1. “Everyone sings in my church.”
Some commenters report that everybody sings in their churches, and they see none of the problems I mentioned in the article. That’s good news.
We all see life through our own lens, wherever we happen to be. This article reflects my view. But my lens is a national one. My work puts me in contact with thousands of churches from coast to coast. The views in last week’s article are not drawn from any particular church—and not from my own church, which works hard at being intentionally participative.
Rather, my reflections in the article represent a composite of thousands of churches in America that have indeed seen declines in participation—and not just with congregational singing.
2. “You have fueled the fires of new vs. old. God help you.”
I am sorry. I did not intend to ignite the old worship wars, pitting traditional music against contemporary music. It seems a number of commenters attempted to “read between the lines” and judge me as a mercenary against contemporary music.
Not true at all. I love the contemporary genre. And the classic hymn genre. And bluegrass. And jazz. God can be worshipped with all kinds of genres.
Musical genre is not the issue. Congregational participation is the issue.
My comments about overamplified sound speak to congregational participation, not mere decibel levels. And if we’re talking about participation, it’s important to consider what we—regular attendees and visitors—hear in the room. If we hear only the people on stage, then it sounds like a performance. If, however, we hear the clear sound of the congregation, the community of believers, praising the Lord together, then it sounds like participation.
The performance issue is one that is particularly troubling with Millennials. Their authenticity antennae are up. We recently talked with a college student who explained why he left the church he attended. Watch this brief clip.
During our research for our new film, When God Left the Building, we talked with a young Millennial man who joined the worship band at a large church. Over time he became uncomfortable with the performance-focused stage presentations. He walked away. Eventually, he joined a church that intentionally strived to focus the congregation’s adulation squarely on Jesus. They placed the musicians behind a curtain.
Successful Christian band Gungor recently took a similar step with a participatory worship event called Liturgist. Band leader Michael Gungor said, “Liturgy is built on the work of the people, rather than on anybody in particular. We create an experience that has very little to do with Gungor. We hide individual personalities. We make it more of a collective experience.” So the band is artistically obscured behind a translucent curtain.
I recently experienced this fully enveloping time, joined in the robust congregational singing, took part in the Eucharist and thoroughly worshipped the Lord.
