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Defining Worship
What worship is - and what it isn't.
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One of the dangers is that we get too narrow in the focus of the song lyrics, because we sometimes forget that teaching is one function of leading worship. People often remember songs more easily than sermons because adding melody to words helps with memory retention. With that in mind, I'm always on the lookout for songs that are not only help people connect with God, but speak a message that we need to hear. Do they have significant theological content? That's one of the things that shapes my writing. There are plenty of good worship songs that are more than just simple love songs. But we need those simple love songs too, because they touch a part of our soul that might not be touched through hymns. It's part of touching all that's within us. We in the West tend to dismiss the simple things because we're cerebral, cognitive people who tend to see the world "informationally." We're not as tuned in to the sensory or experiential—such as experiencing God's love and power. In Western evangelical churches, including my own Vineyard tradition, we're not as good at the mystical as we are at the cognitive. So, those "simpler" songs leave room for a person to interact with God on a personal basis. To rock, or not to rock?I come from the Vineyard background where, in the early days, we used the style of music to which most Boomers could relate—rock. That's what they wanted, and it worked; we had some very powerful times of worship. Rock music as a means of worship offers a very important element of relevance to a generation that grew up on that style. They're hearing the sounds they've grown to love, an art form they appreciate. And when you appreciate an art form, it's natural to sing a love song to God in that art form. If you grew up in a traditional hymn-singing church, you might disagree. If you've learned to meet and experience God through the piano and the organ, you'll be attached to that style. And that's completely valid. But how do you make one co-exist with the other? How do you introduce rock to an organ-loving church? You have to respect the tradition of the church you're a part of. You have to realize people don't change very quickly. They don't want a wholesale change of their worship style, because there's a sacred connection to the style of music they've always known. One of the easiest ways to bridge the two worlds of contemporary and traditional music is to introduce new arrangements of traditional hymns. It makes the hurdle a lot lower for people to get over. They're singing a song they've always sung, but in a new way. |             |
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