Jubal’s Jottings

I’ll have to admit that I heard a lot of Christmas music this year…as in live concerts! In most cases they were quite good. They ranged from large choirs with hired orchestras to small churches doing quite well with lesser resources. These concerts provided a sense of the season for their church communities – for those who participate and those who attend. There are, however, a couple of troubling trends that I just must comment on.

Trend #1 – of the concerts I’ve attended, there seems to be a pretty comfortable sense that these churches have done something like this for several or maybe even many years. Comfort is all right, you know like “comfort and joy,” unless it starts to get too familiar and stale. I saw one church that advertised the “64th Annual” Christmas concert. It must be really good, so they just HAVE to do it every year…or perhaps it has become the expected, obligation, status quo thing to do – so they just keep doing it. The sense of outreach can get lost in the comfortable nature of things. The same people come every year, and may even invite the same people to come with them – and attempt to call it outreach. Comfortable is OK, but where’s the balance with reaching beyond the walls of the church at a time of the year that is most uncomfortable for many?

Trend #2 – some church that are particularly modern in style are not doing Christmas concerts or much Christmas music of any kind at all. I know this sounds a little contrary to what I said in Trend #1, but I firmly believe that people of all ages are looking for things that sound like Christmas at this time of the year. They may, in fact, hear more music that sounds like familiar Christmas in shopping malls than in the worship services of many modern style churches. Frankly, Christmas doesn’t “modernize” in too easily! The average guitar player can’t play carols too well – there are just too many chords! They don’t have the chops! So, there is a tendency to just not do the familiar songs of Christmas. AND, since these churches don’t have choirs or organs, what else can they do? Yes, there are many excuses about why they minimize the season, but the truth is that they generally don’t have the resources and/or skill to do it – or even make the effort. AND, if that wasn’t all, there is likely no mention of the Advent season in these settings at all. I know that’s a big word when you’re trying to be “friendly” to the post-Christian society in which we live. However, I think a uniquely outreaching, “friendly” church might attract some seriously seeking people if they would do some Christmas events, including music, that were traditional in nature.

Jubal, I know you didn’t have Christmas! See what you missed?

P.S. did you know there is so much doctrine in the carols of Christmas that is either missed when we sing them so tritely, or by not singing them at all? One example – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing was written by Charles Wesley within the first year of his dramatic conversion experience. Is it any wonder that you see phrases that are so important to our faith in that familiar carol. There are phrases like…”God and sinners reconciled…offspring of the Virgin’s womb…incarnate Deity…God with us, Emmanuel…Ris’n with healing…Born that man no more may die…Born to give them second birth…” See what we miss when we don’t sing these songs? We should do them 3 or 4 times a year! They contain more theology than some of the songs we sing 12 times a year! Merry Christmas!

There is much written these days (including a very nice, popular worship song) about the “heart of worship.” I think coming back to the “heart of worship” is a good thing…but how many times can you sing the song and KEEP coming back?” Have we gone so far astray from God that we have to keep coming back by singing the song every week???! I hope we’re not that far off! Anyway, while the “heart of worship” is a good, basic principle, I was wondering whatever happened to the HEAD of worship? There are interpretations (that I happen to favor) of worship “in spirit and in truth” that speak to the issue of balance in our worship…the “spirit” representing the heart and emotional nature of worship, and “truth” referencing the factual thoughts about God in our worship. So, to be truly balanced, perhaps we should come back to the “head of worship” as well as the heart. If we were to be thoughtful and focused on the attributes and character qualities of God, it might actually enhance our emotional, heartfelt responses to God in our worship as well. If we were looking for the “head of worship” in our music we might see which pieces had substance in the lyrics, and which ones do not. And, perhaps, we would also recognize things about God that we missed because we were focused only the “heart of worship.” Hmmm…?

Jubal, let’s write a new song…”I’m coming back to the head of worship…”

On October 31st I wrote a little blurb about Substance, Not Style. Well, one of our faithful readers found the solution to permanently solving the issue of substance in new worship songs. I appreciate him sending this to me…and thought I should share this most profound solution with the world of our readership! Here it is…

http://wittenburgdoor.com/archives/madlibs.html

Please check it out!

Jubal, how did you do any music without this handy link?

I can hear the gasp now…LITURGY! That’s the sort of reaction I was conditioned to have when hearing the word earlier in life…LITURGY! I do find that at this point in life some liturgy in the context of public, corporate worship is very nice…solid, substantial, affirming. Why are some so afraid of the term? After all, the word liturgy comes from a perfectly good Greek word – leitourgia. One of it’s original meanings was that of the “work, or service, of the people” – as in public service, helping people, ministry to others. The things you did for the benefit and good of others was leitourgia. What’s wrong with that? It didn’t have anything to do with corporate worship. However, once the meaning of leitourgia did come inside the walls of the church, it was attached to the “work, or service, of the people” toward God – a ministry of service directed toward God. What could be possibly wrong with that?

I do know the reason for my earlier conditioned response. The presupposition was that liturgy was equal to words like rote, stale or “vain repetitions.” While those could all be true of liturgy, I think it could be honestly said that my “free” church foundations were equally predictable, with maybe a small amount of lessened creativity, and a dash of pride, perhaps. And, it was a limited view of what liturgy is and has been meant to be. So, perhaps we should try going back to leitourgia as our model of worship in action. What does that mean? Well, perhaps reminding ourselves that what we do in corporate worship is a ministry of service by the people focused on God – regardless of style issues. It may ALSO mean – get ready – that our worship needs to take place as leitourgia OUTSIDE the walls of the church – serving, as worship, the community in which you live and serve – doing it as unto the Lord! Maybe that’s what liturgy was always intended to be – an inside out purpose and function.

Jubal, did you have liturgy…or maybe you’re one who mixed up the meaning?