Depth or Depression?
Jan
2008
I’ve been reading a lot of articles, blogs, etc. about worship; what it should be, what it isn’t and all that good stuff. People my age are crying out that they want more depth and meaning to worship.
I was at a conference recently where 5 recording artists were sharing new worship songs they had written and one of them stopped to thank the panell for writing songs that “finally had some depth.”
Now I understand what they’re talking about and certainly I think there is a whole lot about God and worship that we haven’t even scratched the surface on, but do we really need to have candle lit vigils where we sing about deeply theological concepts every week? Are we really thinking that we need the word propitiation in a song? Try making that rhyme!
At Clovis Hills, we’ve gotten comments that suggest we are going deep enough in our worship; that we play 3-4 upbeat songs and call it a day. But let me ask you this; should we be planning worship sets that are what the American Church “needs” or should we be singing songs that meet the needs our community. In the Fresno/Clovis area, people work really hard. They generally do pretty well financially and they are pretty churched, though not always living that out to the fullest. Shouldn’t we do songs that breathe life into people like that?
So many people want to return to this liturgical style of worship and let me tell you, I grew up Catholic. I’ve had about enough of the repitition of the liturgy. Who wants to chant when we can raise our hands, move around a little bit and sing at the top of our lungs. To me, that’s life and that’s worship.
I’ll say this: I grew up raising my hands and moving around and what not and now find incredible depth in liturgy. Perhaps it’s the case of the grass is always greener, or maybe we need to continue to find new expressions that lead us into the depths of worship. Having different experiences and finding new words or practices in experiencing God are important for us to provide people who look to us to lead them to the cross.
be careful about mixing things up too much… of course you are not working at a lutheran church, so I guess you can assess your own situation.
Comment by Ryan — January 4, 2008 @ 4:36 am
Good question - it seems like everyone is mixed on this these days. I always come back to the words. I’m not big on candles or only having slow songs or only upbeat. I guess I must like a mix. But the words - I dislike worship that is only about all the things I’m going to do for Jesus and nothing about what He’s done for me. I think those songs have a place to call us together and remind us how we want to live. BUT, if it’s never about Jesus, His Character, what He did, what He’s done now … I get frustrated. I guess I want to focus on who He is, not who I am. Songs that claim over and over again, “It’s all for you, I’m giving everything up, I will never be ashamed, I surrender all, etc…” leave me thinking - that’s not true. I jack up those things everyday, I’m a sinner who never will “ALWAYS” do those things. But songs that set me the Gospel and amazing reality of Jesus - that reminds me what a great truth it is that I’m saved.
Does that make sense? I’m all for it being upbeat or reflective as long as it’s about Jesus! No matter what the demographic - we all need Jesus.
Comment by Alisha J — January 4, 2008 @ 6:28 am
First off, I really like Alisha’s comment. I totally relate to that.
I think when it comes to worship, you Mr. Paul have an impossible job. People simply do not respond to lyrics and music the same way. Every single person will be affected differently. So when people call for something with more “depth”, or people say they just want something simple and upbeat…. take it with a grain of salt. There’s a few thousand people sitting out there every week and each of them is in a different mood and a different place in their walk. You can’t please them all, or even most of them, every single week.
Therefore, I say we switch the entire worship set to Christian metal songs.
Ok, seriously, I like variety. Even acts like those singers we had at Christmas, who absolutely drove me crazy, I can appreciate. At least it was something new and interesting and got me to pay attention.
I also liked when we used to throw in a traditional hymn every now and then. And let me ask you this; how come we never do a bluesy worship tune? Or a country styled one? Do they not exist? What about a full on acoustic set some day?
Comment by Dana — January 7, 2008 @ 2:37 am
Hey Paul, You know, I have to say that I really like the music that we do at church every week. I also have a number of “cyber” friends that look to me for good Christian artist recommendations, and when I’m at church, I’ll make a note of the artist of a song that you guys have done, and if I can, I add it to my music playlist on my site, so that others have a chance to hear it too. I think the music at Clovis Hills is great, but I know that not everyone is into all the songs we do. You do an awesome job of helping us all remember what we’re there for. Just thought I’d let you know my opinion. Oh and by the way, I like the new layout. (Confused me for a minute- thought I went somewhere else, but anyway.) Blessings to you!
Comment by Shalene — January 7, 2008 @ 11:29 pm
I think you all are right, there are a lot of folks that have a lot of different opinions and as Alisha said, if it’s not about Jesus then it just isn’t worth doing. I think my beef comes when we do stop looking at each individual church, city or community and implementing music or any other kind of ministry that isn’t geared toward them. There’s a growing movement that has all sorts of opinions on what “the American church” should be, some of their points are valid, some not, but when people suggest that every church do things one specific way it just gets hairy. What works at Clovis Hills might not work at Saddleback or the smaller church right around the corner. My gig is trying to understand the people we are trying to reach and lead in worship that draws them closer to Jesus.
Comment by PAUL — January 7, 2008 @ 11:38 pm