November 10, 1999
Talk about 'our' worship rather
than 'my' worship, Greer advises
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___LEWISVILLE--Churches could resolve their "worship wars" by changing pronouns, songwriter/composer Bruce Greer suggests.
___"They could talk about 'our' worship, not 'my' worship and what 'I' want," explained Greer, who won a 1999 Dove Award for his musical, "Mary, Did You Know?"
___Greer points to the congregation where he was raised, Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview, as an example of peaceful harmonization of a variety of musical tastes in worship.
___"I didn't know there were churches that were uptight about worship," he noted, recalling that his music minister, Dale Perkins, utilized traditional hymns, praise choruses and even classical anthems in worship three decades ago.
___"We weren't charismatic, but we weren't afraid to be physical in worship. We sang praise choruses, and we clapped. And yet we also enjoyed stirring, thoughtful anthems that had been sung for centuries. The seniors sang choruses with us and loved it, but we joined them in singing 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God,' and we were moved by the powerful message.
___"All musical territory was everybody's territory. It wasn't 'me and mine.' It was 'ours.'"
___Today, however, many congregations square off into battle formations over music in worship, observed Greer, who worships with a different church almost every weekend as he travels presenting concerts and participating in worship.
___"Where there is a push for exclusive music, usually it's contemporary," he said. "Usually, that's because the pastor wants to reach more people, and he thinks worship has got to be contemporary. He says, 'There's this church over there that runs 1,000 more than we do, and we can too, if we have a contemporary service.' However, people will come in spite of musical style if Truth is proclaimed in a spirit of love. I see it every weekend in many churches across our country."
___Some churches have tried to make peace by developing a "blended" worship style, Greer reported. "In theory, this works. However, in practice, a lot of 'blended' music is scrambled music," he insisted. "Instead of what it is--diverse songs in diverse styles--it's homogenized."
___Piano, bass and drums added on a traditional hymn are not bad in and of themselves, but worshippers who prefer traditional hymns are offended when they never are allowed to hear their favorite hymns in a traditional style, he explained. Likewise, sometimes the organ overshadows choruses, and they no longer sound contemporary.
___For example, praise choruses can be very effective when they are sung in a contemporary style with the use of keyboards, guitars and drums, he said. Similarly, hymns can be just as effective sung in their simplicity without extensive instrumentation or arrangement. These melodies can be enhanced with just organ and piano.
___"A major part of the problem is an over-emphasis or following a formula for worship," he said.
___"To make worship flow from celebration to intimacy, it is thought that music never should pause or breathe and cannot move through different styles," he said. "A lot of people are worried about worship being awkward. Silence is not to be feared. The Scripture says, 'Be still, and know that I am God.'
___"I don't think there is just one approach to leading people in worship through music. Creativity is one of God's gifts, and I would hope that we would offer it back to him through our worship. The Holy Spirit can move through several separate songs as well as one continuous medley of songs.
___"Churches can find that worshippers tolerate diverse musical styles when each style is presented with musical excellence," Greer said. "Think through the music regarding style and content, and let the music stand on its own."
___No matter what style is used or preferred, learning new songs is essential, he added. "I'm in the middle of it, because I'm a songwriter. I'd never say it's bad to do new songs.
___"But there's so much wealth in our hymnals that we're not tapping into. There's so much theology that we're missing. It's great to sing 'I Love You, Lord' and 'Lord, I Lift Your Name on High,' but it's also great to sing 'I Love Thee,' 'I Need Thee Every Hour' or 'Come, Thou Almighty King.'
___"One may say, 'The language is so archaic; how can it speak to me?' I would remind them that Shakespeare and Michaelangelo, as well as the psalms of David, are archaic, but they communicate as strongly today as when they were first read and seen.
___"Some others say, 'Some hymns shouldn't be used in worship because they don't address God in the first person.' I would hope we haven't gotten so arrogant to presume the body of Christ never has truly worshipped until the last 20 years.
___"On the other side, I've heard people say, 'Those choruses are just mindless chatter.' However, there is something to be said for meditating on Scripture, and what better way than through music?"
___Greer urges church members to affirm each other's tastes and preferences and to look at worship as "our" worship, a shared community experience.
___"Most people can appreciate all of it," he said, "as long as they don't feel threatened and attacked because of what they personally like. Traditionalists should not refer to contemporary music as 'little ditties,' and those who prefer contemporary should not refer to hymns as 'out of touch.'"
___Scripture calls Christians to sing a "new song," Greer noted.
___"Any song, traditional or contemporary, written this year or 100 years ago, is a 'new' song only if God has 'renewed' a right spirit in us," he said.
___"As his family, let's stop thumbing our noses and rolling our eyes at one another and learn to love each other in all our diverse splendor."
OTHER CHURCH MUSIC STORIES:
- Church music ending century on a similar note to its start
- Key figures in church music in 20th century
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