The Worship Clash: Can There Be Harmony?
Bill Hartley writes: "In our fellowship, there are two positive values that seem to be at odds with each other. First, the value of a well-chosen, thoughtful, even concise approach to worship—scriptural, effective, and "not heard for its many words." Second, the desire to "lose myself in worship," enjoying the presence of God—which often calls for lingering, extended meditation, and often repetition (e.g., the Jesus Prayer or a chorus repeated many times). It's hard to serve both values during the same hour—both groups somehow feel violated by the other.
"It's really not a contemporary versus traditional, or hymn versus chorus issue. I paraphrase it as a jazz versus symphony issue—both are great expressions, but they don't really share the same stage. Should we separate or can we bring these opposites together?"
Bill Hartley asks a very crucial question. A simple blending of hymns and choruses is not the answer. It will be found in a much deeper appreciation of the current clash and resulting synthesis of cultures now occurring.
For example, in music there is not one symphonic and one jazz piece. Instead, over history, many styles have clashed, then merged, and, ultimately, created new sounds. Throughout Christian history, worship styles have been birthed, become traditions, clashed with new emerging styles, birthed into new traditions, and so on.
A conflict between modern and postmodern cultures is what's happening right now.
My friend, Greg Ogden, says we are ministering between two paradigms. As we minister between the paradigm of the modern and postmodern cultures, worship inevitably will synthesize as a new style. This phenomenon will not exclude previous models. Instead, previous models survive and may even flourish.
The historic house church model, the liturgical model, the historic Reformation models, traditional Protestant models, and the current contemporary model all have a place in history and may have a place in postmodernity as they evolve into our new cultural situation.
The primary question we must deal with is: What is the mutation process?
The ancient-future model approaches that question in a very specific way. It draws on the three commitments enunciated in this newsletter: specifically, understanding the biblical and ancient roots of worship; appreciating the sources of worship that have evolved through the centuries; and, understanding their penetration into the milieu of our new cultural situation—what Bill Hartley has metaphorically called the synthesis of the symphonic and jazz styles.
I'm willing to use the Ancient-Future Talk column to explore how to evolve into the future, especially if you, the reader, will join in the conversation. It may take a year or two or even more. But it's a conversation that challenges my heart and mind and excites me. Many of the questions you have already sent me seem to fit into this broader question. So please join me in the quest. As I see it, we can all learn from this problem-solving approach to Bill Hartley's provocative question.
See the attachment for more discussion on immanence and transcendence in worship.
