At Ustick Baptist, we worship as one body together, showing grace toward one another. With this in mind, each of our two Sunday morning worship services is the same, with people of all ages and backgrounds and musical preferences worshiping side by side. We invite you to join us in worship this Sunday.
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Part 9 in the “Why We Do What We Do” series.
If we were to rank musical styles on a scale of one to ten, one being the most Christian, what would the order look like? Classical #1 and country #10? Straight four-part harmony #1, jazz #10, and pop/contemporary falling in line at a respectable #5? I’m pretty sure our rankings would depend on which musical language we most resonate with. And if that’s true, it would probably make as much sense to ask which language is more Christian: Russian or Spanish. Or, for that matter, Classical Greek or Aramaic.
As Reggie Kidd states in his thoughtful book With One Voice, no one style embodies worship better than another. Christ “stands above classical culture, above folk culture, and above popular culture.” As an analogy he points to the different communication styles in which God chose to disclose the gospel message: Mark’s gospel, the least elegant yet crispest and liveliest; John’s, simple in words yet deep in theology. Paul’s letters profoundly functional; the book of Hebrews, more classical in tone. Yet the beauty of the gospel shines through all of these.
In our own church this past year our musical language of worship has included “specials” ranging from old-timey fiddle to straight-up classical, cowboy guitar to joyful jazz, with a little bit of rock thrown in. Each time an individual or group plays or sings in a style that is “them,” you can see smiles on the faces of people all over the room. It’s like we know, “This is something special, this is someone using his or her unique gifts for the Lord.” Even if it’s not our own style of choice, we know that there are people sitting in the room with us who are eating it up, and because of that it makes us all happy for each other in the Lord.
Even our congregational singing has included soaring ballads and jiving pop. We’ve sung harmonies along with improv’d instrumentals, and we’ve sung simple melodies a capella. We’ve sung songs and hymns in their familiar styles, and we’ve sung them in new ways.
So why do we use different styles of music in worship?
First, to acknowledge the musical gifts and musical tastes of our particular church body. The Bible makes it clear that the Lord Himself puts together each local body of Christ as He desires (I Cor. 12:18). At UBC we have our own woodsy fiddle players and jazzy saxophonists, classical vocalists and grooving backup singers. We have church members whose car radios are dialed to Air One and others whose radios regularly play KNJY. Kidd says that it must bring our Savior “satisfaction to grace one fellowship with a heap of the [Blues] and a dash of Bubba, and another with a boatload of Bubba and a sprinkling of Bach.” Worship music can be a tangible, joyful picture of how the Lord takes people of widely varied tastes and joins them together to lift up His name with one voice.
A second reason to use a variety of musical styles in worship is to make our worship more meaningful. Sometimes we’ll take a usually fast-paced song and slow it down so we can meditate on the words. Other times we’ll infuse a song with a creative beat that brings an energy to our praise. Sometimes we’ll sing a song familiarly so that we can easily enter into the music and let the words sink in. Other times we’ll change up a familiar song so that the words come across in a fresh way. Bob Kauflin writes, “Hymns are especially suited for innovative treatments that help us hear the words from a new perspective. Moving beyond traditional tunes and arrangements shouldn’t bother us too much since most hymns were written without music, and a favorite tune only emerged over time.”
A third reason for stylistic variety is what is often called “flow.” Each time we gather to worship the Lord, we are entering a specific journey of worship, and we look to the Holy Spirit to lead us where He wants us to go. We in the worship ministry pray that we will be able to create a specific musical context that, while facilitating worship, doesn’t draw attention to itself. We consider carefully how to keep the music from seeming erratic or disjointed. For example, when we follow a contemporary song immediately with an older hymn, it could be jarring to stop abruptly and change styles. So sometimes we continue the rhythm of the previous song to keep everything in context. On the other hand, if song after song is in the same tempo, same key, same “feel,” we might all be dulled to distraction. So sometimes creating “flow” will mean we switch gears and move to a new musical style at an appropriate point in our worship. It’s a skill, an art, to weave together different styles and yet not seem random (a skill we are always honing, as we know there is much room for improvement!).
Music is a gift God has given us to help us worship Him. Just as He calls us to use our spoken words to honor Him, so He calls us to use musical language wisely and creatively for His glory. Eph. 4:29 tells us to speak words that are “good for edification, according to the need of the moment, giving grace to those who hear.” A thoughtful worship ministry team will apply this admonition to their musical “language” and, with sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, craft their music so that it brings ultimate glory to God and builds up His church.
Worshiping with you,
Jeanelle
Part 8 in the “Why We Do What We Do” series.
Distraction is part of being human. We see it when we drive a familiar route to work and upon arriving realize we can’t remember getting there because we’ve been basically on autopilot. We experience it when we read the same paragraph of a book over and over because our focus has repeatedly been lost halfway through. We are embarrassed by it when in a conversation our friend stops and asks, “So what do you think?” and we haven’t been paying close enough attention to even fake an answer. So it should not surprise us when we’ve just sung a song in church and we can’t even remember what it was about. This is part of the “frailty” that Scripture says God understands about us. But is it pleasing or acceptable to Him in our worship? No.
Jesus makes this clear when He says, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me” (Matthew 15:8). He is referring to people whose lifestyle is a constant disconnect between what they say and what they do, but as those whose desire is to always please the Lord, shouldn’t we strive to have fewer and fewer such moments of disconnect, especially in our worship?
Thankfully there are tools to help us. One tool we see in Scripture is repetition. Psalm 136 exclaims “His love endures forever” 26 times. In Revelation 4:8 we are told that the worshipers before the throne never stop saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” Repetition helps us to sit with a truth for awhile and bring our hearts in line with what we’re singing. The bridge of one of our songs says, “You were, You are, You will always be.” Can we ever really wrap our minds around this eternal truth?! After all, “How unsearchable are Your ways”! It’s not that we necessarily understand the phrase better each time we sing it; rather, we’re more and more in awe of the magnitude of what we’re singing! Or take another song lyric we sometimes repeat: “Thank You for the cross.” It’s one thing to casually tell someone “Thanks for that.” It’s quite another to stop and say, “No, really, thank you for what you’ve done for me, my friend. It means more to me than mere words can say. I don’t know how to say thank you enough.”
Another tool we find in Scripture is the Hebrew word “Selah” which we find used often in the Psalms. The NASB Study Bible notes explain that “Selah” may mean “pause, crescendo or musical interlude.” Psalm 3:2 says, “Many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no deliverance for him in God.’” Then it follows with “Selah” (dramatic pause . . . let this sink in . . . now listen up:) “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me . . .” So sometimes in the musical part of our Sunday morning worship time we will pause between songs, or even in the middle of a song, to pray silently or to reflect. Or other times we will have a short musical interlude, not so that the musicians can display their skill but so that our thoughts can be refreshed and refocused for the next words we sing. It’s our way of saying “Selah.”
A third tool that can help us stay focused in our worship is to stop the music for a moment and let the God-breathed words of Scripture speak for themselves. This is a powerful way to bring our thoughts back around to where they should be. A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of actually sitting in the pews and just soaking in the time of worship. When the worship team paused between songs and read with great expression Scripture after Scripture where God “opened the eyes” of one of His children, I was filled with hope that God still does this today. My heart was primed to hear what He would say to me through the sermon to follow. Scripture itself brought me to a place of great expectation.
These tools are only that — tools — to help us worship. None of them will be effective if we have no desire to enter into worship in the first place. But if we do come on Sunday mornings wanting to please the Lord in our worship, then His Spirit will use all of these things to bring our sometimes wandering thoughts right back to where they should be: glorifying and communing with Him.
Worshiping with you,
Jeanelle
Part 7 in the “Why We Do What We Do” series.
Have you heard comments like these?:
There seem to be two basic trains of thought: The first says that worship is to be all about declaring the holiness of God, His “otherness.” The more we sing lyrics layered with doctrine, the deeper our understanding of God and our love for Him will be. The second train of thought says that worship is meant to be a time of drawing near to God, a conversation with Him, an experience of expressing our adoration to Him and listening to what He is impressing on our hearts.
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This is Part 6 of our series “Why We Do What We Do.”
In every generation God’s people have sung songs of worship. Each generation sings songs that have been passed down from those who have gone before, and each generation writes brand new songs that will be gifted to those who follow. There is a richness in the whole spectrum of old and new which allows us to experience both a familiarity and a freshness. Let’s explore this richness a little further.
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This is Part 5 of our series “Why We Do What We Do.”
Why are both of our Sunday morning services the same rather than one “contemporary” and one “traditional”? That question is probably one of the most common ones we in the worship ministry at UBC hear. The reasoning goes something like this: Wouldn’t it be easier to make everyone happy if we offered specific worship services that met their individual preferences? Then everyone could worship in the way they relate to best. (Note: Almost without exception the people asking this question are referring to musical style, not the pastor’s sermon or any other element of the Sunday morning service.)
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This is Part 4 of our series “Why We Do What We Do.”
Did you know that …
The Worship Idea Team looks at the sermon topics and discusses ways to bring the theme before the congregation. Some recent examples of this are:
Part 3 in the “Why We Do What We Do” series.
There is no one “perfect” way to approach congregational worship music. Throughout the church’s history the Sunday morning meeting time has varied from era to era, from culture to culture, from church to church. Those of God’s people who love Him have always worshiped wholeheartedly. In the Temple with thousands of musicians leading. From home to home when a fledgling church began singing spiritual songs about the risen Christ. In elaborate cathedrals, in austere Puritan meeting places. Led by a single director, led by a choir, led by a piano and organ, led by an orchestra, led by no one. Worship music is not necessarily done “better” in this generation than in previous ones, nor is it “better” than what will happen in generations to come.
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This is Part 2 of our series “Why We Do What We Do.”
The subject for this month’s column is near and dear to my heart. I am a person who covets time by myself — time to read, reflect, plan, gain perspective, worship, study the Word, go for a walk, play a musical instrument. I find great enjoyment in carving out a few hours of time to craft the flow of a worship service or arrange a new song for the worship team. However, as much as I enjoy these “alone” activities, there is nothing that can ever take the place of gathering together with the body of Christ to worship Him. Nothing.
This is Part 1 of our series “Why We Do What We Do.”
This month begins a series of articles discussing why we do what we do in our Sunday morning worship music times. I am very much looking forward to this process of searching Scriptures together to find what they say about this subject, as well as exploring who God is calling us to be as a church, with our own unique place in His kingdom.
So, our first question is: Why do we sing at all when we worship? As with every aspect of serving the Lord, we need to understand why we do it. Is it to provide an outlet for the more musical among us? Is it to fill up time in a worship service? Is it to show off talents? Is it to make a show of our spirituality? (If we answer any of these questions with a “yes,” we’d better take a serious look at our motives!)
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There are many ways to become involved in worship ministry here. Some possibilities are:
There are different responsibilities and requirements for being involved in each of these ministries, but for all of them we ask that volunteers live a lifestyle of worship throughout the week, bring a heart of worship with them as they serve in this ministry, and commit to becoming an integral part of the body of believers here at Ustick Baptist.
