Christian Worship and the Needs of this Generation

Neither the indignant whining of the left nor the smug complacency of the right has registered with this generation. This generation wants to be part of something bigger than themselves, and to have this bigger purpose be relevant and authentic rather than merely superficial cheerleading. One area the Church needs to reckon with this is its worship philosophy and practice. For those not familiar with the 'worship wars', I'll spare you the gory details. Suffice to say, Christians from the get-go have argued with each other about what it means to properly worship God, and these debates continue today, sometimes ferociously. My burden here is not to dive head-first into these debates, many of which I consider harmful even though they are often motivated by the correct notion that few things in our existence are more important than better discerning our proper worship of God. Instead, what I'd like to do here is relate worship to the cultural thirst for authentic transcendent purpose. Postmodernism's insistence that there are no 'metanarratives' has been accepted by many in our culture, but the result has been a scorched earth existence for many who long for something better. On this score, PoMo has been momentarily persuasive, but not compelling. It is here where the church can effectively respond by thinking about how it does worship.

A recent front in the 'worship wars' has been the debate over the quality of Christian music. Contemporary Christian music (CCM) is often accused of reducing the emphasis on God in its lyrics, while exalting the feelings of humans. By supposedly switching the emphasis from God to man, CCM, to some, doesn't really qualify as authentic worship of God since God is not the focus of the songs. On the other side, traditional Christian hymnody is often accused of being out of touch with contemporary worshippers and does not ignite a reverent attitude with today's churchgoers. From the "thee's" and "thine's", to the lack of modern rhythmic influences, to its focus on God and the deemphasis of first person narrative, traditional hymnody is often seen as dry, old, tired, and completely removed from modern experience, which greatly reduces its ability to touch our hearts and evoke radical worship. Is a reconciliation possible between the two camps and the seemingly valid concerns of both, and can such a reconciliation speak to the cultural thirst for authentic transcendent transformation? I think the Psalms in particular provide some good food for thought here.

Perhaps surprisingly, The Psalms offer a balance between the declaration of God’s majesty and character, versus first person songs. It’s not good enough to just arbitrarily condemn the first person emphasis of contemporary worship songs. The problem is when these kinds of songs become our exclusive diet. But the same is true in the other direction, because by never stressing the first person in worship, we externalize rather than internalize worship and the transformative life power of worship gets choked out. The Baptist emphasis in worship of personal testimony to the unbeliever may lack the majesty of traditional Presbyterian worship, but it succeeds in communicating the experience of Christ to a dark world. These songs connect me to the story and the Person of Christ, and wonderfully round out our worship. We should be doing both in worship – exploring who God is and what he has done, and then reflecting on our personal appropriation of this story. Classical musicians can’t explore God’s truth in totality; it’s just one perspective on it.

The danger with absolutizing any particular mode of worship is loss of connection with the rest of the faith, and disintegrating the loops of influence and connection that are the hallmark of the genius of the Christian faith. This is the danger of having apartheid and segregated services, rather than working out worship in the context of the larger community. We need to find ways to let distinctive voices be expressed, while staying connected. Niche worship carries with it the danger of atomizing not only the Christian faith, but the community of the church. One dangerous result is that through worship segregation, we fail to speak to the culture's thirst for transcendent meaning. Niche worship can become little more than a pep rally for people who like the same style of worship. But this is not the picture of the NT church that Scripture provides. Nor is it the picture of worship given to us in the Psalms.

In particular, Ps. 150 is a grand vision of eschatological worship, where different instruments and all of heaven and earth in all its diversity come together in harmony eternally praising God. What's particularly instructive in the list of instruments in vv3-5 is that some instruments were used in temple worship (trumpet, cymbals, the string instruments), while others such as the tambourine and flute, were generally confined to secular uses. The 150th psalm is obliterating all such distinctions, and is giving us a grand metanarrative of worship where each distinct and diverse instrument plays its part, but in harmony with all the other instruments. It is a great symphony of praise to God, the grand final doxology of the Psalms. Ps. 150 does for worship what Paul does for the church in 1 Cor. 12.

The balanced worship theology of the Psalms can and should inform our present day worship philosophies, because it encourages us to engage our hearts and minds in both individual and collective purpose to praise God in spirit and truth. This vision of transcendent purpose is like water to a parched man, and if the church embraces it, we will be offering an alternative to our culture that is both biblical and attractive.