Music Solos in Worship Music :: Distraction or Offering

Comment

Comment by Eric D. Herron on July 9, 2009 at 2:17pm

Though there's quite a bit of passion in the exchange here, I am impressed by everyone's kindness and grace toward one another. Nice.

Whenever I think of music solos in church, especially instrumental, I think of 2 Kings 3:15-16

But now [Elisha said] bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha and he said, "This is what the LORD says...

Context: When the kings of Israel and Judah go out to attack the Moabites, they find themselves stranded in the desert with no water. In desperation, the king of Judah (Jehoshaphat) calls out for a prophet - any prophet - to tell the stranded kings with their armies what will be their fate.

Elisha reluctantly steps forward and after some grumbling about having no respect for Joram (king of Israel) for his sinful ways, Elisha calls out, "Bring me a musician!"

As the musician plays, Elisha speaks the word of God.

Why call a musician? Elisha is a prophet and one who "used to pour water on the hands of Elijah" - so he was reputable and in good company to say the least. Could Elisha not speak God's word without the music for inspiration? And was the music inspiration in an intellectual sense or more mystically "inspiring" in the spiritual "breathing-in" sense of the term?

Possibly Elisha could do it w/o music, but why then include this detail about the stringed instrumentalist?

I think it is included because instrumental music - when performed (yes, "performed", but with the proper Audience in mind) - facilitates prophetic communication.

Being of the non-pentecostal strain myself, I prefer to use the the term "kingdom revelation". The invisible kingdom of God is revealed when artists like musicians partner with the Spirit.

Maybe the way we ought to think of instrumental solos being appropriate or not is to evaluate what is communicated (received) to/by the observers or participants. Does God seem to 'speak' when these solos take place - even if the 'speaking' is simply a feeling of divine peace or holy excitement? Does the performer's ego overshadow the communication? These are admittedly subjective judgments and hard to determine, but still necessary I think.

Comment by Jodi-Renee Adams on July 7, 2009 at 6:37pm

Hey Ken: I don't know where the miscommunication is happening, but neither Peacock nor I are saying that there's more holiness in the church or any such hooey. I just got to know Peacock and he's one of the most sought-after musicians in this city. One of the only guys I know that is committed to a faith community for the sake of being part of that community and not because it's a gig of sorts. He (and I for that matter) regularly play out - jazz, funk, R&B, pop, fusion, you name it - and I will affirm that some of my most spiritual experiences have happened in venues outside the church. It's still that way for me. Somewhere along the line, the point of what I was saying got lost and miscommunicated and maybe that's my bad. I can say for a fact that most of the great musicians around have a very, very low opinion of what goes on inside the church music scene - to say that if anyone outside heard this they would be confounded...friend, I'm voicing the things I've heard "unchurched" artists and musicians say about what goes on in worship services. I don't want to speak for Peacock too much, but I know that he would say some of his most spiritual collaboration and manifestations of the Divine have happened with musicians outside and in circumstances that didn't have any kind of Jesus stamp on them. If it's going to be about brutal honesty, I have to say that the biggest egos and the biggest mediocrity and biggest justifications for those things that I have ever encountered in my years of teaching in the church and gigging outside have been in the church. It's not an issue of holiness. It's an issue of integrity. People abuse grace all the time, making justifications for being (whatever...fill in the blanks) and saying that it's part of the human struggle and that's what grace is for. Every body being equal before GOD is in no way a statement that the fruit of our labors the intentions of our hearts are the same or equal. That's a misread of the Scripture and something that a great theologian calls "cheap grace." Our intentions matter. Our value system matters. Our motivations matters. To manipulate worship for a certain emotional response from people or from oneself is a cheapening of the worship act. That was the point I was getting at all along. I'm sorry that this has been such a frustrating dialogue. There's obviously been some misses along the way. Your passion around these things is inspiring.

Comment by Ken Hymes on July 7, 2009 at 6:23pm

Previous post included a phrase that should have read "all exactly equal BEFORE God" not "equal to God"

Comment by Ken Hymes on July 7, 2009 at 6:21pm

The more people talk about something, the less it's usually happening. Lots and lots and lots of talk on here and all over the profession about the music being for God, and never to impress or get off on. I don't believe it, it is simply not reflected in my experience of contemporary OR traditional worship (choirs are at LEAST as bad as rock bands about mixing up their egos with music). I totally disagree that there is any place where music is more or less often pursued for "bad" motives. It's the same all over. And I still say it's all context. Music doesn't really have meaning without context. I always hear writers and singers going on and on about how they are, to use Peacock's phrase, "co-creating with God," or some other way of putting it. So... what? No one outside the church is co-creating with God? NOTHING is possible without God. All those years playing in clubs and theatrical venues, you're saying I was co-creating with the Devil? It's so off-putting, and if anyone outside the profession or the church heard this hooey, they would walk away scratching their heads. OF COURSE I'm trying to be liked, because I'm human, I'm not God. OF COURSE I like to play interesting new things, sing in new and different ways, and it sure as heck doesn't result from a prayerful consideration of whether what I'm doing is sufficiently holy, it just happens. Does a flower stop to consider whether God will be pleased by its beauty? Man, the more I hear, the less interest I have in helping the church realize its mission. I have had outlandishly spiritual experiences in bars, looking up and noticing that someone was having a non-mundane experience, making eye contact, and KNOWING that something, something small but important, had changed forever. A big fat raspberry to the whole idea that we are EVER any better than the Ramones or whoever you want to choose. We are all exactly equal to God, all in need of the same grace, the same life in Jesus. No one wins any prizes for holiness, that's bad theology and it's weighing the church down under a mass of pretension and fake atmosphere. Sorry, guys, but someone's gotta say it.

Comment by Peacock on July 7, 2009 at 2:22pm

Ken,

Purity of intent always matters in music. The more honest you are when creating music, the more God is in it. It doesn't matter whether you're black, white, yellow, or green--or whether you're playing James Brown or Bach or Miles Davis or Native American flute music. The big thing is to not use music to manipulate anyone in any way. All of our musical choices are driven by intent. So, when you and I play the notes we play, the underlying reason we play always comes out in our note choices. Are we trying to be liked? Are we using the church for our own personal glory? Or are we joyfully telling God's story, co-creating with Him in an honest way? I hope for my sake that I can avoid the pitfalls of musical narcissism that comes so easily, get beyond myself, and contribute my part to express the story and glory of the God who is present in every single work of good art and honest music.

Comment by Jodi-Renee Adams on July 6, 2009 at 10:57pm

Paul: we haven't "chatted" before so I thank you for your comments. I agree - the small stuff matters.

Comment by Jodi-Renee Adams on July 6, 2009 at 10:55pm

Ken: thanks for your honest post. I have to say that I never get accused of having a Caucasian perspective - especially as regards to worship - so I think I'm still trying to figure out your perspective. I hear where you're coming from and agree with what you say about Paul and the gospel, but I think there's a big mis-step when we confuse the worship act with evangelism. Evangelism may happen because of worship, but it's not the primary purpose of we're doing in worship. All of Paul's writing on worship is a strong, strong caution against those things or times when we may be less than honest in our intentions - and that isn't about performance but it is about manipulation. My experience has been that the most oft-working, most called-for-gigs, most talented & respected musicians around (and I've been around...) are actually the most humble, the most present, and the most wary of counterfeit. It has largely been in the church and in the "garage band" scene that I have encountered musicians that get hung up on the lifestyle and the narcotic - whether it's religious experience or drink and women. That, I admit, is a big point of frustration for me. You named some great artists and some great cultural experiences, but I don't think there's a fair comparison between what happens in a topflight black Baptist church and what is happening in most mainstream, white, evangelical-culture churches. I am myself a recovering de-churched, de-stabilized, de-evengelical, de-everything faith person and the church I pastor is meant to be a safe space for the unchurched and the dechurched. One thing I have found common to their experience (and mine) is an intense reaction to the Disneyland that can be contemporary Christian worship. We are hardly predictable or familiar group - musically, lyrically, or liturgically - and I find that it is the insiders who most have a problem with that. Most of my blogs are a perhaps too candid insight into how much I shirk away from the white wonder bread, I-IV-V-vi in the key of D, Jesus-is-my-friend-I-am-a-friend-of-Jesus kind of worship that is the norm and the expectation in the Church. I get that feeling of out-of-placeness. I often feel like Jonah in my role. The Church is still not a safe place for me, but I drank the lemonade once and want to keep asking all the questions I can moving forward. I sense that you are trying to find your place too and I commend your perseverance. No doubt, I wrote this post assuming that the readers had a good sense of where I was coming from already - that's a silly novice mistake and I appreciate your post and your challenge reminding me to keep the back story intact too. Peace to you.

Comment by Ken Hymes on July 6, 2009 at 10:11am

I guess I feel a little uncomfortable in this profession. I came to it late, I didn't grow up in a church. I lived the punk rock life for a long time, and often feel like an embarassing problem to people even as they tell me they are glad I'm there. Thanks for your kind words, and for pointing out the nervous tic in my writings :o).

Comment by Paul Yerrick on July 5, 2009 at 10:47pm

I really appreciate the thoughtfulness in this post. I may not agree with everything in it but I do think things like this need to be discussed, as small as they may seem. I will say that I've been reading your responses(Ken) and have to ask why you feel the need to apologize everytime you offer up an idea or opinion? We all work differently, and hopefully we can learn and grow from each other.

Comment by Ken Hymes on July 3, 2009 at 7:07pm

A little bit of a Caucasian perspective operating here? Listen to the Soul Stirrers or the Blind Boys or go to a really topflight black Baptist service... where is the line between performance and worship? it's fuzzy at best. And I think that's fine. It seems like the places that worry over this issue the hardest are usually the least accessible to the un-churched or de-churched. Is purity of intent actually all that important in the end? Sound like a horrible thing to say? Read Paul on the usefulness of all preaching of the Gospel, no matter what is going on in the heart and head of the preacher... In the world I come from, the band is performing, the band is having a spiritual experience... the crowd is having a spiritual experience, the crowd is in a way part of the performance. Why is performance a dirty word, anyway? We may be so obsessed with being corporate at times that we underestimate corporate abilities or potential, and turn to making material always familiar, always easy, always stepwise or predictable. I'm being ornery, but this strikes me as an insider's argument unlikely to mean much to people just getting to know God.