New ministry plan

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Permalink Reply by Paul Yerrick on July 5, 2009 at 10:28pm

Why one or the other? Can't you do both?

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Permalink Reply by Ken Hymes on July 6, 2009 at 10:06am

Of course you can, and of course I was being ornery to make a point. But I ask you this: can you truly say that the profession has not been compromised and corrupted by commodifcation and celebrity culture and the profit motive? Can worship leaders in the mid to upper levels of the field function without their artificial life support system? Does the infrastructure of the modern church service truly nurture mission and evangelism and the priesthood of all believers, or does it actually reinforce prevailing cultural beliefs, such as "if it does not transcend the local, it must be of little value;" or "my worship leader can beat upnyour worship leader" or "stuff leads to success leads to stuff." Matt Redman wrote a song in response to this, Heart of Worship. Now people sing it under the lights through the giant sound system, as if the original impetus for it never happened.
I stand by my comment. The profession is hopelessly corrupted by its own success. I still serve my church, as a job and as a calling, but I question the values and the direction of the larger field. And I do think quite sincerely that if Chris Tomlin (or me or you) went to a street corner and sang about God he would accomplish more than he is in his job.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Sines on July 6, 2009 at 10:45am

Ahhh, now here is good conversation. I was getting bored with the hoity toity business of church culture being tossed around on CWT. Enough other forums around for the same-o same-o.

I like the challenge of this kind of honesty. I think the questions that you pose affects all areas of ministry, not just music. I don't know if I would dis "professionalized" as I believe everything we do should be our best for God, but I do agree that sometimes "professionalized" is more about looking/sounding good for the program and the mass audience and not so much as our response and gift to God.

I do agree that in the business of church has become a business. This is a big turn-off to me and probably alot of other people. So what do we do about it? Singing on a street corner would probably turn me off, too, BTW. Stereo-type of Bible Beaters, you know.

Keep this conversation going, y'all. Keep exploring, I want to see where this goes . . .

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Permalink Reply by Ken Hymes on July 6, 2009 at 11:53am

I'm more interested in what others have to say at this point, but I'll respond to Linda (and thanks for the comment). The only thing keeping me working right now is a vision of neighborhood ministry. I alluded to this before, but I think one of the most destructive things in our culture is our belief that we don't have what we need, spiritually and artistically, in our communities (of course I realize that some neighborhoods are more blessed materially, and more blessed with the gift of peace, than others). This belief in lack of talent and lack of ideas of course serves commerce in many ways. As one response, I seek to make worship local, and responsive to local concerns; unique to the gifts of the congregation and the neighborhood, not imitative or grasping. As another response, I urge leaders in my home church to look closer to home for mission opportunities - to create venues in which people can be open about the burdens of their lives: military families dealing with separation and trauma; families consumed in caregiving to disabled or injured or elderly members; individuals caught in webs of deception aroud addiction and infidelity. To offer no strings attached help to people where they need it: respite, safe activities afterschool, support groups. Respite can become an opening for God to speak to a harried mind; safe activities can be places where new ways of being together across social lines are learned; support groups might in time become or spawn prayer groups. I think this topic links to worship because far too many (most?) churches are built or grown with no sense of unique local mission, it's as if the non-participants around them are an undifferentiated mass, as if nothing about them matters except that they join and give intellectual and verbal assent to our precepts - so worship in turn has little local character, it's either driven by denominational practice or by national fashion. I don't think that's effective or scriptural in the long run. I believe the large successful churches will face the same problems in time that the struggling denominational churches face now - aging out, coming face to face with carefully avoided issues around sexuality and authenticity. One more word for worship leaders: it's okay if no one ever hears your songs outside your church; it's okay if no one really is ever sure what was "accomplished" in worship; it's okay if you never figure it all out. We're all in little parts of the creation, responding as best we can to God's call. Let's look to God and our communities for affirmation that we are on the right path, not to any trend or number or network. I trust that the national networks of successful leaders will carry on doing whatever it is they do, the massive conference/sales pitches will continue, and I won't say nothing good happens there. But the churches we serve are where they are for some reason, not somewhere else. All worship is local.

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