Here is a great example for the continuing Amos discussion (see previous two posts). A friend of mine loves the song "Days of Elijah" ("...behold He comes, riding on the clouds..."), and I'm not a fan. This has resulted in an ongoing back and forth (all in fun) of when and if we'll play this song. Now I can sit here and tell you all the reasons I think this song is dated and misses the mark of our musical and seeker-oriented vision, but is this an acceptable measure of choosing songs? I'm not sure, so let me hash out a couple points and hopefully you can offer me some thoughts.
1) I believe that keeping up with music style is important for a seeker-driven church. It is our job as worship leaders to help direct that style, but am I being driven by personal preference or a desire to lead others more effectively in worshiping God? Every worship leader I've known, including myself, has a style that they lean towards. We all have favorite artists that we use more frequently. To worship is to approach God with honesty, so we cannot attempt to be something we are not for the sake of a "performance". However, worshiping God is also about giving our entire selves to him... all of me for all of God. The primary focus is about God, not us... not me.
2) I state this loosely - this particular song is filled with Old Testament language referencing Moses, Elijah, Ezekiel and the dry bones, David and the temple, etc. OT references are fine, but in my humble opinion, this song is a little deep for seekers. A seeker service is a delicate and unusual thing. We are creating an atmosphere that feels safe and comfortable for the unchurched. At the same time we are worshiping in a way that will elicit strong, curious emotions to the seeker that attracts them to the unknown. We are there for God, but we are also there for the seeker. If we filled them with layers of theology that only strong believers could understand, are they (and hence God) served?
So, where is my heart? I am here to serve God and His church. If I don't like a song but it serves His purpose... I need to sing it. I must sing it and sing it with everything I have. So it seems the greater question in this is; have I asked God if we should play this song? Curious - have you ever asked God a question with the answer you want to hear already playing in your mind? It's REALLY hard to hear His answer.
in Christ,
OK, so I like Days of Elijah. I can't tell you theologically exactly what every bit of it means, but I can tell you that it gets me fired up and excited about being a Christian and knowing that one day Christ is going to return in all of His glory for me... The imagery in this song and the triumphant way it's sung means more to me than following word for exact word or even knowing what a "seeker" is going to think.
I do think this... If I were a seeker and saw a group of people become excited in their worship- regardless of the song- I would wonder what they had and why they had it and I would want to see more of it. OR I would think everyone had gone crazy.
There is many a song- contemporary, hymn, you name it- that I don't fully understand, or that I don't even like. But I also don't think it is correct to stop singing and stand like a stump in protest. Because the service is not about me. Just because God is not choosing to speak to me in THAT PARTICULAR SONG doesn't mean he is not speaking to the person beside me. My act of worship then, as a Christian, is to take whatever opportunity He gives me and give it my all (like you said). But in doing so, I understand that the intensity of the worship will ebb and flow, and that's OK.
As to the discussion point about this particular song that it might be "too deep" for a seeker, I think you might be stretching it a bit. In the few brief moments that the lyrics appear, my opinion is that very few of the unchurched are even going to remember "dry bones", Moses, or some of the other terms. My opinion, and only my opinion, this song is more about providing that triumphial essence of the power of the saving God and His Glorious reappearing- something we almost never sing in any other song (that I can remember as clearly anyway!).
One last case in point. One of my very very favorite Christmas songs is O come O come Emmanuel. I don't completely "get" the words. I just don't. They're too deep for me. But I always feel close to God when I sing it. Something in the song speaks to me and I feel nothing but praise for the fact that our Emmanuel did come. My point is that often it's the essence of the song speaks louder than the words.
Posted by: Kimberly | February 17, 2009 at 04:07 PM