Pretty low day in attendance yesterday, typical for a sunny July weekend I suppose. I’m going to be a little more transparent than usual with this post so hold onto your hat. This is actually going to be a confessional.
Over the last five years in my current place of service, we’ve been working on a slow shift towards a more “contemporary” offering in our services. During the last few months, I’ve grown more and more certain that the shift is not working, and is not likely to work in the future no matter how much time and energy are thrown at it.
Regular long-time readers know a few things about me. I appreciate a wide variety of styles of music, and will likely never, ever remove hymns from my regular rotation when planning set lists. That said, I do think music in the church needs to stay fresh so that we do not become robots during our musical expressions in worship, and we must speak to the changing culture around us (both churched and unchurched). I’ve also said before that I have a “ten year plan” for the transformation of music in our worship.
I’m not sure now that 10 years is going to be enough. I’m not sure that, five years down the road of this process, that any progress has been made. In fact, I think the divide between acceptance and rejection is now wider than it was 5 years ago. I’m tired and worn out and not sure where to go from here. Some of my thoughts and feelings are not just about music, but about how church, in general, is done. I see great and mighty opportunity all around, and not a whole lot being done with it.
Not saying I’m getting ready to pack up and abandon ship, I’m just saying I’m pretty much adrift with no map. I have no clue what to do next. I don’t know what the next steps to take should be. Have we gone too far too quickly? Not quickly enough? Has my approach been completely flawed and is in need of reworking? I just don’t know. Maybe I just need a vacation to clear my head and refocus (which will happen next week).
Well, take that rant with a grain of salt. Here’s yesterday’s set-list:
- Let Everything that Has Breath // Matt Redman
- I Want to Know You // Andy Park
- Sweet Hour of Prayer // Walford & Bradbury
- Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us // Thrupp & Bradbury
