One of the few things Christian churches have in common is congregational singing. In modern, western society there is almost no other setting where musically untrained people sing together. The fact that we sing in church often passes unnoticed because we are all so used to it. But it is actually quite a notable part of our Church Culture. Singing is a tradition which sets us apart from the rest of the world. What’s more, it’s one of the few emblems of our unity.
Why is this so?
Why do we sing hymns and choruses in our church services?
I expect that in most of our churches nobody knows. Few will have ever thought of the question. If asked, some may say “we’ve always done it”, or “we enjoy it, it adds life to the service”, or “it’s a way for everyone to get involved rather than just the minister”, or “the choruses help to make the church more relevant to the young people”.
These reasons, based on tradition and on the entertainment value of singing, fall short of the mark.
A better answer might be that we come to church to worship God and that singing is the way to worship. That’s better, but not quite accurate is it?
It’s inaccurate because not all singing happens in worship of God. Only a small percentage of the songs in the world are written to glorify God. Further, even the songs that are directed to God can be sung non-worshipfully: just because we’re in church when we sing them doesn’t mean we’re engaging in worship, for clearly, worship must involve a heart-felt appreciation of God, not just the mouthing of some majestic words.
Secondly, it’s inaccurate because worship does not need to include singing. Worship is a much larger concept and it can be expressed in many ways. Worship speaks of our longing for God, our awe and our total reliance on him, our joy, our thankfulness, our obedience, our desire to proclaim God’s grandeur to anyone who would listen, the dedication of our whole being to him.
If we move from thinking about singing to thinking about worship, then a whole new set of questions arise: What exactly is worship? Why do we call a worship service a “worship” service? (Come to think of it, why do we call it a “service”?) Why is it so natural to express worship in song? What is it that is needed to turn the mouthing of words into true worship?
I don’t plan to give answers to these questions, but I want to explain why they are questions which the Australian church needs to consider.
Vitality
The first observation which makes these questions worth examining is that for a long time people have been growing disenchanted with many of our church services. This is largely a reaction to the loss of vitality within those services, though at the same time it is in part the cause of that loss. Hymns and orders of service which once resounded with the celebration of life now reverberate with sombre funeral-tones.
Just as lethargy in an individual is a medical symptom which indicates a need for a change in lifestyle; so this loss of vitality within the church indicates a need for a change in our worship lifestyle. The growing number of people who are recognising this don’t want a few spiritual pills to pep them up, they want a change in atmosphere so that when they meet together they can rejoice at being part of God’s family.
Regaining Vitality
Secondly, three things affect whether congregational singing is worshipful or not: form, content and motivation.
Form – the type of song (hymn, chorus etc); the instruments used; the volume; using books, overheads or memorising words; the style of leadership.
Content – what do the words express; are the words about our life together as a church, or are they about God, or are they directed to God; do the words inspire the mind, or the heart.
Motivation – is the singing expressing the reality of the singers’ lives; do the singers actually believe the words they sing; is there a real heart-felt longing to draw closer to God to seek him and to serve him.
Form, content and motivation each need to be developed in a way that glorifies God, rather than to please ourselves.
Each of these issues needs to be evaluated in your context: the answers for one situation (race, age, level of Christian maturity, size of congregation, time of year etc) may not apply to other situations.
What Pleases God?
In addition to this, we must recognise that simply paying lipservice to worship is abhorrent to God. How do you imagine God reacts when our singing is simply the mouthing of words in the guise of worship? Or when songs which are meant to glorify him are simply performed for their entertainment value?
Hear what God thinks of “worship” which isn’t backed up by people’s lives: “I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. …Away with the noise of your songs!” (Amos 5:21-24, see also Isaiah 1:11-17) What foolishness to think that we could please God without arranging our whole lives so that they worship him!
Worship or Evangelism?
There is a belief in some quarters that worship is not something we ought to concentrate on. “We’ll all be able to worship much better when we get to heaven”, they say, “but while we’re on earth we should concentrate on evangelism. Evangelism is the one thing which has to be done on earth, not in heaven.” This would be correct, if “worship” simply meant music and handraising emotionalism. But this is not the meaning of “worship”. It is right to be concerned that music and handraising emotionalism could replace Jesus as the central focus of the church’es message. But the appropriate response to charis-mania is not charis-phobia! The appropriate response is to develop a deeper understanding of the totality of worship.
Worship is, in fact, at the centre of the Christian life, because worship is the act of proclaiming the worthiness of God. The purpose of this proclamation is not only to give God his due praise, and not only to give natural expression to the Christian’s Joy: it is also to advertise God’s preeminence to the surrounding world. That is, worship is evangelistic!
Resources
Now that I’ve raised all these questions without giving any answers, I’d like to suggest some books which may help you to think through these issues. Many authors have written about worship so it can be difficult to know where to start. Try to choose one which is written from within the church tradition you are used to. Let me suggest five possibilities.
1. Worship, by Graham Kendrick (Kingsway Publications, 1984). Kendrick is known for writing songs of proclamation to be used in street marches such as “Make Way”. You may also have heard his songs “Jesus, stand among us” and “Shine, Jesus, Shine”. He has a broad view of worship, though this book concentrates on worship within a church service.
2. Worshipping GOD, by R.T.Kendall (Hodder and Stoughton, 1989). Kendall is an American, turned British minister, strongly rooted in the Reformed tradition. This book is much stronger than most on the way worship must be integrated into the whole of life. Only two of the 26 chapters deal with music.
3. Worship His Majesty, by Jack W. Hayford (Word Publishing, 1987). Hayford is a grandfather and has been a minister of the word in the Charismatic tradition for many years. His song “Majesty” was probably the most often sung song in Australian Christian churches a few years ago. It’s worth reading this book just to discover the depth of meaning behind this song.
4. One Heart, One Voice, by Andrew Maries (Hodder and Stoughton, 1985). Maries comes from an Anglican background and writes of music as a resource for the building of worship.
5. If your church has a strong understanding of liturgy and wants to see how modern forms of worship can be integrated into an established order of service, have a look at some of the resources produced by the Fisherfolk. This music group comes from the Scottish “Community of Celebration” who’s aim is to foster a stronger sense of celebration within the church. An example of their work is the book Building Worship Together (Celebration Services, 1981).
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15)
Appendix
Romans 12:1 is the starting point for our understanding of worship.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.” (NIV)
I particularly like J.B.Phillips’ translation: “With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him.”
Notice six things about worship from this one verse:
1. Worship is a response to God’s mercy. As a preacher once told me, whenever you see a “therefore” in Paul’s writings, always ask “what’s that ‘therefore’ there for?” In the context of the earlier part of Romans, remembering “God’s mercy” means remembering that though we “exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather then the creator” (Romans 1:25), and although we are “without excuse” (Romans 2:1), and condemned by the Law, yet God is sovereign (Romans 9) and has provided a righteousness which “comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Furthermore, he has provided the Spirit to help us in our struggle with sin (Romans 8:1-17) and to help us to express to God the yearnings which can’t be put into words (Romans 8:18-27).
Worship expresses our gratitude and our admiration of such a merciful God.
2. Worship is an intelligent act. After taking mental note of all God’s mercies, we must choose to offer ourselves to God.
3. Worship is spiritual, but also involves our body. In fact we are to offer our whole being to God. Let’s get rid of any notion that some parts of our lives involve God while others don’t.
4. Worship is a sacrifice. God has more than enough cows and sheep, so we needn’t offer him that sort of sacrifice, but the sacrifice which pleases God is a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:16-17). Worship requires that we give up our very selves. The reason Jesus wanted to redeem us was so that we might become “a people of his very own”, totally given over to him, and “eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:14).
5. Worship necessitates holiness. We are to be consecrated to God (as Phillips puts it), set apart for his purposes. Our sacrifice has to be put through the refiner’s fire until all the dross has floated to the surface and been discarded. True worship goes hand in hand with purity of character.
6. Worship gives God pleasure. This is the surprise of it all: when we fallen creatures live worshipfully, we become pleasing to the Creator!