I grew up a musician and graduated college with a degree in music theory/composition. I spent 3 years mixing sound for visiting Christian musicians in college and I still hold unusually strong opinions about mundane things like microphone placement and the role of keyboards in the mix. I’m not a big “worship music” guy because I find a lot of it pretty bland musically, its repetitive, and not as much about theology as rhyming. Though about worship, the music still has to “sell” to a wide audience to pay for production, etc. I love music and it means a lot to me.
Over ten years ago I was speaking at a college-aged retreat at a camp and the great Rob Schrumpf from Purdue Christian Campus House was “leading worship.” He played guitar and sang very well in the first session, but as I walked in early for the second one, the chairs were gone and newsprint and crayons were all over the floor. You can guess my skeptical but unspoken reaction.
What I witnessed that night rocked my world. I watched young adults use crayons to artistically express their worship. And they loved it. What they drew meant a lot to them. It was beyond words.
Who would have guessed?
Rob had arranged the newsprint in the outline of the Old Testament temple and participants moved inward (toward what resembled the holy of holies) – at each step they responded to some worship prompts. By the end of the experience, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. People were broken before God. I was humbled regarding my skepticism and pride.
I knew of Jonny Baker from his wonderful work The Prayer Path, a Christ-centered experience that we used at our church. We set it up for youth and adults and I often had people express to me that it was one of the most powerful prayer experiences they had ever had. But we don’t facilitate that type of experience much. In fact, Jonny says in his book, CURATING WORSHIP:
In many church circles the only gifts that are valued for worship are musical ones (and even then of a small range of music) or the ability to speak well (preferably in a good English accent). This attitude needs shattering, and opening up so that poets, photographers, ideas people, geeks, theologians, liturgists, designers, writers, cooks, politicians, architects, movie-makers, storytellers, parents, campaigners, children, bloggers, DJs, VJs, craft-makers, or just anybody who comes and is willing to bounce ideas around, can get involved.
I think we may be missing an opportunity here as a church. We live in a visual age. The oral tradition is gone, movies are supplanting music for relaxation, and we foster visual creativity (e.g. blogs, digital pictures) in the virtual world. Our eyes are trained to see, observe, and be drawn in by the visual. Our kids will be even more visual. Yet, we do very little visually in a church (hey, we have cool moving backgrounds behind the lyrics). We have graphics, yes, but not visual art that moves us, that touches our lives, that lifts our spirits, that expresses who God is and what he is up to in his world. Perhaps “worship music” will be the old way that the visual artists challenge in much the same way that 20 years ago the contemporary folks challenged the traditional/hymns. More on that tomorrow.
I am super-excited to have a copy of CURATING WORSHIP coming to my mailbox. Before I post my thoughts about why this book is necessary and will challenge us, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you been thinking of visual arts as part of your church or ministry? Do you think this will be a helpful conversation?
Feel free to comment, let others know about this, and then check back tomorrow because I promise to be provocative.
[By the way, Rob Schrumpf is amazing. After that night, I've had him come and teach at Bethel College multiple times. And every time our students are blown away by his insight and creativity.]
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