A Popularity Contest (Part 2)

Seventeen years ago I began my ministry at a small church in Hampton, VA.  I was the youth minister and during the summer I would take my youth to Centrifuge in South Carolina.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with youth camps, let me refresh your memory.  It is a great “mountain top” experience that puts students in a controlled and isolated environment that allows them to grow in their faith at a, most often, very rapid rate.  The music, bible studies, and activities are all designed around this concept.  And it works!  It worked for me, and my first year as a youth minister I wanted my kids to have this experience.
            So there I was, summer of 2000, five kids in tow and a youth mom on our way to North Greenville University (it was just a college back then).  All five of those students had no idea what to expect, many of them didn’t want to go, but I kept pushing them along and telling them they would have a great time.  Needless to say, three days into the camp they didn’t want to leave.  On our way back to Virginia I heard the same thing over and over again.  “Why can’t our Sunday morning worship service be like what we had at camp?”  There it was-a phrase that I have heard over and over again for years, and it never stops. 
         Sure, the places that people want our service to look like change depending on whose making the statement.  For teenagers and college students they want Sunday morning to look like what they see and experience at camps, conferences, and concerts.  For older adults it’s what they see and experience at revivals, concerts, and Bill Gaither Homecoming videos.  For the rest, it’s what they see and hear on the radio and TV.
            First, let me say this: I have NOTHING against any of those things.  I like concerts and I appreciate youth camps, conferences, and concerts for what they offer.  Holly and I have sung and done many revivals over the years and I have even been known to view a Bill Gaither video for a few minutes.  But, all of these things target a specific group.  Worship on Sunday morning does not do that, nor is that its purpose.  Corporate worship on Sunday is about God, and bringing the community of faith TOGETHER, and creating community within the family of faith and creating connections to a living God through a living faith.  We cannot muddle or dumb down worship to fit a certain demographic.  And, if you think that church is about reaching a certain demographic (i.e. young people) then you need to go back and read your Bible because the last time I checked, we were called to reach ALL PEOPLE!
           
DON’T DUMB IT DOWN
Worship is not a popularity contest-I said that in my last article and it’s still true. 
Marva Dawn is one of my favorite worship theologians and in her book Reaching Out without Dumbing Down (1995 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing) she says this:
           
“Many churches who want desperately to attract people to Christ miss the point by offering worship so shallow that not enough of Christ is proclaimed to engender lasting belief…If people are introduced to Christianity composed only of happiness and good feelings, where will the staying power be when chronic illness, family instability, or long-term unemployment issues threaten?  If worship is only fun, how will those attracted to such worship have enough commitment to work on the conflicts that inevitably develop because all of us in the church are sinful human beings?” (Marva Dawn, Reaching Out without Dumbing Down; pg. 280; 1995, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing)

            If our goal is to “make disciples” there needs to be genuine discipleship happening in the church, and worship should play a pivotal role.  Leonard Sweet said that churches need an “MRI”.  They need to be missional, relational, and incarnational; as opposed to being attractional.  (Leonard Sweet, So Beautiful; 2009; David C. Cook Distribution)
            If people are going to grow in their faith, their needs to be depth in what is taught.  The same applies to music that is used in worship. 
            Holly and I this past weekend attended a reading session for church choral directors.  As 125 choral directors gathered in that small Methodist Sanctuary from 9-1, there were pencils flying, people making notes, people trying to sing notes, and all enjoying the company and community of church musicians, but we all took note of one thing, every piece of music that we sang through had depth in theology as well as creative musical expressions. 
           
THE "LITMUS" TEST
I asked the question previously, what is the yard stick that I use in selecting music for our worship at First Baptist?  This is the first test, does the text say something and does it have theological depth?  When did songwriters become lazy?  This has been a burning question on my mind lately.  It seems that all of the “and can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood” (Charles Wesley) has been replaced with “yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord,” (Darrell Evans; 1998 Integrity Hosanna Music) or a “your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me, your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me, your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me” (Brian Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, Christa Black Gifford; 2010 Bethel Music, Christajoy Music, Vineyard Publishing)  It addition to mindless lyrics there is also an epidemic of "woahs", "ohs", and "yeahs."
            If the text says nothing, then it’s not worth singing.  If the song’s sole purpose is to get people “hyped up on Jesus” then it’s not worth singing.  If the song repeats itself into a mindless void of repetition causing the listener to get swept away in some “trance-like” state, then it’s not worth singing.  The song needs to say something!
            The second test to pass musically is can the song be sung by a congregation that has never heard it before, have a melody that can be picked up easily, and be in a comfortable range for all to sing it.  This is my biggest complaint with utilizing music from the radio for congregational singing.  The songs were not meant to be sung by a congregation, they were meant to be sung by an individual or a group.  Hymnody is full of music that was meant for a large group to sing-is was written for all people.  I have no problem with letting a soloist or small ensemble sing something from the radio (as long as it has something to say), but if it’s not meant for a congregation to sing, then don’t have the congregation sing it.  There are many great songs out there that I love that are new and fresh, but they don’t fit a congregational voice. 
            Here’s my final point.  For me, there is a large hurdle that songs have to jump for me to use them with the congregation.  I am not going to be a music minister that chooses songs based on their popularity (I think I’ve made that point very clear), but I will be a music minister that chooses to create an environment of worship so that ALL can participate and respond and express their praise to God.        

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