You are not having sex on this stage
Posted on 14 Nov 2006
A good many of you have expressed desire for more than just music as a form of corporate/creative worship. It is something I desire as well; 99% is musical, and we’re clearly bored with the status quo. I also realize that an hour a month cannot be all things–nor should it strive to be. We could pack a stage full of the most brilliant painters, sculptors, glass-blowers, seamstresses, chefs, thespians, dancers, etc., but it wouldn’t necessarily be more worshipful. So what is a good criteria to abide by?
A great portion of the Old Testament is poetry/music, so I am led to believe that it is important. More important than visual artistic worship? Probably not. This is apples and oranges though. (Of course, visual art is much more difficult to pass down in the context of an oral tradition. We do have icons, stained glass, calligraphy, statues, etc.). When we sing together our bodies become instruments and we speak, in unison, words that contain meaning to our God and one another. We are caught within something that is bigger than us, as the cliché goes, which is really why we go to concerts in the first place. I don’t imagine I’d much enjoy Ben Harper all by my lonesome, but how wonderful it is to express gratitude with a group of other Ben Harper lovers–to know the songs, to sing together, to share meaningful moments. So, when I paint/sculpt/sew/dance I am creating intimacy and meaning between myself and God; very real to the moment, expressive, significant. This is awesome. This is worship. It is probably musically akin to jazz, which is spontaneous and spiritual by nature. These forms are also more difficult to follow and engage as a group. I’ll submit here, that much of the music I hope to be a part of will be original material that many will not know, and still more will be instrumental. So perhaps I believe that we are able to connect more easily through music because it is a common language that reaches the depths of our spirit, a place unreached by the other senses. Yes, I believe that.
Something I appreciate about Compline–and let’s include U2’s “Elevation Tour”–is the simplicity of the setup. The attention to the aural experience and unity. You are not asked to engage too many mediums, but to simply listen or sing, close your eyes, create colors, remember, wonder about what is heard. It is the opposite of the “ZooTV Tour”–which I absolutely adored mind you–that jammed full every possible sense of your being. Now as I’ve mentioned previously I am a fledgling aesthete who wants to see and experience God in all things and appreciate visual beauty for beauty’s sake, and when I attend worship services that put the band in the back and strip the slides/visuals to the bone, I wonder about their intent. Are they doing this because they value the purity of the musical connection to God or because beauty is a wordly, hedonistic distraction. Do they also dress in brown, read passionless non-fiction, and have sex in the same position–once per child?
I am fast approaching the edge of my understanding with regard to visual art as corporate worship, so I will submit to you, the experts, for more thoughts.
nicole
15 Nov 2006 (22:21)
You raise a good question about the aim of visual art in worship, when many meaningful worship experiences occur in absence of images flooding us. Perhaps the imagery, and “holy” icons, give our minds an interpretation to hold onto, when asked to close our eyes and absorb the beauty in the sounds that are meaningful to us and to our God.
Joel
16 Nov 2006 (23:46)
I think a lot of churches are getting better at incorporating the “visual” into worship — although sometimes that just means having a cool powerpoint font — but in my own opinion, the creation of visual art in worship as it’s often enacted doesn’t quite feel “corporate.” I know the few times Sarah has done a “live” painting or drawing or whatever during a worship service she’s felt kind of rushed and halfhearted about it…for her, the spiritual act of creating takes time, and the process takes often takes weeks and months, not 20 minutes to an hour.
I’ve been wondering about the visual aspect of performance. The evangelical church seems torn between this kind of “it’s all about God, not the musicians” mentality on one hand, but “let’s make this cool so people will like it” on the other. I’ve been playing bass at a friend’s church for a few months, and I tend to “rock out” a little bit (not a lot though, I promise!) just because I really like playing bass even if I don’t always like the songs, and I’ve had several people comment to me that I seemed really “into it.” Yet I’m not sure how I feel about this — I haven’t quite come to terms with what it means for the music to be both an act of worship and a performance, though I think it is both.
These thoughts are a bit scattered. I’m really excited about this project and I hope I get a chance to see it / be it sometime.
Zadok
17 Nov 2006 (03:08)
Joel, yes I know the conflict well. I’ve categorized good worship leading as ‘modeling’. We can certainly stand in the back and let the congregation do their thing, which would work. Or we could go up front and show them how incredible it is to create and to enjoy. To play bass is creation, service, beauty; it provides a place for others to sing and worship as well. I hope those who are complimenting your joy are indeed affirming such vigor. I could even argue that Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire would have stirred me to worship. I would be in awe of Jimi, and hopefully of God. This is the ‘stumbling brother’ issue, there is no one answer. And thank you for the story from Sarah, I have no idea what is going on in that process.
Cheers Joel!
Emily
24 Nov 2006 (09:25)
Two things I wonder: 1.worship as connection, worship as escape. i wonder which it is. how it is through worship that we connect to one another and to God, how it is that we escape one another/worldly influence to God. .
2.what does worship look like that challenges us/invites us to be challenged. as opposed to just confirmation- though i think confirmation is necessary. and what is worship that makes us wonder and be curious about God/ about the image of God in each other (necessary?) to use allender’s definition of hope- worship as hope for the future.
jeby
6 Dec 2006 (01:44)
“There is no one answer” is the correct answer, I think. It’s not so much a binary, in which worship requires the band to be in front of the people, or halfway removed from the people, or hidden. In context, worship type A would be best served by the band hidden, and type B would be the opposite. Context.