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One. The lead singer holds the bulb, and the world revolves around him. Recently, I was talking to someone new to the Christian faith. Which is also to say that he is new to the evangelical Christian subculture. He knew that I was a worship and arts pastor, and so our conversation eventually drifted to the weekend services at his church. In the conversation, he said something that jolted me momentarily. He referred to the person leading worship at his church as the “lead singer for the band.” At first I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he was a new Christ follower, and without a Christian background to give you a frame of reference, the obvious equivalent phrase to “worship leader” is “lead singer. ” But that got me thinking. What was his experience of his church service? Was he experiencing worship? That is, was he being led to an encounter with the Living Triune God, and responding to that encounter in a transcendent way? And if so, what was the role of the “worship leader” in the actual “leading” of worship? My friend was experiencing some really good music in his services. And the truth of the matter is, music and all the arts are transcendent by nature. The arts take us someplace, spiritually as well as emotionally. Art is, as Jeremy Begbie asserts, “capable of affording genuine knowledge of reality beyond the confines of human self-consciousness.” Just go to a rock concert and watch. People are being ushered somewhere. The question is, to where are they being moved? In my experience, I’ve been a lead singer for a number of bands. I know what the role entails, and what is expected of it. And I don't see anything wrong with being one. But I shudder to think that some people might experience me as a “lead singer” when my role and calling and obligation in church is to be a “worship leader,” to serve my congregation and lead them to encounter and glorify God. A. W. Tozer tells a story that goes like this: Jesus fulfilled scripture when he rode a young donkey into Jerusalem (John 12:12-16). The great crowds came to meet him, taking palm branches and spreading them out before him, praising his name, shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna!” The donkey, looking around at the crowd, then thought to himself, “Wow! I must really be great!” In the grand scheme of things, I have to remember that as a worship leader, I’m just the donkey. And there’s a big difference between a donkey and a jackass. More about this in my next blog. Please feel free to comment.
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Comments
Manuel:
Please let me disagree with you and Jeremy Begbie a little; and hopefully in a gracious manner.
Being referred to as the "lead singer for the band" is a result of the Evangelical Church's adopting our society's pop cultural in an effort to attract people into our services. It's a natural reaction when we do our thing with little difference from the world around us. They think of us as some of "god rockers," when we don't look or sound any different than the genuine thing at a worldly rock concert.
I do not believe that "music and all the arts are transcendent by nature." They are a reflection of nature and our attempt to emulate the glory of God's creation. Only the Triune God, angelic beings and resurrected people of God are transcendent. The arts have the ability to intellectually and emotionally stimulate us - for good or for ill. They do not take us anywhere spiritually; but they can be a means of expressing our gratitude for God's grace and goodness to God and in front of others.
Begbie's statement that art is "capable of affording genuine knowledge of reality beyond the confines of human self-consciousness" smacks of Easter Mysticism and the occult, not Christianity.
God's prescribed method of ushering men and women into the glories of His grace and love is by the Preaching of the Word of God. Only the Person of the Holy Spirit can "lead" an individual to worship God in an acceptable way. "God is spirit, and those that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24). We can sing, speak, or play an instrument for the glory of God; but we must never fail to believe the very words of Jesus, who said, "All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out...No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day...It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing, the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." (John 6:37, 44, & 63).
Keep "braying" for Jesus! And please, never forget that solid Biblical theology must be the foundation of our witness for Christ.
Beryl Smith
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and thought-provoking comment. If I can add a few things, not to further debate, but hopefully to seek clarification.
I believe the basis of your disagreement is in the definitions of the words "transcendent" and "lead." Let me explain.
First, the word "transcendent." As I use the term, it refers to that which is beyond the natural world. But we are not only natural beings; we are spiritual beings as well. This is one aspect of us being made in the image of God. And as such, the term "transcendent" refers to vertical expressions of our soul, including prayer, worship, and the arts.
In my understanding, worship is a two-way dialogue of revelation and response. God reveals Himself through His creation, His Word, His deeds, and directly through the Spirit. And we respond to that revelation, with outpourings of our soul, (i.e., our mind, our will, and our emotions).
There is a tendency, particularly in evangelical circles, to equate revelation with the preaching of the Word only (or in your words, "prescribed"). We seem to still be suffering some whiplash from the reformation (I blogged on this awhile back, see "Artless Evangelicals"), and we don't see the arts as a means toward expressing Truth (revelation) or worship (response). Both of these artistic expressions are transcendent acts, both practiced in the Bible and in the history of the Church.
Second, the word "lead." Of course I believe it is through the Holy Spirit that we are "led" to worship. It would be silly and wrong for me to argue otherwise. However, the word "lead" is also the word used for those of us whose calling is to help our congregations come before God in corporate worship. I won't back down from that word, because that word describes the privilege and responsibility I and many others have been given to point people to the Throne.
Yes, it is absolutely true that a solid Biblical theology must be the foundation. And for the artist, that theology must be fleshed out through our arts and in our lives.
Hope that was helpful in our dialogue.