Why Do We Do That? – Creative Arts (part 2)

May 28

BenMiscellaneous, Why do we Do That? No Comments

Why do I use creative arts in worship? This is a question that I will probably vascillate on for years to come, especially when it comes to different forms of creative arts. Here are a couple guiding principles that I go by:

God created people with creative tendencies

This is the argument from “general revelation” that I mentioned in the last post. However, I think it can be supported biblically as well. When God placed Adam in the garden, he charged him with two tasks: name all the creatures and cultivate the land (Gen 2:15, 19). I find it interesting that one of those tasks was mundane and work-based and the other was creative. I’d imagine it was sort of a fun game when God would bring the animals to Adam and “whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.” What would Adam come up with next? Did God need Adam to make up names? Had God run out of creative steam? No, it seems he created Adam with the ability to create, though it be a much lesser form of the work that God could do. God created people with creative tendencies and gives them opportunities to use them.

God evidently likes creativity

I also find it interesting that there are so many times that God asked people to create in the Bible. God called Bezalel and “filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft” to build the tools for the temple (Exodus 31:1-5). God cared enough about this artwork that he filled the artist with his Holy Spirit to get the job done. Throughout the Bible, he calls people to create for him. “Sing a new song,” he commands in the Psalms (Ps 96:1).  ”Act out the imminent exile of Israel in dramatic form,” he told Ezekiel (Ez. 12). We can see that God likes skillful creativity because he told his people to use creative forms to proclaim his truth.

The Priority of Truth

So when it comes to our Sunday morning gatherings, what is the best way to use creativity? Do we use creativity for its own sake? Is any form of creativity OK? This is where I come back to the priority of truth. God desires our meetings with one another to be centered around him. This means that the focus of any creative piece MUST point to God in a clear way in accordance with the way he has revealed himself. None of this, “I created this piece because I think this is the way God is.” That is the fast track to confusion about God’s character and the minimalization of his greater attributes. He has revealed himself, we don’t need to guess how he is. We want to create pieces that point people to the way we know God is according to the scriptures. I also don’t believe there should be room for interpretation in the creative elements we use in our services. As worship leaders, the picture we paint of God should be accurate and clear so that people can know him more.

Why Do We Do That? – Creative Arts

May 24

BenMiscellaneous, Why do we Do That? No Comments

In the last installment of “Why do we do that?”, I asked the question, “Why do we do contemporary and/or traditional worship?” Remember, I ask these questions not to incite wars or instill passions about forms, but rather to help us solidly know why we use the forms we do. In an effort to keep us thinking and examining our motives, I would like to ask the question, “Why do we use creative arts?”

In our day, it has become chic in the white city/suburban church to use various art forms in their worship. A lot is done in the name of relevance without much biblical thought as to how God might receive glory from it (or if he even asks for it).

To define creative arts, I am talking about any form that attempts to communicate by means of representation. Paintings, sculpture and tapestry are in view as well as graphic arts, video, drama, singing (corporate and performance) and even preaching.

I have heard many reasons given for why we should use art in worship. One is that our God is a creative God that made us with creative tendencies that we should use to glorify him. I believe this is a valid argument from “general revelation” (i.e. Creation), but I seldom hear reasons given from specific revelation (i.e. the Bible) except for singing and preaching.

On the other side of the coin, many throughout church history (especially in Protestantism) believed that art does not have a place in the church. Abuses where images and icons were used as idols, or where God is represented by an image of our own liking occasionally caused the church to react in an extreme prohibition of art. Some might also argue that because God is the ultimate Creator, we should be satisfied with the beauty he creates and not be distracted by our own handiwork that pales in comparison.

Then, to amplify the question, are there art forms that should be emphasized over others? Are there art forms to be avoided? Is it “anything goes” in the name of creativity (as it is in most of the art world)? In what ways should/could art be used? In what ways can we become too consumed by our own creativity?

I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this topic. I’ll try to post at a later time about how I have processed some of these things.

Why do we Do That – “Contemporary Worship” Part 2

Apr 28

BenMiscellaneous, Preferences, Why do we Do That? 1 Comment

Last time I asked the question: why do you do “contemporary” or “traditional” worship? In other words, why sing praises in the style you do? In asking this, I realize that worship is not at all about style or singing per se, but rather it is a way of life (in fact, I don’t really like the terms, thus the quotation marks, but we all sort of know what we’re talking about,  so I still use them). Still, singing praise to God is part of worship and most of us have chosen a style to use. So why? Below are some of the reasons I have landed on concerning why I use a “contemporary” style. And by this, I mean we still sing ancient songs of the faith, but we play all of them with modern instruments and cadences (and we sing brand new songs too!). I try not to even categorize music by hymns and contemporary songs anymore. It’s all about what we need to sing that day and what is helpful to the service. So here’s my reasons:

  1. It is a natural expression of our culture/era: Our culture expresses itself in a certain way. When was the last time you passed someone in their car singing their heart out to Bach? Now, this is not the same as following the culture. If I were doing that, I’d be trying to mimick the sound of what’s on the Billboard Top 100. However, if my job as a worship leader is to select songs that will be sung in the voice of the congregation, it is my job to pick both songs that will both accurately address theology and be a natural expression of that theology from the lips of the people. So I ask, “How does our culture naturally express awe? Excitement? Joy? Brokenness? Mourning?”
  2. It guards me from traditionalism: Dr. Jim Ayers at Lancaster Bible College taught me that tradition is a good thing… it’s traditionalism that’s bad. Traditionalism is maintaining a form not because it is helpful, but for the sake of the form itself. Traditions are good: prayer meetings, hymns, Sunday School and organs can all be good. Some traditions are commanded: the Lord’s Supper, Baptism, meeting together regularly, etc. But when we hold onto a tradition for any reason other than the fact that they point us to God and help us keep his commands… for reasons like nostalgia or because we’ve assigned undue worth to them or think that they are themselves the command of God when they aren’t, then we fall into traditionalism (and sometimes worse: legalism). There will come a day when my generation is 80 and won’t be able to let go of “How Great is Our God” done just like Chris Tomlin used to do it… I am constantly praying against that. If your tradition has not become the end in itself , then it’s fine to stick with tradition. Just don’t let it become the main thing.
  3. Worship teams show unity: The contemporary style allows me to use a team of gifted artists to create a unified sound that I couldn’t create by myself. It’s a small microcosm of the body of Christ working together in unity. I get excited about that every time I play with my team. I LOVE working with other artists and I LOVE seeing what they add to the whole. I also recognize the traditional version of this is the orchestra and choir, but in my church of 90 people, I don’t have that amount of volunteers.
  4. It’s what I’m good at: If you heard me try to play an organ, you would want to cover your ears and run out the back door like your pants were on fire. If you tried to follow me waving my arms in song leading, you would think a wasp had entered the chancel. So while this is not a primary reason, I do think it’s a legitimate reason for me to choose a contemporary style. There are many churches that could do traditional worship far better than I could at my church. So I’ll let them do it.

All of this means that if I were to go to a church that has a different style than I prefer, I can still worship. It’s probably not where I’ll stay for good, but it also doesn’t mean I can’t worship. But it also means that I have a good idea of why I do what I do. It’s certainly not a fully developed idea, but it’s a start.

Why do we do that? – “Contemporary” worship

Apr 15

BenMiscellaneous, Preferences, Why do we Do That? 4 Comments

I’m sort of a contemplative person. Sometimes to a fault. But I do believe that this aspect of my personality has helped me as a worship leader. I’m always asking the question, “Why do we do that?” Like a 4-year-old on a never-satisfied quest for a good answer.

So when I thought about what I could contribute to this blog (which is not much at all), I thought maybe the best thing I could bring is to get us thinking about “Why?” If we can think about the things we do through a biblical lens, it will either correct or embolden our actions and/or our calling to be worship leaders.

I wanted to start with a question that is has no direct biblical answer and therefore is more difficult to answer. For those of us who use contemporary worship, why do we use contemporary music instead of old songs played on an organ or piano? Or, on the flip-side, why do we use an organ or piano and only sing songs written pre-1960? I DO NOT ask this question to get the worship wars started AT ALL. There are many great churches that use a “traditional” style and many fantastic churches that use a “contemporary” style (there are many not-so-good ones on each side too!). However, I think it is helpful to think about why we do what we do, and I think that doing so will help us feel more comfortable when someone brings up the issue of style preference and we need to reason with them.

I think we are at a point in contemporary song writing that we can throw out worn-out answers to these questions like “the old hymns have more rich theology,” since in my experience, the hymns that stick around at hymn-sings and the in most churches actually have more experiential content and less theological content than the contemporary songs I choose week in and week out. I mean let’s face it, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” is not exactly a good representation of popular hymnody from ages past (though I love it and use it often!). At the same time, contemporary songwriters in the Sovereign Grace Movement, Harvest Bible Fellowship movement and others are bringing fresh, rich songs with which we can praise both the transcendant and imminent attributes of God.

On the instrumentation side, we can neither say that organs or guitars and drums are the chosen instruments of God. They are not in the Bible, and the instruments we find in the Bible aren’t around anymore (for the most part). I don’t think organs give us a bigger idea of the majesty of God because they pale in comparison. I don’t think keyboard synth sounds cause the Spirit to move more freely either! Yet I choose guitars and drums and synth and loops… why?

There are a million other questions here. Should we go with the preference of the majority? Should we go “blended” to make everyone happy (even though this often results in choppy services with generations staring into space, arms crossed while the organ bellows or the drums pound). Is it right to simply follow the style of the culture? Is it just about what the pastor wants or what we want? Should we just stick with what we’re good at?

So why do you do what you do in regards to worship style? Don’t try to answer why the other preference is worse… just think “Why does our church do what we do?” and see if your reason is a good one. If it’s not, then find a good one and work to change your motivation. I would love to hear why…