Zach Nielson over at Take Your Vitamin Z has eloquently summed up much of what I was trying to communicate with my "Examining Worship" posts. Here are the 3 most common problems facing songwriters:
1. Catchy Yet Simple Melodies: Writing melodies that are easily accessible to a large group of mostly non-musicians is very difficult, especially when most of our churches don't use musical notes on a page. If I were your average artist on the radio, I would just write melodies that are really catchy and sound good when I sing them. The worship songwriter cannot approach his craft so selfishly. The worship songwriter has unique constaints: Is this too high for the average non-singer? Is this melody too rhythmically challenging? Can this melody be quickly remembered? Is the range of the melody too extreme (like Silent Night or The Star Spangled Banner)? Writing for a large group of mainly non-musicians is not easy.
2. Unique But Not New: Writing songs that have lyrics beyond "grace, place, see your face, run the race" is difficult as well. Expressing great theological truth without sounding awkward is very challenging. We have a fixed message. Our Biblical content is unchanging. Within these fixed theological boundaries, saying something in a unique way (being creative) without saying something new (this would potentially be heresy) is quite daunting for the worship songwriter.
3. Creative and Clear: If I were a typical artist that was just looking to sell some records I could be artistically creative and to some degree could care less if my audience totally understood all my metaphors. They might just write me off as "arty" and that would be a good thing. For example, I love Radiohead and I seriously could not tell you what one of their songs is about. The worship songwriter does not have this luxury. They have to be creative enough to be respectable as an artist, but clear enough to have the mind quickly engaged in the truth that is sung. This again, is no small feat.
I recommend Zach's site for anyone with an interest in Church music, jazz, adoption, and pro-life apologetics.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday Meditations
During 2009, I will be reading the book of 1 John ever so slowly. During February and March, I will read chapter 1 each day, then move on to chapter 2 for April and May, and so on. And as a blogging exercise, I will take a few minutes each Wednesday to express what the Lord is teaching me as I read His word.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4; ESV)
Just as John started his gospel talking about the Word, so he begins this epistle talking about the Life. And just as the Word was with God and dwelt among us, the Life is eternal and yet is among us in Jesus Christ.
I think it is a wise thing to spend some time pondering the eternal nature of God, the unsearchable depths of the uncreated Son, and the immanence of Jesus, who emptied himself and became a servant, dwelling among us.
John begins his letter with the absolute truth of God. This is not a series of philosophical theories that may or may not work. This is the revelation of the eternal God from before the creation of the earth. But it is also the direct revelation that he has seen with his own eyes. There is no ambiguity, and there is no questioning the facts. The only variable is how we respond to this truth.
So the truth is revealed, the truth is clear, and the truth is proclaimed. John does not keep this to himself. Because God has revealed Himself, John must also proclaim what has been revealed. It is what brings fellowship between people because they have fellowship with God through Christ, who is the Eternal Life and gives us eternal life. And the truth makes our joy complete.
Are you sharing the truth of Christ with those who have not heard, and are not in fellowship with Christ? Are you in fellowship with those who are in Christ? Do you speak the truth to one another? It seems that John doesn't see any other way.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4; ESV)
Just as John started his gospel talking about the Word, so he begins this epistle talking about the Life. And just as the Word was with God and dwelt among us, the Life is eternal and yet is among us in Jesus Christ.
I think it is a wise thing to spend some time pondering the eternal nature of God, the unsearchable depths of the uncreated Son, and the immanence of Jesus, who emptied himself and became a servant, dwelling among us.
John begins his letter with the absolute truth of God. This is not a series of philosophical theories that may or may not work. This is the revelation of the eternal God from before the creation of the earth. But it is also the direct revelation that he has seen with his own eyes. There is no ambiguity, and there is no questioning the facts. The only variable is how we respond to this truth.
So the truth is revealed, the truth is clear, and the truth is proclaimed. John does not keep this to himself. Because God has revealed Himself, John must also proclaim what has been revealed. It is what brings fellowship between people because they have fellowship with God through Christ, who is the Eternal Life and gives us eternal life. And the truth makes our joy complete.
Are you sharing the truth of Christ with those who have not heard, and are not in fellowship with Christ? Are you in fellowship with those who are in Christ? Do you speak the truth to one another? It seems that John doesn't see any other way.
In Defense of Contemporary Worship
By no means can I present the definitive debate-ending argument for the use of contemporary worship in Churches, especially on a tiny little blog like my own. But I will offer these short thoughts.
First, nowhere in Scripture are we commanded in what our music should sound like. While we read descriptions of harps, lyres, and cymbals, we can never know if they played in 4/4 time, fast or slow, one part or SATB, major or minor, and so forth.
Second, the demand for exclusively traditional music is counter intuitive. When a man is converted, he is being asked to die to himself, his old habits and sins. There will be many changes. Yet he may work the same job, live in the same house, be married to the same woman, drive the same car. Does it follow that he should be made to abandon his old tastes in music for an outmoded and irrelevant style that is completely foreign to him? I believe that it could well be a hindrance to his worship. It would be much like the Latin Mass or the Arabic Koran. Most pre-Vatican II Catholics do not understand Latin, and most Muslims do not read or understand Arabic. It is not edifying to instruct people in a language they can't understand. Yes, he will probably have to stop listening to some bands because of their lyrical content, but Scripture encourages him to sing, and he will be most likely to sing in a way that is familiar to him. And unless he is a big fan of classical music, his comfort zone is within the realm of contemporary worship.
Contemporary worship music is merely a tool to help the body of Christ as they offer worship to God, just like traditional worship. I would contend that the arguments of traditionalists rarely deal with the style of music, but instead deal with the way in which it is presented. But these arguments can be made toward traditional music as well.
Let me know what you think.
coming soon... in defense of traditional worship!
First, nowhere in Scripture are we commanded in what our music should sound like. While we read descriptions of harps, lyres, and cymbals, we can never know if they played in 4/4 time, fast or slow, one part or SATB, major or minor, and so forth.
Second, the demand for exclusively traditional music is counter intuitive. When a man is converted, he is being asked to die to himself, his old habits and sins. There will be many changes. Yet he may work the same job, live in the same house, be married to the same woman, drive the same car. Does it follow that he should be made to abandon his old tastes in music for an outmoded and irrelevant style that is completely foreign to him? I believe that it could well be a hindrance to his worship. It would be much like the Latin Mass or the Arabic Koran. Most pre-Vatican II Catholics do not understand Latin, and most Muslims do not read or understand Arabic. It is not edifying to instruct people in a language they can't understand. Yes, he will probably have to stop listening to some bands because of their lyrical content, but Scripture encourages him to sing, and he will be most likely to sing in a way that is familiar to him. And unless he is a big fan of classical music, his comfort zone is within the realm of contemporary worship.
Contemporary worship music is merely a tool to help the body of Christ as they offer worship to God, just like traditional worship. I would contend that the arguments of traditionalists rarely deal with the style of music, but instead deal with the way in which it is presented. But these arguments can be made toward traditional music as well.
Let me know what you think.
coming soon... in defense of traditional worship!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Examining Worship: part III - Who is the focus?
This post is a follow up to Lecherous Worship
I think Louie Giglio put it well. "You know your church is healthy when people are going to lunch going 'God, how'd you feel about it. Did you like it? Did you get a lot out of it? 'cause we came for you.'"
In my last post in this series, I left out one category that could really have fit in either entry, the issue of over-emotionalism. I decided to address the problem of over-emotionalism under the heading of focus because it has a different effect than the other two. Songs and worship 'experiences' built primarily on emotions remove God and His works as the central foundation of our faith, and instead places our faith in how we feel. When our faith becomes captive to our emotions, our picture of Christ can become morphed and twisted to suit our desires. This is when we start hearing songs that talk about Jesus as though he is our boyfriend.
A close cousin to over-emotionalism is what I would call self-righteousness. It is singing to God of all the things we have done and will do on His behalf. This does not celebrate the Gospel of Grace. It is work righteousness.
Jesus Christ did all the work on the cross for us, while we were dead in our sins. Worship begins with a grateful recognition of who God is and what He has done. Yes, we can have emotions, and yes we can declare what we will do in response to God's work in our life, but it begins with God.
I think Louie Giglio put it well. "You know your church is healthy when people are going to lunch going 'God, how'd you feel about it. Did you like it? Did you get a lot out of it? 'cause we came for you.'"
In my last post in this series, I left out one category that could really have fit in either entry, the issue of over-emotionalism. I decided to address the problem of over-emotionalism under the heading of focus because it has a different effect than the other two. Songs and worship 'experiences' built primarily on emotions remove God and His works as the central foundation of our faith, and instead places our faith in how we feel. When our faith becomes captive to our emotions, our picture of Christ can become morphed and twisted to suit our desires. This is when we start hearing songs that talk about Jesus as though he is our boyfriend.
A close cousin to over-emotionalism is what I would call self-righteousness. It is singing to God of all the things we have done and will do on His behalf. This does not celebrate the Gospel of Grace. It is work righteousness.
Jesus Christ did all the work on the cross for us, while we were dead in our sins. Worship begins with a grateful recognition of who God is and what He has done. Yes, we can have emotions, and yes we can declare what we will do in response to God's work in our life, but it begins with God.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Practice Before You Practice!
Sorry I haven't posted very frequently. I have been wrestling with a long post for a week or two. So in the mean time I will leave this short word of wisdom.
I have been thinking about the idea of practicing before you practice. This is specifically aimed at musicians, but it may apply to other areas too. I will consider this the musical equivalent to "measure twice, cut once."
It is helpful to me when preparing for rehearsal to walk through each song in my head, and perhaps on my guitar so I have an idea of what direction I am going with it. I also can brush up on specific riffs and make sure I start on the right fret. When I do this, I can play what I intend to play during rehearsal without messing up (too bad), and I can hear if it works, and the rest of the worship team have a solid example to try their performance against. Then, if anything needs adjusting, it can be adjusted more easily and confidently.
I don't always do this, and it shows. I would encourage everyone to take 5 minutes when they see the set list to think through it so we can bring our best and be unified in our efforts.
I have been thinking about the idea of practicing before you practice. This is specifically aimed at musicians, but it may apply to other areas too. I will consider this the musical equivalent to "measure twice, cut once."
It is helpful to me when preparing for rehearsal to walk through each song in my head, and perhaps on my guitar so I have an idea of what direction I am going with it. I also can brush up on specific riffs and make sure I start on the right fret. When I do this, I can play what I intend to play during rehearsal without messing up (too bad), and I can hear if it works, and the rest of the worship team have a solid example to try their performance against. Then, if anything needs adjusting, it can be adjusted more easily and confidently.
I don't always do this, and it shows. I would encourage everyone to take 5 minutes when they see the set list to think through it so we can bring our best and be unified in our efforts.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
God of This City
I hear a lot of songs that do nothing for me, and God of this City is one of them. But I had an opportunity to see Chris Tomlin explain this song in concert and it clicked. I developed a picture in my mind of people in every city in the world looking to do God's work in that city, and how the work of each Christian where they are at could have a profound cumulative effect for the Gospel throughout the world.
So this week we are introducing "God of This City." I hope you are blessed by this song and are praying for God to reveal how you are to be used in your city.
So this week we are introducing "God of This City." I hope you are blessed by this song and are praying for God to reveal how you are to be used in your city.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Examining Worship: part II: Is it helpful?
In my post, Lecherous Worship, I laid out two extremes of lyric writing that prevent music from being helpful in corporate worship; over-simplification and over-complication.
1. Over-simplification: These are songs that have helped create the label of "7-11" worship that is applied to contemporary worship - "sing the same 7 words 11 times." The most egregious example is the song "Let It Rain." Here are the lyrics in their entirety:
Let it Rain
Let it Rain
Open the floodgates of Heaven
That's the whole song. Sing these 11 words for 3 to 5 minutes. How, I ask, does this help anyone? Is it asking God to pour out blessings on us? Is it asking for the Holy Spirit to come in an abundant way? Overly-simple songs can easily create confusion and open the door for errant theology and intentional truth twisting.
2. Over-complication: Have you ever sang a song and found yourself asking "what did that even mean?" A common temptation for songwriters is to insert Biblical language into a song because it sounds nice, with no regard to the original context. So why is right now the days of Elijah, where the word of the Lord is being declared. I don't see the dry bones becoming as flesh, or David rebuilding the Temple. What is a temple of praise?
Writing poetic lyrics is like free jazz. It is easy to sound poetic, and hard to tell what is deeply imaginative and what is simply wordy. Congregational worship is not only for the high-minded or the literary, but for all who love Christ. We need to employ words that evoke powerful imagery and roll off the tongue, but also speak clearly. Good poetic language reminds us of the beauty of God, bad poetic fakery draws attention to the cleverness of the author and disengages the individual from worship.
1. Over-simplification: These are songs that have helped create the label of "7-11" worship that is applied to contemporary worship - "sing the same 7 words 11 times." The most egregious example is the song "Let It Rain." Here are the lyrics in their entirety:
Let it Rain
Let it Rain
Open the floodgates of Heaven
That's the whole song. Sing these 11 words for 3 to 5 minutes. How, I ask, does this help anyone? Is it asking God to pour out blessings on us? Is it asking for the Holy Spirit to come in an abundant way? Overly-simple songs can easily create confusion and open the door for errant theology and intentional truth twisting.
2. Over-complication: Have you ever sang a song and found yourself asking "what did that even mean?" A common temptation for songwriters is to insert Biblical language into a song because it sounds nice, with no regard to the original context. So why is right now the days of Elijah, where the word of the Lord is being declared. I don't see the dry bones becoming as flesh, or David rebuilding the Temple. What is a temple of praise?
Writing poetic lyrics is like free jazz. It is easy to sound poetic, and hard to tell what is deeply imaginative and what is simply wordy. Congregational worship is not only for the high-minded or the literary, but for all who love Christ. We need to employ words that evoke powerful imagery and roll off the tongue, but also speak clearly. Good poetic language reminds us of the beauty of God, bad poetic fakery draws attention to the cleverness of the author and disengages the individual from worship.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
