ECENTLY, we had a fantastic mo-
R
worship leader bring his group ment by DEREK KNOKE
of singers and musicians to our tran-
church. Like most bands, they scend-
prefer to bring their own equip- ed stylis-
ment, which in this case, meant acoustic tic con-
drums instead of our noise-diminishing troversies. Its
electric ones. We have a nice sanctuary, significance
but it does not accommodate acoustic interrupted corpo-
drums—especially when they are struck rate doctrinal disputes
with unmitigated enthusiasm. So when on how the Spirit breaks into
the group began with some high-energy church experiences. This encounter
songs that I was not familiar with, I felt in God’s presence was particularly extraordi-
rather disconnected from the worship nary because God may have been speaking
experience of the song leader. about the church’s methods of communi-
SINGING ALONG
This guest artist was one of the most cating the Gospel in the 21st century—
highly anticipated musicians we have ever about embracing an identity rooted in the
had at our church. I had been looking for- old traditions without being static or disen-
ward to his coming for some time, and yet gaging and, in all of this, about uniting
when he began singing, I had a difficult discordant Christian generations.
time participating with him in worship— No one I know is debating the extreme
not because I didn’t like the style, but biblical illiteracy of our day. Years ago when
because I was distracted (all I could hear I was leading a youth Sunday school class,
were the drums) and confused (I did not I asked one youth who had grown up in
know the lyrics). church about the Pharisees, and he started
After a couple of songs like this, they recounting spattered details of the life of
broke into an energetic remix of “Nothing Pharaoh—possibly accrued from Disney’s
but the Blood.” And in that moment some- The Prince of Egypt. This is not an isolated
thing happened. A boisterous sea of voices, incident. Even the repertoire of biblical sto-
which until this point had been less ries from the adults in church is novicelike.
involved in worship than even mine, bel- In the worship encounter, “singing
lowed as they began to participate vocally along” became for me a metaphor about
and charismatically in the congregational engaging, tradition-honoring communica-
worship. From that point on, the glory of tion in a biblically illiterate world. Very few
God in the place was so thick and liberat- can sing along with the preacher who
ing my body seemed incapable of contain- recites Scripture or speaks in Christian code.
ing it. The presence of God lingered as the And yet we will not nurture faith if we
band continued with its set of original betray Scripture or the identity-forming
music and as the mix of old and new memories of God’s actions among our spiri-
words flowed off our tongues in vibrant tual fathers and mothers. So what do we as
unison. People were singing along exuber- the Church do?
antly with one another to songs both No doubt this concern (or the array of
familiar and unfamiliar. blank stares coming from the congregation)
has driven much of the technologically ori-
Something Bigger
ented methods of worship and preaching
There was something special about that for contemporary churches. Most Ameri-
moment when young and old encountered cans can identify with recent cultural icons.
God together. In this unique event, the Popular shows, movies, music, or whatnot
16 EVANGEL • FEB 2009
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