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Let's not forget that, while God deserves the best worship possible, we are all both gifted and "impaired" in unique ways, and how we can and will worship God is impacted by both considerations. How we worship--from the style of the service to the style of the music selected--will be affected by what our people can do, from a worship standpoint. I'm not talking just about what style of music is being used, I'm talking about motivation--why do our people think they're doing this worship thing?
Ideally, everyone will understand that when we sing in a church service, the music has some function intended to praise God, edify the body, convict of sin, etc. We all know all the right answers to this, but let's not kid ourselves. The body of Christ, at least in this country, is by and large too immature to appreciate worship for what it really is and for what it's really supposed to do. They're primarily going for a feeling in their music--"how does it make me feel?" This is as true of seniors who pine for "the old hymns" as for the Gen-X set who can't stand 'em.
This, however, is not to say that a certain style of music is appropriate only for Christians at specific levels of spiritual maturity. That is, contemporary music is for the seniors as well as the youth, and hymns with heavy doctrine are for all ages as well--as long as they can "digest" it. It does no good to insist on nothing but the great hymns for an assembly of what are known to be young Christians, or non-Christians. We can pretend that, with enough ramming, the great doctrines found in the old hymns can lead any to salvation (or at least a better walk with God), but we're fooling ourselves if we insist that it works the same way now as it used to. The Gospel never changes, but people do. We need to reach them where they are, in the language they speak.
The same goes for how they express themselves. Hymns will be good for them some day, but in the early stages of the Christian life, the simple fact is, they don't get it all. They need to be wading through heavy doctrine, not drowning in it. I remember in kindergarten we used to build what we called "The Wordless Book"--a little construction paper project that described sin, salvation, heaven, etc. We weren't expected to do an exegesis on the book of Romans. By the same token, young Christians have no business being forced to worship with materials they're not mature enough to handle. They need to taste the heavier meat, but a steady diet of it is inappropriate until they're old enough.
That brings us to that "forever young" set. I do not use this expression to trivialize this significant failing in many in the church. I am concerned that, as it is a reality that many in our churches are not mature enough to handle the stronger issues in what they sing any more than in what is preached to them, this has more to do with people in the church who never spiritually tried to grow up than true, brand-new converts coming in "off the street." The solution to this is not high-brow music, or weighty worship. If they've been in the church for ages and still can't become mature enough for weighty worship, the failing is in the discipleship mentality. The pastoral staff, the spiritual elders (not the "old people," but those who are spiritually mature)--all of these people have no one but themselves to blame for the fact that, for the whole congregation to worship together, the music has to be "dumbed down" to trivial, banal choruses (unless your music minister is resourceful enough--and cares enough--to find legitimately profitable song). If we were actually in the business of growing up men and women for God as well as making new converts, I daresay this whole music style conundrum would be perceived as the devilish distraction that it is.
Here's a scenario I might propose for churches in this predicament. One Sunday, tell everyone--EVERYONE--that, two weeks from now, there will be a survey taken on the issue of discipleship. (Maybe even tell them it will cost them something--if you're controversial enough, maybe you can unearth those persistent no-shows you can't shake off your rolls!) When the target Sunday rolls around, tell everyone that in their bulletins they will find a small card that asks offers these two proposals:
...and (here's the real kicker): make them sign their names. At this point you have a pretty good idea of who your mentors are and who your immature Christians are. This is hardly failsafe, of course; some people will have legitimate issues that prevent them from participating in this discipleship effort, but everyone who marks the latter option needs to be contacted. If they have a real problem (I've known an inordinate number of veritable spiritual giants who drove trucks and had too inconsistent a schedule to be counted on), they're excused. Everyone else--from the "I just don't have time" to "I don't think I would do a good job" to "I don't like one-on-one meetings like that"--clearly needs someone to disciple them a bit. Now, have someone who expressed interest in being a mentor contact one (or, likely, more than one) person who marked the latter option. Give them discipleship materials and have them meet on a regular weekly basis for a year.
I can hear it now: "Michael, where on earth do you get off proposing something like this? I'll alienate half my church!" (If it's only half, you've got a great church!) Try this:
"It was he [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:11-13, NIV, emphasis mine--also: worship is a "work of service," too!)
Can anyone seriously tell me that, in light of this evidence, the business of the church member is not to invest himself into the maturing of everyone else in the church? We are a BODY, and the body takes care of itself, makes sure it is growing properly. When parents see that their child's growth is stunted, they perceive that something is wrong and needs to be taken care of, not, "Oh well, it's none of my business."
Can we all please start recognizing we are a family, and in the eyes of God are responsible for each others' very lives? If the church could just get a whiff of this simple truth, the Spirit would move in ways reminescent of Pentecost.
Sorry, senior pastors, you just can't win! I harp on you last time (a little unfairly, I confess) about wanting to use "lite" music in worship; now I'm getting onto you for the general infancy of the church in America. But it's not the senior pastor's--or the music minister's, or the education or youth ministers'--job to make sure we are all performing our family (of God) duties. Paul doesn't include "bench warmer" in the list quoted above, so it seems pretty clear that everyone in the church must fit into one of those service categories--whether we like it or not.
You started to wonder if I'd ever stop, didn't you? Clearly, I could go on and on, but since you're not paying for this, I guess you're not obligated to have to put up with any more of it. Suffice it to say (finally!) that I've come to realize this: before we can have a unified attitude on true worship, we've got to have a level playing field. We all are to be mature, ready for the "great" worship.
I know, I know--wait until Glory.
In Christ,
Michael Mays
January 13, 2004