This is the Same article I posted last week on Worship, but is cleaned up a bit.
Hopefully we can edit down some for those who would like to have this when they talk to friends who might not understand why we do what we do.
I hate controversial subjects! I don’t like confrontation!! However, I have learned over the years there is a time to confront and a time to discuss things that tend to be controversial. I try not to pick fights or debates. I think it is a waste of time and the devil loves to have Christians spend their time on debating their preferences and personal desires. When these things tend to come into the church and more specifically our church then I am going to take it on and confront it. I was called as the Pastor to start this church 16 years ago this month. It was a call of God, not a denomination or even a church. God gave me a very specific call and direction of what type of church He wanted me to start and Pastor. I am committed to that call more today than ever. With hundreds coming to Christ and joining our church over these many years, there are only a few that remember the beginning and our foundation from where we have come. I am very fortunate to be the founding pastor and so since day one, I understand the vision, philosophy and strategy God gave us. We have spent three weeks recently, discussing our Purpose “To be and Make Disciples”; by holding up, three core values, Worship, Community, and
Mission
. I won’t go into that. However, today’s post is about strategy of carrying out our
Mission
. We used to call it the Pembroke Strategy. It was done in an acrostic and the “R” stood for “Relevant Music and Worship”
The most controversial area of any church is and has always seemed to be Music. That part of Worship has had more to do with Church splits and divisions than any other thing by far. Why not, it started in Heaven, when the chief musician Lucifer led a revolt of half the angelic host against God himself. I used to tell a joke when Churches had choirs. that when Satan fell he fell into the Choir. Of course, I was kidding but there is some thread of truth that I believe from the fall of Lucifer, music has been used to bring the greatest honor and worship to God. It has also brought the most pain. Not because it’s bad!!
Since the beginning of our church 16 years ago, I have brought a message at least once a year on Music and Worship and why we worship with the music and style we do. I did that up until two years ago. I actually told our staff not long ago how for the first time in the last two years we haven’t had to deal with Music church wide in a message.
That was just recently. Then all the sudden I began to get one or two connection cards each week with pretty much the same theme each time. They surfaced again this past weekend. This time 3 connection cards had them. ( I know its only 3 out of hundreds of cards, and most times it isn’t more than one in a week unless its from several who sit together and say about the same thing, its funny its like they talk about what they need to write)
Now before I go further I want to make it clear, I appreciate those who are willing to write a comment on a card and sign it. I respect that. I don’t expect anyone to agree with everything. We say it’s a connection card and it can be negative or positive, im fine with that as long as it’s signed. I don’t even read a whole note if it’s anonymous, it is torn up immediately and no one else sees it and I will never discuss it. I feel someone to write something critical anonymously is wrong, and cowardly, and we can’t follow up and help explain why we did what we did. So therefore, we don’t even consider it. However, when someone writes a comment, we take it seriously. We might not be able to do anything about it. A comment doesn’t mean we will make a change. However, we will definitely read it and always give it consideration. Over the years, we have had thousands of comments and some have been a great help to help us improve. However, we can’t always accommodate or change. Music is one of the things we get comments on from time to time. Most of the time we address it in a message.This Time Iam blogging so I can be on the record and in the future send those who need a clarification of why we do what we do to my blog.
Now I’m warning you this is long and if this isn’t a big deal to you or an issue don’t worry about reading it all. Back to the 3 connection cards, we received this week that sum up the concerns over the last 16 years and to some extent in a general way for hundreds of years.
- The music is too loud!!
- The music is boring!!
- More variety and hymns that are traditional. (then sometimes someone will complain that they don’t want a new song, to learn, stick with what we know we cant win, you cant add variety and not learn new songs, at least I haven’t figured out how yet)
Now I did not type out the 3 cards from this past week exactly. One said we need more diversity in music, named 5 different styles. One mentioned diversity in the realm of I assume age, and culture.
Now before I attempt to clarify some things, let me mention some comments from the same services the prior complaints came from.
1. Thank you for providing a place for me and my family to come and Worship God
2. God bless you for all the Wonderful work that especially Chris (our worship pastor) and the young people are doing.
3. I enjoy the praise and worship
4. As always great job with worship, Chris (worship Pastor) you have a real gift
5. I’m thankful to be able to come to the safest place on earth, “spiritual community” Overall worship comment
6. Chris /Great Worship!!! (My mom, she is 76 years old) She hasn’t always liked our music whether loud or style. Understandable! She might kill me but she is the only name im revealing.
Now let’s discuss Worship in Music
.Worship Music Boring? That is assuming that Music should be entertaining. We don’t come to church for entertainment. Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t want to bore someone in anything, too many churches do that. However, if it’s boring then why? What is the expectation? Is it to please me? Is Worship all about me and making me feel good? Well we’ve already spent two weeks this year in messages about worship and music. You should be able to pick up a c.d. or listen online to those.
Wikipedia says boredom is: an unpleasant, transient affective state in which the individual feels a pervasive lack of interest in and difficulty concentration on the current activity.
If you come to our church and your bored, which means you cannot worship based on this definition, then either the church is the problem or the individual is the problem. I won’t say which one is which. That is for God to judge.
I would not attend nor be a part of any church or for that fact any organization if im bored. I would go where I could Worship. Music in our church is to lead us into worship and stimulate our worship of our God.
Wikipedia defines worship: Specific acts of religious praise, honor or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as God…………..
Other definitions I have read say “to ascribe worth to a supernatural being”
To worship God makes it impossible to be bored as a believer.
Now lets consider what this means.
We all like different styles. It goes back to our generation, might be cultural, or just taste. Don’t judge worship at any church based on preference of style.
Our church has a more contemporary style. We have never done many traditional hymns. That was decided early on. Most hymns many of us grew up with are hundreds of years old. They are not relevant in their words and their language to 21 century. They might be good; they might have a great message. I love the old hymns, but we have decided to sing new songs. Songs that have the same message but with today’s language and style. We can’t do all styles. We might do several different styles. We do some hymns and do them in a contemporary way. It is proven you do not reach this generation by singing songs 400 years old. We want to be relevant as Paul wanted to be relevant in the New Testament.
The Bible even says sing a new Song!!
Sometimes someone says give more variety, then someone says in the same service, why are you teaching us a new song, we don’t know the song. The bottom line is we can not please everyone. We are who we are and who we have been for 16 years.
We have had three primary worship leaders in that time. Each time there is a change, some folks miss the old way it was done, some love the new way, and personality. One is not wrong and one is not right. It is all part of life. Change happens.
Music is too loud. Well it might be for some of us. Sometimes it’s been too loud for me, and sometimes too soft. In the same service, one will say its too loud and one too soft. Obviously, there is no way to fix that one!!! Read Revelation 7:9-10 I think music in heaven and worship is going to be loud. We need to get used to it I guess.
For some, Maybe ear plugs. (im serious it will help, maybe moving to a diff. part of the auditorium can help. ) I promise when it is overall too loud, we know and we work on it, it’s evident. However, we won’t be able to make it just right. Not possible. I wish I could please everyone but I can’t.
We have had some great music over the years and some lousy music, let’s face it. However, I can tell you our worship music right now is as good as I have ever heard it. It isn’t always, exactly like you or I want or Chris or the worship team wants. Are you always at your best everyday? Remember we are doing 12 services, and all but our worship pastors are volunteers. They are giving many hours of their time to lead us in worship. Chris and his team have in the matter of one year, added something like 50 new musicians. That is Phenomenal and might be more new musicians, bands and worship teams formed and trained in one year than any church in the
United States
.
In the past, we have been criticized for only having a few that could sing, and play. Now we have many involved, but they might not always be the look or age you like. When someone says, we need more diversity I imagine they mean in age and culture. We have both, we have lots of young people, and we have never had young people involved. They are the future of the church. At one juncture, we had all middle aged leading. I think its one of the greatest things I have ever seen in my 30 years. However, we also have some who have been around awhile. My wife Tonia has been singing with the praise teams since we started the church, she still is involved in the Pines praise team at least once or twice a month on weekends, as well as a few other mid lifers, wont mention them so they don’t get offended, they think they are still young.. However, she isn’t at all the services. There are others that are not 20 something’s. Diversity in culture is all over our church including our worship, our teaching team, and lay leadership. It was humorous I received a note this week in a service about more diversity and it was the service that Fish Figueroa spoke, which in case you don’t know, Fish is Latin and he is in his twenties. We have teachers in their twenties and then there are the old guys, myself, Pat and Wayman (sorry guys). We probably have more diversity not only in our church membership but our lay leadership than any church in
America (Since this was first written we also have a campus pastor who is Armeanian /West African, and another teaching pastor who is Jamaican) (Our two primary Worship leaders in Pines are Latin and Jamaican)
.
Concluding remarks
- Some say we need more variety. We have about 100 songs that are used in worship. That is about what y church in which I grew up in always did that hymns had. Do you know in my 30 years of singing out of a hymnal probably ¾ of the songs in the hymnal we never sang once? They are rotated at our church s as they were in my former church. . New ones are being added all the time. We like to sing familiar songs, but we also believe new ones are fresh and challenge us in their message. Some say, from time to time songs repeat them selves in newer songs. Well let me refer to Psalms 136, the writer seems bent on repeating, “His Love Endures Forever” Check that one out. In Revelation the Angels repeat themselves too “Holy, Holy, Holy”
- New and Innovative Worship Music is not new. In my home church where I grew up our pastor introduced the orchestra in the late 70s, there were lots who didn’t like it im sure... Some churches split over orchestras. That was innovative and new. Go back in church history, the piano was introduced to bar room tunes (we now know them as hymns) and many were appalled since the piano was in the bars. Also find piano or organ in the bible, can’t find it. However, you will find those cymbals and drums!! Hmmm!!!
- Different Strokes for different folks.
Dr. Morgan who was my mentor and friend was from a totally different generation and saw music and worship in music very differently. We had many heated discussions about our difference in Music. One time he said to me, almost everyone in our church wants hymns and traditional music. I said it can’t be, why would we have grown so much, and why would they stay around, since we have never sung the old traditional hymns much. Therefore, I decided maybe there were a lot who we might be able to reach and minister to with this type of music. I did a survey. I asked folks who were interested in a more traditional service with hymns to come to a meeting after each service to discuss and consider. This was just three years ago. We had 50 people show up following all the services combined. (including my mother) That was out of 1500 attending. Now over 2200 attend any given week our services. Of the 50, 12-15 wanted a traditional service, and of that only about 4 were willing to have that service at another time other than Sunday morning, since our Sunday morning services 10 and 1130 were already pretty full. I realized there were a few who did but not many. Dr. Morgan and I loved each other; I miss him so much and don’t mean this to reflect negatively on him, or me. We both respectfully disagreed and yet we loved each other and worshiped together until his death this past March.
A few of those who really wanted more traditional left our church and went to a church where they sung the traditional hymns. That is fine. There is nothing wrong if you can’t worship with one style, to go to the church where you can worship. Our competition as I told two believers today is not with the church down the street its. Satan. I refuse to battle anyone over style or music. Go where you can best worship. On the other hand, if God calls you here or somewhere else and you don’t like the style, ask God to change you or give you a new perspective to at least accept that it might be different but this is where God wants me. Certainly if you are bored, or feel you can’t worship in a church you shouldn’t be there. There might be some in our church that need to look for church that their style of worship fits them better. That is not bad. Its ok, to leave a church for that reason. It isn’t ok, to be bored, bitter or get angry. God wants us to Worship Him and not be distracted. I’m sorry even though I wish I could please everyone, I can’t, and that is just a fact.
What I will do is try to please my Heavenly father and my savior.
- I have learned when someone says everyone, or many, or most, they really mean a few of the people I hang out with. I don’t ever take a general statement serious, unless they can provide a list. Usually they can give me a few. If our whole church didn’t like the music, why are we growing, by hundreds some years? WE have grown at least 250 this year since our 7Now started in late January... How could we have baptized 110 last week and have 20 + more and maybe even more this week to baptize? How in the world could someone have been bored last week in a service where we witnessed almost 4 minutes of baptisms back to back on a video from last weeks baptism? I have watched it five times now and I get choked up every time... The average church baptized 6 last year!!! I will not loose focus on Being disciples and making disciples, and I won’t let a few complaints on our music deter who we have been for 16 years and continue to be.
I hope if you have read this entire post, you understand while I might disagree with a group in our church as to preference and style of music, I don’t judge them or even say they are wrong. Different strokes for different folks. Please try to understand my heart. I have to continue to focus on what God called me to 16 years ago. "To be and Make Disciples. " I invite you to join me this week and let us put aside a difference or two and focus on Christ and the
Mission
he has led us to. (Oh and by the way if my mentor and beloved friend Dr. Morgan and my own mom could not get me to change the music, you’re not going to!!! Sorry!!)
As with anything I know I over killed this in explanation but it’s worth it if one person understands better why we do what we do.
If you're not a facebook friend of mine and the clip doesnt show, then you can go here and click on the clip on utube
