BLog #003

For more than thirty years of music ministry we have tried to make a point never to call what we do on the sanctuary platform “a performance.” We have passionately wanted to keep a clear distinction between what we do in one of our church services and what happens in a concert performance.

Our underlying theme has been Kirkegaard’s concept that in Christian worship (whether personal or corporate) there is only one person in the audience, namely God; the people in the seats are the performers; and we worship leaders are the prompters of the people. We have been diligent to keep our vocabulary precise: it’s “ministry” not  “performance” and “congregation” never “audience.”

While we remain committed to this underlying truth, our thinking is shifting a bit (call it getting older, or maybe gaining some wisdom). Here’s what we’ve been grappling with: what the musicians do on the platform during a church worship service IS indeed a performance. It requires the same level of preparation, the same excellence of delivery, and the same connection with the gathered crowd as a concert performance.

But, there is the difference – and it’s big.

The distinct purpose of Sunday’s sanctuary “performance” is to enable the people to praise, adore, and ultimately surrender their wills to the merciful and gracious God of the Bible. Yes, this can be done at home alone with a worship CD, but the point is to enable the crowd to experience the synergy of singing together. The church musician’s goal is not to showcase their amazing abilities nor make the music the object of worship, but to help open hearts and minds to the truth about God proclaimed in the lyrics. We want worshipers to respond to God with a gut desire to obey the Redeemer.

When I (Christine) was studying organ performance in college, part of my education was learning to play a church service (at a secular university no less!). My teacher and I spent a lot of time considering how to play a hymn so that the person in the pew will not only be ABLE to participate, but will, in fact, WANT to participate. We discussed the singing range of the average person’s voice and how the hymn needs to be in a key that won’t tire them (otherwise they might quit singing altogether). We explored playing each phrase in a way that allows the singer to take a breath between phrases. We talked about how to create a hymn introduction that excites and entices the people to begin singing. We talked about maintaining the singer’s interest throughout the hymn so they will want to continue singing all the way to the end.

There are fewer churches using organs these days. The primary leaders of the our worship singing are now usually a band of musicians who sing, play various guitars and a set of drums. Not better or worse than days gone by – only different. Yet the job remains the same. To perform well, yes. And to perform with a different dimension. The goal is to enable the audience (body of Christ) to engage together with God.

Question: Should a church hire professional musicians, assuring good quality, or use only volunteers whatever their ability?

Blog #002

You can tell what is important to a congregation by how they worship. 

Most churches today (and corporations for that matter) write a paragraph or two about what’s important to them: their vision, mission, purpose, and values - you know, the official verbiage that guides the church as an organization. Those statements are good and they’re probably necessary, but they're not what we’re talking about.

We’re talking about observing through their words, actions, and symbols what they express to be important. It’s like when you enter someones home and you notice the walls are covered with stuffed animal heads with their protruding array of antlers - trophies of hunting expeditions. Outdoors adventure, bows or guns are important to those folks. Or in another home where shelves and display cases are filled with heirloom antiques. Family heritage has high value under that roof. OK, you’ve got the picture.

As a ministry couple, when visiting a new church, our experience travels through a lens of 30 years of vocational ministry. We find ourselves asking, “What appears to be important to this congregation?” We see the answer through observing their printed and projected information. We hear it by listening to their song lyrics, their song introductions, their greetings, their announcements. We notice it by watching their interactions. We experience it through the effect of the architecture and aesthetics. We listen closely to the upfront leaders. We listen for God to be named, Jesus lifted up, the Spirit invoked. We note the balance of stories being told. Does this church tell God’s story or theirs?

Not long ago I (Peter) worshiped with a congregation in the “Silicon Valley” of the Phoenix area. It was clear to me as I stepped through the glass doors that the “church as family” was of great importance to them. Everyone wore name tags (though I missed getting one somehow) and many “hellos” and hugs were exchanged. There was a buzz of loving friendship. The regular attendees were on the lookout for newcomers and readily initiated a hearty “welcome” and a warm handshake.

If you value community, belonging, and connection, a church like this is worth a second look!

What did your church say was important to you last Sunday? Write a comment.

Blog #001

Welcome to our weekly blog, Searching For Sanctuary.

It's been said that every person regardless of religious or spiritual alignment worships someone or something. Bob Dylan sang it in the 80s, "You gotta serve somebody" (from the 1979 studio album Slow Train Coming).

Whether you're seeking God on a solitary mountaintop, in a small group of close and committed friends, or you've joined the exhilarating chorus of a thousand-voiced assembly, we hope to rattle your thinking about this activity called worship.

Over the past three decades of serving local Christian congregations by leading their music and worship ministries, we have thought long and hard about the meaning of worship in the modern American evangelical church. We've been searching for sanctuary - that place were God is found and his grace applied.

We are throwing down a challenge (nod to Bobby Flay) to pursue God-honoring, Bible-based, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered, history-informed, awe-filled, outsider-inviting, grace-overflowing worship.

This blog won't promote a particular style, image, coolness factor, or ancient liturgy. But in it we attempt to lay a solid foundation upon which a true and enduring structure can be raised. To quote the French philosopher Simone Weil, "In order to always be relevant, say things that are eternal." This blog seeks to address the current state of worship with the eternal.

Searching For Sanctuary is for the worshiper in the pew (or folding chair - gotta love "church-in-a-box") and the upfront worship leader. It's for the singer and the silent, the pastor and the parishioner, the saint and the skeptic.

To foster dialogue, we will occasionally write reviews of church services we've recently attended and then seek your comments. It will be similar to the food critic column in the newspaper (you remember those don't you?). The point is to help all of us better understand worship, not to be critical.

There are many excellent worship resources available on the Web and in print. Here are a few of our favorite sites: Dr. Chris Alford's www.epiclesis.org , Bob Kaufllin's www.worshipmatters.com, Ron Man's WRI at www.worr.org, and the teaching videos and insightful writings of Dr. John Hubley, ThD at www.mindheart.com.

Join us in the search. We hope you'll visit often.