so much better than when that other person sings.”
There is a danger of extremes in a couple of different directions, of course. One extreme is to over-praise to the point of idolatry. The other extreme is never to speak any words of encouragement or affirmation to people who are laboring long and hard for the kingdom.
Truth be told, I have experienced both extremes, and each brings a different kind of struggle.
Excellent thoughts Eric! I’m wit ya.
Excellent thoughts, Eric. My undergrad is in Church Music (Seriously, an incredibly marketable degree…people were just beating down my door to hire me out of college), so I’ve thought a lot about music, worship, etc etc. Your thoughts are fantastic and I really appreciate the way you’ve worked through them. It’d be great to talk to you about music and worship sometime…Maybe for the two weeks we’ll have together in the Spring!
Matt
Matt…
It’s a date!
I’ll be the one wearing the red carnation.
Thanks, man.
Great post! How does the type of worship space a church has enter into the conversation? Does the sanctuary style, space and layout change the way we approach music in worship?
Randy…
Hmmmm….
Good question.
What do you think?
My experience has been that the approach to music is impacted less by the worship space and more by the liturgical structure (or liturgical “tone”) employed that particular worship experience.
For example, I have sung Gregorian chant in a gymnasium and I have sung a Rich Mullins tune in Duke University Chapel. Both offerings seemed to fit into the liturgical framework that we had established, even though the style of music might, at first, have seemed to contradict the architecture and ambience of the worship space.
Certainly the size of the worship space must be considered. In a small coffee house setting, for example, four guitarists and three keyboardists might be a bit much!! If the number of musicians is too overwhelming for a smaller congregation, it can communicate the wrong message–specifically, the message that the musicians are the “stars” of worship rather than the servants of worship. Of course, the attitude of the musicians has much to do with this as well.
Apart from this, the worship space’s layout is certainly worth noting. Are the musicians going to be in close proximity to the congregation? If so, then think twice about the tuba solo and the heavy-duty guitar licks! Layout, in that sense, will have an impact on musical approach.
Great stuff, Eric. A good team of musicians is SO vital to the overall worship experience. Thanks to you and Tara, the music for the Sunday Night service at Christ Church had a wonderful start. Through changes in leadership, there were some struggles, but we have been fortunate to have a wonderful beginning to fall back on new leadership that understands the importance of quality music. Again, great stuff!