Quality Worship - can those words go together??

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope you enjoyed your turkey (or whatever food makes you happy) and you were able to reflect on what you are thankful for. I definitely have been very blessed and am thankful for a ton. Praise be to God.

So while enjoying some amazing turkey and many delicious sides with my parents today in sunny Lancaster, PA (all the rest of our family is mostly in Michigan), we started talking about worship. [ If you don't know, my dad is a worship leader who I have a lot of respect for. He switches up styles like no one else can and I think its awesome. ] Anyways, my parents were trying to understand my general skepticism and dislike towards contemporary worship music. I went on to explain my reasons, which in a short list, include: I think that the music we sing is just the music that is simply marketed well, music that all sounds the same (i.e. Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Paul Baloche, Tim Hughes - [click his name for his latest single], Big Daddy Weave, Casting Crowns, MercyMe, Hillsong, Gateway, Jeremy Camp, Lincoln Brewster, Michael W. Smith, Phillips, Craig, and Dean...all the exact same sound), music that all says the same thing (just substitutes a new name for Jesus), music that is overproduced, and what can often result in a concert experience rather than a worship one.

Now that list is just off the top of my head. I could spend entire posts unpacking each of those issues. But let's be honest. Everyone can rip apart Christian music, especially if it is the typical worship stuff. Also, I always operate under the assumption that if you are not helping solve the problem, you are more useless than the people doing the wrong. So I tried to explain what I like in worship. I like it very simple. No lights or flash. Usually just an acoustic guitar and a jimbay with a guy and a girl singing. But I can do the choirs and praise teams and even handle an occasional Sunday morning guitar solo. Ultimately it is my decision whether or not I am going to connect with God at this time I've chosen to praise/cry out to God. Music is not the big factor for me, its the lyrics. However, I think most would agree with me that when there is music that you are enjoying, it is SOO much easier to connect with God.

And maybe that is the problem. I don't really like the genre of music that ALL of worship is done in. It bores me. I feel like I could write an entire worship album right now before the new year, put together a band, market it really well, do a tour, get signed to a Christian label, and be set. But I could never do that. First, I'd be whoring myself out for money (and I struggle a LOT with how much money is made off of Jesus' name) and second I would not enjoy what I was doing in the least. Point still stands: it's much to easy.

So I started trying to think of artists who I thought were doing "worship music" (or corporate church music) right. I think that there are definitely songs from bands that have a ton of terrible singles that are sung in churches every week, but that have written some good songs too. I like a lot of the lyrics that have come from Mercy Me (older stuff), but their music is eh. I liked Tomlin's "Arriving" CD, but then every song was oversung (first three songs: Indescribable, Holy is the Lord, How Great is Our God...see my point?). And I haven't even been able to make it threw "Hello Love" (Tomlin's new one) more than twice - I just didn't like it. Jeremy Camp has written some very heartfelt songs that tried to talk about Christ in a fresh way, but sometimes I feel like he is straight out of Nickelback.

But that is also the problem (refering to the fresh way). All these artists are only talking about ONE thing: God. And "there is nothing new under the sun" (see: Ecclesiastes by Soloman). So, it is very hard to write anything fresh or creative. I understand that.

And so do Christians that are my age who are making music. If you start writing Christian music, especially worship music, say good-bye to your career. Any and all credibility is long gone as soon as you do that. That is sad. Seriously. Remember when Christians use to lead the way creatively? Me either. The only genre this takes place in is post-hardcore (what you may call "screaming"). Every other genre, Christians are behind. But I'll save that rant...

So I searched a little bit for some "good worship" music. One of my friends who recently opened for this band told me about how Tooth and Nail (pretty sweet label) just signed their first worship band. I couldn't believe that T-a-N would do that, but I checked out The Glorious Unseen and was impressed (you should play it in the background as you read/respond to this :). It was music that I could actually enjoy and used that crying-out-to-Jesus type lyrics that really connect with me. Lyrically I haven't listened all that much. It is a little bit "churchy" still for me, but I was still impressed. Here is a review from someone who did not like the album, but seems like they come from a somewhat similar place as me.

And I love Derek Webb. Talking about the social issues of our day and giving new analogies of the bride of Christ (Click here to hear Wedding Dress). And like I said, some of the artists I said I really struggle to listen to have also written good songs. I like Crowder and Jars of Clay. Worlds Apart will always live on as one of the best songs ever. And I like hymns and of course I love Psalms.

And that is my struggle. To fight the tension of saying, "hey in the end this won't matter, so who cares about this debate - just worship" and the other side of realizing that God has called us to do things with excellence. I just know we can be doing it better.

But the greatest of these is...Courage??

Cool quote I found on my buddy's profile. Thanks Blake!

"What is, therefore, our task today? Shall I answer: 'Faith, hope, and love'? That sounds beautiful. But I would say - courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature . . . we lack a holy rage - the recklessness which comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets, and when the lie rages across the face of the earth . . . a holy anger about the things that are wrong in the world. To rage against the ravaging of God's earth, and the destruction of God's world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food. To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction peace. To rage against complaceny. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms to the norms of the Kingdom of God. And remember the signs of the Christian Church have been the Lion, the Lamb, the Dove, and the Fish . . . but never the chameleon."
-Kaj Munk

A child my parents have been supporting for many years recently died in a fire at a family reunion in Costa Rica. In addition, a friend from college committed suicide this week. Now I don't have the kind of "rage" that Kaj Munk is talking about for Christ, nor do I think that that would really be appropriate. However, anytime there is a shocking death, it always make me think about life. More specifically, makes me think about my life and what I should be doing with it.

So I like the words from this man (I think Kaj is a male name...), but I am still going to have to go with God on this one, that the greatest of these will always be love. Now I just have to do that, even in the midst of seeing trajedies all around. From Beaver Falls to Darfur, "all we need is love".

The Beatles, "All You Need is Love"