What do you think of contemporary Christian worship in the mould of Hillsong and its kind? Does the sight of yet another beautiful person standing atop a concert stage leading worship -- with roughly 2,347 almost-but-not-quite-as-beautiful musicians and singers in the background -- make you want to hurt somebody (Darlene Zschech, for example), or does it make you glad that so many (young) people have a forum in which to worship God through song...even if that song is sentimental enough to make James Blunt cringe?
I am as yet undecided on such matters.
The following is an example of the kind of worship I'm referring to. Before viewing the clip, there are two things you should know. First, I like this song. Yes it contains the line "Clothed in rainbows of living colour", but think of all the great songs through the ages that speak of rainbows: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, My Favourite Things, and Moon River to name three.
Second, I'm quite fond of Kari Jobe. She doesn't know who I am, nor do I really know who she is, but I'm not going to let such trifling matters get in the way of true love. Make no mistake about it: She will be mine; oh yes, she will be mine.
I am as yet undecided on such matters.
The following is an example of the kind of worship I'm referring to. Before viewing the clip, there are two things you should know. First, I like this song. Yes it contains the line "Clothed in rainbows of living colour", but think of all the great songs through the ages that speak of rainbows: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, My Favourite Things, and Moon River to name three.
Second, I'm quite fond of Kari Jobe. She doesn't know who I am, nor do I really know who she is, but I'm not going to let such trifling matters get in the way of true love. Make no mistake about it: She will be mine; oh yes, she will be mine.
Finally, a list of things to look out for:
The Native American guy beside Jobe who looks completely out of place. (To preempt accusations of racism, I'm not just saying that because he isn't in a casino or a Steven Segal movie.)
Chris Daughtry on drums.
The numer of guitarists on stage. (Beat that Lynyrd Skynyrd!)
The guy who does a vocal harmony at 2:29.
The spanish guitar run at 3:52. I'm beginning to think every worship song should find space for at least one spanish guitar run.
The last minute and a half. Mayhem.
So, you whose opinion I immediately disregard trust. How do you feel about this modern phenomena? Is it to be embraced or lamented, or something in between?
Why do leading contemporary worship leaders tend to be total hotties?
ReplyDeletePreachers aren't, neither are theologians.
Should this not alert us to something amiss?
I fully concur: our preachers and theologians should be AT LEAST as hot as our worship leaders. Something urgent must be done to correct this.
ReplyDelete:-)
As for an actual answer, I'll need to do some more research. And by "research" I mean looking at more Kari Jobe videos on YouTube.
I think your man Hauerwas has a good answer to that first question:
ReplyDelete"...to make the church at home in the world..."
I think what matters is the heart of the people involved. A four year old kid getting the words wrong to 'Jesus loves me this I know" is as pleasing to God in my book as the people in that.
ReplyDeleteThe issues for me would be where worship is performance orientated and people need the two choirs, London Philharmonic, and Victoria Secret models to enter the presence of God.
Worship is a command and a sacrifice. I take the view that my life is an act of worship. An hour or so of songs on a Sunday morning isn't as important in that context.
shouldknowbetterbynow,
ReplyDeleteThe heart certainly matters, and if it is not in right relation to God then what we say with our lips and do with our bodies is irrelevant.
If there was one criticism of this form of worship that I'd make, it's that it removes the relational character of worshipping God. The combination of beautiful people playing inoffensive music on a bright stage might well lull hearts into a false sense of security in the face of a holy God who desires that we also be holy. (Is ugly people playing offensive music on a dark stage the antidote?)
The other side of the coin is that it removes the boldness. Such worship isn't conducive to genuine protest or lament. The dynamic at work (as I see it) is that the people on stage are selling something and the people in the congregation are consuming it.
Therefore, I think prepackaged contemporary worship makes it difficult for God to relate to his people in all the ways that he can (comfort, conviction, love, exhortation etc) and it makes it difficult for God's people to relate to him in all the available ways (praise, thanksgiving, protest, lament, trust etc).
@Dec
ReplyDeleteI think you're onto something there but it's more a symptom of that particular ecclesiological incarnation that tends towards a consumption mindset.
That's something I fell into once. The big massive band and crowd doing worship gives a massive emotional lift at times. I found myself equating that with God or the presence of God which is a dangerous place to be in.
Contemporary worship is only part of that problem. The other parts I'm still thinking about.