What to do About the Worship Wars

Much like Bush thought a couple of years ago about the Iraqi war, many think the "worship wars" are over. Sadly for both fronts, they are not, and this Moody Magazine article by John Fischer discusses the latter: What to do About the Worship Wars

Of note, Fischer says:
According to Charles Finney’s Lectures on Revival of 1835, it took some churches a century to adapt to Isaac Watts. "People in numerous congregations continue to walk out of church if a psalm or hymn is taught from a new book. And if Watts’ psalms were adopted, they would split and form a new congregation rather than tolerate such innovation."

It looks like this "war" has been going on a lot longer than we thought!

Fischer goes on to make this claim, which is quite justified:
Suddenly it all looks very relative, doesn’t it? How far back do you want to go? How far forward can you stretch? It soon becomes clear that in trying to please everyone, you run the real risk of pleasing no one at all.

From which he comes to an ever-important conclusion, that
God is interested in using the conflicts that have arisen over styles of worship to help teach His church deeper truths: that there is a way of winning the worship wars that has nothing to do with the "blended or separate service?" question. It has everything to do with getting a bigger idea of what worship is and a more mature understanding of what the church is and what it is here to do.

And further, that
It’s our life, not a worship service, that will make us worshipers. We don’t go to church to worship; we go to church because we are already worshipers. And if someone is a true worshiper, which means their whole life is an act of worship, then what happens for 30 minutes of music once a week is a small thing indeed.

Fischer says the battle needs to be redefined. That
The war is not between those who want traditional worship and those who want contemporary worship. The real war is with the enemy who would do us in by dividing us and rendering us ineffective by our bickering and fighting.

Wow. Stepping on some toes here buddy!

Fischer then concludes his article with a call to move past bickering over a thirty minute segment of our worship service, and open our eyes to the harvest - a call to evangelism, to being willing to lay down our weapons for the sake of the Gospel.

He says:
Some 30 years ago a revival swept this country that came to be called the Jesus movement. Thousands of young people came to Christ, and many of them made their way into the church. It happened so fast and in such great numbers that churches forgot to tell these kids to cut their hair, change into suits, and leave their guitars outside. Churches that opened their doors to this influx had their "worship" drastically altered. Was this a stretch for some churches? Yes. But in every case where an adjustment was made, it was the joy and reality of new life that won out.

God help us in this New Year to unify, to love one another from the heart, and come back to the heart of worship.

When the music fades

All is stripped away

And I simply come

Longing just to bring

Something that's of worth

That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song

For a song in itself

Is not what You have required

You search much deeper within

Through the way things appear

You're looking into my heart

Chorus:I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

When it's all about You,

It's all about You, Jesus

King of endless worth

No one could express

How much You deserve

Though I'm weak and poor

All I have is Yours

Every single breath

(Matt Redman, 1999 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing))

WorshipGod08 Conference

I wanted to let you know about the WorshipGod08 Conference that I am planning to attend. Especially those of you involved in any of the Cedar Springs music ministries, I invite you to join me!
~ w

Merry Christmas!

"The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood."
John 1.14 (The Message)

May the incarnation of the everlasting God bring you great joy, both now and forevermore!

Vindy.com - Christian songwriters team up for charity

Vindy.com - Christian songwriters team up for charity: "Christian songwriters team up for charity"

Music Binds Worshipers

My pastor handed me an article recently by columnist Terry Mattingly titled "Blessed be the musical ties that can bind worshipers." I found Terry's website where you can read the column here: FM radio reality in church.

The gist of the article is this: Mattingly reports that picking music for megachurch worship leaders such as worship pastor Jeff Crandall (former drummer of the Altar Boys) will be difficult, since, as Crandall says, "Christmas may be the only time when people want to hear traditional music, no matter what age they are."

Crandall's church calls Christmas a "federal" event, by which I understand him to mean that it's a time when all three of their fundamentally different services experience the same choice of music.

"Even kids who are totally into hard rock want to hear a few carols, which makes it easier to put together a service that pleases everybody," he says.

"Pleases everybody"
Those two words are not the way I would describe the job of a worship leader. (It definitely doesn't describe worship at my church!) But from the sympathetic comments I sometimes hear, the short phrase seems to encapsulate the generally understood purpose of a worship leader.

Recently I spoke at a luncheon for retired people in our church. At the end of my presentation, one man asked, "West, you're 34. We're about 64 and up. What do you think we're thinking about music?"

A great question, and seemingly (to him and many others for sure) answerable. But it's not. I told the group that for whatever is ailing you in worship, someone else is relieved by it.

For example, we're not doing a Christmas concert this year. I heard from a few people how disappointed they were. But I also heard (from a senior no less), "Thank you for not having the Christmas program."

I've heard from some folks, "Please, can we have more organ?" But I've also heard from other seniors, tongue in cheek, "Can we just burn the organ?"

Some desire a particular style on the piano, others find it kitschy.

So I don't dare try to "please everybody".

Then please who?
So what is the answer? How am I supposed to plan worship? Who do I keep in mind when I'm sitting down at the beginning of the week to plan the service?

Fortunately, I'm in a church that is governed by a Session of 80 or so God-fearing Elders. These men and our pastor decide the direction of the church, both missionally and musically.

Last year we divided our services into two "styles", one modern, one traditional. After, I don't know, 6 or 8 months of that, we stepped back and evaluated what was happening. The modern service was busting at the seems, and the traditional service was dying. The answer the elders came up with at first was to "go back" to the blended service we had. Then later, in the same meeting, they rephrased it to say "move forward" into a blended service, meaning we would take on more of the form of the modern service, and less of the traditional sound so that from here on out, the sound would be more modern than before.

The first service, where we used mainly traditional sounds and songs, is now growing again and the second hour is still thriving.

Lesson learned
The lesson I learned is the exact opposite what Mattingly reports.

He says,
"The music unites, and the music divides. ... 'Blended' is the term used to describe a mix of traditional hymns and rock music, switching back and forth between pipe organ and those electric guitars.
"Their intentions are good....but the results are guaranteed to offend people whose music tastes are simply not compatible. Thus," he says of Crandall, "he believes that 'blended' services drive people away rather than pulling them together."

But I found that our church is not so childishly picky. (Is that too harsh?)

Yes, some have left the church. But that was mainly because we didn't go back to what they were used to. We do the same hymns, sometimes with the mighty organ, and sometimes with the band. And for those for whom the modern sound or rhythm or melody is just too unattainable, my pastor has invited them to find a church home that is just that -- home.

But the most uproar we ever heard was when we divided everything up. In other words, UNBLENDED is what was dividing our church. Our folks want the best of the old, and the best of the new.

Christ Community Church - David Hampton

Here's a video blog from Christ Community Church in Franklin, TN interviewing worship pastor David Hampton. Nothing profound here, but still a very helpful interview where David speaks about details of his ministry. Especially interesting to me is the way he manages rehearsals and volunteers.

Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

Heart Attitudes for the Worship Team MP3 DOWNLOAD

"Idolatry is the root sin behind wrong heart attitudes. The worship ministry lends itself to certain temptations that the worship leader needs to help his people guard against.

In this message, Bob Kauflin speaks about why people should serve in a worship team: because of God’s call, by his grace, and for his glory. Bob invites worship leaders to allow the Holy Spirit to do surgery on their own heart attitudes first."

© 2002 Sovereign Grace Ministries

Matt Casada, our Director of Music Ministries for Students, and I took the CSPC worship bands on a retreat a while back and listened to Bob's talk on heart attitudes. Very helpful. Download it for free here.

If you call yourself a Christian...

“If you call yourself a Christian but you are not a member of the church you regularly attend, I worry that you may be going to hell.”

So begins Mark Devers talks to college Christians. Read his rationale here: Na - Blog

Virtual M. Div.

Ever wish you had gone or could go to seminary? Check out this wonderful resource: Gospel Prism » Virtual M. Div.

Whose Glory Do We Make Music For?

This recent post with downloadable video from Bob Kauflin answers questions like:
“How do we know whether we’re successful as a musician or not? What standards do we use? Does being a Christian musician mean we only play or sing songs that reference our faith in Christ? If that’s true, then can someone glorify God as a member of a symphony orchestra or a jazz trio?”

Bob goes on to say,
It doesn’t matter whether we make music for the church on Sunday morning, for a recording, or in some completely different context. Our musical gifts are just that - gifts. May our music making, no matter where it happens, always be a humble servant’s response to the Gospel and bring glory to the Giver of all gifts.

Merry Christmas!

A funny video my Dad sent me this morning. Enjoy!

A Challenge

Recently I posted some recordings of my band doing other people's songs. A friend told me he thought that might be breaking the law. "What?" I thought. "Thousands of people have posted songs on YouTube, and I can't post a recording on my blog?" Anyway, I wrote the proper contacts about it, and found out that each song was owned partially by so and so, and partially by someone else; that I needed to pay one company $30 annually for posting it on the web, and another company another sum for the "mechanical rights" to record the song in the first place. One song company (Hillsong) outright denied me the right to place it on my blog because they said they can't be held responsible for what goes on my blog, and that having their song here would seem to suggest that they promote whatever material I post here. The letter implied that they've been burned in the past by this.

Anyway, I've put out a challenge to my bandmates to write a worship song that meets two criteria. The song has to be 1) congregational (i.e., singable, melodically accessible), and 2) the text must be a passage of Scripture.

Some have already stepped up to the challenge. We'll see the results in the New Year. The goal is to record the songs, place them on the church's web and here, and sing the songs regularly in worship.

We'll let you know how it goes!

The Golden Compass

A good review of the Pullman's trilogy, and some suggestions for response. Thankfully, Mohler (who has read the trilogy and seen the movie) doesn't say to protest or boycott. Instead, he says "I can assure Christians that we face a real challenge -- one that will require careful thinking and intellectual engagement."
Read the rest here: The Golden Compass -- A Briefing for Concerned Christians

Addressing One Another in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

My friend Bob Kauflin has done it again. Read his thoughts on what are just about the only straight-forward instructions regarding worship in the New Testament.

Addressing One Another in Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs | Worship Matters