Are you traditional or contemporary? Do you prefer contemporary Christian music or old hymns? Should we have a band in church? Is the organ old-fashioned? Do 20- year-olds require guitars and drums for church to be relevant and attractive? What should we do to draw younger people, unchurched,or de-churched people?
These questions have been hovering around me for some time now. I have been exploring them with others, both in and outside of Zion. Some of the questions are unanswerable. Others are just bad questions. Here’s what I think—for what it’s worth.
Young people can lead, bring vitality and energy, and change to a faith community. But they are not always stable, committed, or grounded as their elders. Years provide experience and wisdom. So I caution any congregation interested in catering to the young. (PS, I am one of them, since I am 31- years-old.) All people want to be included, to belong in the great journey of the Spirit.
Worship is neither contemporary nor traditional. It is supposed to be personal, corporate, and authentic expression of the divine/human encounter as manifest in the gospel. Those former categories are dead today. They are part of an old fight for power. Congregations have foolishly split over it. Does God think the organ is superior or the praise band is necessary? I doubt it. We need to get over this need to know “the right way” to be Christian. It usually leaves some feeling dejected and lost and others righteous and superior. Jesus said, “Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives for me will find them.”
People crave mystery and revelation, the absent presence of the holy. We want to sense that God is engaged with a faithful community of followers, who are willing to live what they believe. They want worship to inspire that life. That happens through Gregorian chant, Bach, African drums, Swahili, guitars, organ, flute, “Amazing Grace”, FFH, U2, Michael W. Smith, and silence! The more eclectic the music, the more engaging worship becomes for people. The need is to broaden and challenge our musical expression in worship. Praise music is not enough. There needs to be room for melancholy, grief, anger, worry, shame, hope, wonder, doubt, serenity, and joy. Much of today’s top 25 praise hits are devoid of this vast array of human emotion. Liturgy that is human needs to be authentically emotional, not just happy.
Providing the big picture, a meaningfully rich, cohesive narrative that makes sense out of the chaos, and a trustworthy way forward in life governed by God’s grace made known in the suffering love of Jesus is the message for today! We don’t want self-help or feel-good pop culture psycho-religiosity anymore. We want the truth of the gospel; in all of its odd tension and simple complexity. We want to dance with God in the midst of our tangled lives.
Starting in January, we will offer a monthly Sunday night worship. The core of it, like all Christian worship, is God’s Word and Sacrament. We will pray the Creed and Lord’s Prayer. Music will be rich and diverse. The Spirit will be invited to engage us and we will be invited to encounter God. Our senses will be filled. It will be ancient and modern, old and new, simple and technical. You will feel like you’re in a Benedictine Monastery, a concert, and your living room at the same time. Stay tuned for more conversation about what’s next. And join in the conversation. What do you hope worship can be?
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