Whoppers and Worship Music: freedom of self-expression and cultural relativity in our worship music

According to Fox News/ Associated Press, in 2014 Burger King dumped its 40 year old advertising campaign, "Have it your way" in favor of an updated version, "Be your way." In their brand new ad campaign, Burger King attempted to hit our cultural hot buttons: to live as we please, be who we want to be, and let our self-expression take precedence over everything else. (You can read over the article here). I have no idea if it was a successful campaign or not, as I typically only ever eat a Whopper under duress, but BK's campaign effectively reflects some of the culture that we live in. From Frank Sinatra to Bruce Jenner to Miley Cirus,  we as a society feel stifled, if not even abused, when we can't freely express ourselves and our personas. But what do whoppers and worship music have to do with each other?

I think that when it is so ingrained in society that we should be who we are, say what we feel, and have what we want regardless of what anyone else thinks or needs,  it's hard to keep that feeling out of the church. We just don't realize how steeped in culture that we are. And it isn't all bad, because we love our freedom in all its forms! It's just who we are as a society, and perhaps one of the reasons why we are so hated but other societies. Freedom is a good thing. But selfish freedom can be a bad thing. What if everyone came to church for a worship service and then sang their own favorite worship song, chorus, or hymn all at the same time for the purpose of praising God through our own self-expression? It would be a cacophony of sound, chaotic, and definitely not enjoyable. We have to develop a common ground for our worship services, even if that means setting aside some of our particular preferences for the sake of unity and cohesiveness.

I would never say that one style of worship is inherently better than any other, because I believe that God loves variety- look how He created us! But God also loves unity, so we need some kind of a consensus in our style of worship services. And since every church is different, it's going to look different in every church. For some, it may be more blended, for some, very traditional, for others, very modern.  That's ok! However, if we want to be reaching new people for the Gospel of Christ through our music, we might want to think about how we can be culturally relative - how we can relate to the music tastes of the people in our church's community - how we can be in the world but not of the world.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NLT, from Biblegateway.com) talks about using our freedoms for good. Look at this:

19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. 20 When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. 21 When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law,[a] I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

Paul sacrificed his freedom for the sake of others! Paul willing gave up his freedom of self-expression in order to fit in culturally so that he could help others know Christ. To him, self-expression and personal preference were nowhere near as important as reaching others for the Gospel of Christ. So do you think that this idea should carry over into our worship music? Should we give up our freedom of musical expression so that we can connect with the musical tastes of those in our church's community? Why or why not? 

Next time, we'll look at how we can get a feel for our church's musical culture and how to compare it to the culture of the people in your church's community. 

Distracted? Declutter!

Clutter is distracting. 

When my home looks cluttered, I find myself thinking of all the things I need to do, all the items that need to be put away, all the work that needs to be completed. It makes me stressed. For me, a de-cluttered space is a peaceful space. I rest easier at night when the dishes are put away, the toys are picked up, and the floor is swept. I have an especially hard time concentrating on reading the Bible if I sit in a cluttered room. It’s also hard for me to be musically creative or to practice well when there are piles of mail and homework sitting around my piano. I feel hectic and hurried when my schedule is cluttered, too.

 I feel the same way about our worship spaces.

Modern worship spaces have a natural tendency to look cluttered due to the nature of the equipment.  Imagine how clean your worship platform would be if you didn’t need cables, music stands, monitors, amps, instrument stands, and other items. How clean and fresh would your space look if all you had were people and their instruments?

Not all ministry budgets have the space for wireless mics and in-ear monitors, and that’s ok! But when I set up my gear for Sunday morning, I try to pause for just a minute and think about the visual use of the space. Can I organize the cables a little more neatly? Can I make that mic stand a little less obtrusive? Can we tweak the platform arrangement for a more open feeling?

Our worship services tend to be aurally focused – that is, we are focused on what we hear, such as music, sermons, Scripture reading. But statistically, 65% of the general population are visual learners. So how can we make our visual space for our worship services more supportive of, rather than distracting from, what we are hearing? Removing the visual clutter, without creating a completely stark, empty space, is a great step towards removing distractions that get in the way of communing with each other and with our Creator. 

Thought for Thursday

"How quickly we forget what it's all about. We can get so strategic that we worship so our church will grow, not because He is worthy. But we're doing all this because God is worthy and we want to worship Him." -Tommy Walker