Worshiping at the Buffet of Praise
A second post on music in church probably isn’t wanted, but
it is needed. For me worship time is the most personal aspect of a Sunday morning.
My wife and I chose a church based on a couple of criteria (preaching, diversity
in the congregation). We did not pick according to music, but that doesn’t mean
that my heart doesn’t desperately yearn for a Latin worship song, or a smooth
Gospel chorus. Every Sunday morning I can read the faces of believers around me;
some older white believers, hurt because there isn’t a hymn for them to relate
to; black believers, hurt because there isn’t a Gospel song that reminds them
of their child hood in church. You will even see younger believers who desire a
“freer” worship song like Jesus Culture, or Hillsong.
So what should
we do!?
Keep in mind I love music like I love food. “What this means is that I
don’t know if I want crawfish, shrimp fried rice or good pot roast on any given
day. If it were my choice I’d have all three in one sitting.” So, when it comes
to music I, a Multi-ethnic guy, want a diverse selection of music to connect with.
But if your congregation is built of many ethnicities, then a diverse selection
of music would suit the needs of every believer.
Music
should be like a good quality buffet. At Samford University (where I attended
my freshman year of college) we had a 4 star buffet in the cafeteria. No two
days had exactly the same type of food. There was always pizza, salad, Italian,
home cooking, and international. If you were to try to guess what was on each
of those buffets, you probably couldn’t guess it. Music is the same way in my
mind. You don’t always have to have 2 hymns, 2 choruses, 2 gospel choir pieces,
and 2 latin praise songs. Change it up just like a good buffet, but offer
choices!
To have a successful buffet you need a well
trained cooking staff, with an excellent head chef. I recall once on the Italian buffet that lasagna was being
offered, as was usual once a month. But it was more amazing than the last… come
to find out the chef that day specialized in Italian food in culinary school. I
am speaking to myself as a worship pastor, we must know our limitations. If we
try to “cook” something out of our specialty, it may be ok, but the people will
know the difference between our lasagna and a true Italian chef’s lasagna.
Be willing to trade days with another chef. At fellowship Memphis (a multi-ethnic church in Memphis,
TN) they have a rotating worship staff. I believe one of the interns told me
they have 4 bands, and 4 worship leaders. The Leaders and bands are just as
diverse as the congregation. When Bekah and I were looking for a church we
attended Fellowship for several Sundays. It was interesting to see how
different populations really connected with different worship leaders and
musical choices. Those few Sundays truly proved to me that diversity in worship
is possible, beautiful and pleasing to the father God. Keep in mind, no one
style of worship was not represented every Sunday morning, so I am clearly not
asking for you to divorce your worship preference, rather help your brother and
sister in Christ worship through their heart worship.
