Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Steak on a Paper Plate - A Response

Yesterday I linked to this article from Trevin Wax about issues of formal vs informal in our church gatherings.   If you didn't read it I would check it out.  Here is my response to his post that Trevin also cross-posted on his blog.
Formal or Informal is Not the Main Issue

Being formal or not is more a function of the person who is leading and less about the structure that he imposes upon himself for leading the worship service. You can make a “contemporary” service feel very formal and you can make a strict PCA liturgy feel very informal. It depends on who is leading.

I grew up in a church that followed a very strict ELCA Lutheran liturgy, but the senior pastor had a way of making it feel personal and not simply a robotic recitation of words. On the flip side, I have been to services that are “contemporary” and “informal” that felt very stiff and awkward because those leading did not have the skill set to lead in a way that felt relaxed and more free.

So my question for those leading church services has less to do with the forms and much more to do with the right men leading those forms. Telling constant jokes and being silly can just as easily be placing into a “contemporary” form as it can be in a more strictly liturgical form. It is the man leading who will determines these things.

I do agree that if we never get a sense of the enormity, holiness, and majesty of God, we will produce shallow Christians who will fail to understand our deep need for repentance and forgiveness in Christ. But you don’t have to be wearing a suit and tie to get a healthy sense of the grandeur of God’s beauty, sovereignty, and holiness. Again, this has more to do with the men leading the service and less about what structure they choose to use for the service. The question is more who and then the how will follow.

It seems that the New Testament demonstrates this as well. We don’t see much detail in terms of how are services are to be held, but we see quite a bit of detail concerning the type of man who should be leading that service.

Formal or informal is not the main issue. In the end, shouldn’t there be a healthy sense of both in all our services if we are truly being human?

I believe that the more important question is “Who is leading and does that man have Biblical priorities in mind for the kind of service that he leads?” If the answer is “yes”, then in most cases the issue of formal vs. informal will take care of itself.

3 comments:

Patricia said...

Very well stated, Zach.

Matt Foreman said...

Zach, you wrote, "those leading did not have the skill set to lead in a way that felt relaxed and more free."

I agree entirely. Here's two questions I have: how do you define that skill set? And, can it be taught?

I have been in churches with worship leaders with doctorates in music, who play and sing amazingly, who have good theology, but don't seem to have discernment into what's going on in the room around them, aren't able to set the congregation 'at ease'; the music sounds good, the theology is good, but the congregation is left behind and is uncomfortable. I have known people who otherwise seemed to have good 'word' gifts, but couldn't keep the 'flow' in worship in any kind of confident way; their leading was always awkward.

Is this simply a sanctification issue, an issue of insecurity and awkwardness on the part of some? Or is it actually a gifting?

I recently posted an <A HREF="http://www.ekklesiahymns.org/?p=54>article on Values for Edifying Worship Music</A> (I normally wouldn't want to draw attention to it, but I'm interested in people's thoughts). Part of what I wrote is:

"The issue of leadership in worship music is the gift of being able to have a sense of the room and being able to “take the stage” without “dominating the stage”. It involves being able to have a congregation feel trust and confidence in following you. If the congregation is uncertain, no one is ‘worshipping’. Worship leading involves being able to teach songs to the congregation well and making them comfortable to sing them out well. It involves being able to function as a “flow-man”, keep things going, say appropriate words between songs when appropriate – knowing what to say, when to say it, and how not to say too much. It also involves being able to musically lead the worship team – have a sense of what’s going on, able to respond intuitively and lead while the music is being played, able to nuance and respond to the text of the song and the work of the Spirit in the room, and enhance it musically while it is happening."

Vitamin Z said...

Matt,

Thanks for commenting. I think it can be a gifting but also something that can be coached and learned. If I were you I would buy as many copies of Bob Kauflin's book Worship Matters and work through it with anyone who wants to develop as a musician in the church.

I agree with your quote. Well said.