Performance at Church part 2

So after reading my other post my wife talked to me about it. She told me she liked it (good wife), but wanted to see me try and think about solutions and not just observe issues (great wife!). I am going to attempt to rise to her challenge today as I clean the apartment for her birthday party tomorrow. 

To recap: the issue I was centering on was the issue of when worship (music) becomes a show or performance rather than a bridge to connect people to God. Often it is the personality that leads the worship (college example) or the attitude of the followers (catholic example) or over zealous parents (children's choir example). I pointed out that this happens in youth ministry when the minister makes it about them and their needs rather than the students and families. Now, my attempt at an exciting conclusion to the previous post!

Just now I had a "God moment". This week I celebrated communion with the youth. As we were talking about Maunday Thursday the pastor asked a question to the youth. What things do you notice that have the death and rebirth that we are celebrating this week? The youth pondered (we hope) in silence and then started to respond. When this issue crops up in a church it calls for death and rebirth. We have to do this to break habits, addictions, and even traditions that lead us astray. 

There is a song called "Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman. I found an article discussing this issue on crosswalk.com: The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.

“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.

“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.” http://www.crosswalk.com/1253122/

They cut the issue out so that they could reform the way the looked at music. This does not need to be taken this drastic in each situation. One thing APU would do is to change up music worship a few times each semester. They might not have any one time, or another they would change the styles or have a different leader. After each chapel that was different I would usually hear either great praise for the new way or complaining. Sadly enough it was usually the latter. Even this though would get people to realize why they liked the old way and how it stirred them more. 

When a leader might be going astray then there are many different things that can help them "die to self" and focus more on God. One is just being removed from the stage for a while. Another is having a trusted person point out how things are coming across and what can be changed. It can be hard to change or address these things with a stray worship leader, but well worth it in the long run. 

Other changes can be more structural. One example is how some churches have moved their musicians to the back of church so no one can see them when worshiping. This allows all the members to not see a leader but to focus on the cross, altar, or words of a song. Others have adjusted to not have a single leader, but instead the leaders are the members of church. 

By using the dying and rebirth idea we can see how to change issues like our Children's Choir example. The choir first needs to go on break. There should be some discussion on why we are having the children sing in service. This can be a long and painful discussion. The demeanor of the parents and congregation needs to change. When the focus changes from the performance to worship (or student initiated) then the discussion should continue on. In the mean time it is important to not deprive the students of opportunities to worship through music. 

We have to trust God's perfect timing. It may take months or even years in many of these cases. I believe though that God will stir their hearts to come around and realize that its not about performing or being in front of the congregation, or about an individuals needs, but that the heart of worship really is Jesus.