Moving beyond worship wars Deeper understandings
We have capacity to make worship come alive in fresh ways By Clay Schmit with Justin Rimbo
Schmit: As a worship professional, how do you describe your work?
L
utherans always seem eager to deepen our understanding regarding worship practices.
We’ve seen congregations go through so-called worship wars; we have cre- ated a constellation of fairly new wor- ship resources to enrich our practice; and we continue to discuss worship in workshops and conferences, such as this summer’s ELCA Worship Jubilee (“Called to be a Living Voice,” July 19-23 in Atlanta). Some of us have strong ties to tra-
ditional Lutheran forms of worship and music. Others explore emerg- ing church realities and find ways to bring new life and insight into our worship practices. For this particular conversation
on worship, I’ve invited Justin Rimbo to help us understand some emerg- ing trends in Lutheran worship today. Rimbo is a young church musician who is a frequent workshop and con- ference leader.
Schmit: Justin, to set the stage for our conversation, please tell us about your cultural identity. Do you con- sider yourself a millennial?
Rimbo: Well, yes, I’d consider myself to be one, but I can’t say if experts would agree. If we’re talking strictly in terms of year of birth, I’m prob- ably not a millennial. But it’s easier for me to resonate with millennial ways of doing things than with older generations. The issue is more a culture gap
than an age gap. 14
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Rimbo: What I love doing most is building worship experiences. That doesn’t only mean leading music or directing a worship band, although I enjoy that. It’s also about caring for the theological implications of the ele- ments of worship. Things such as the use of visual art, light, sound, the flow of the ordo (church year observances), room temperature and so forth. My work also includes develop-
ing future leaders within my scope of influence. And I spend a lot of time scouring the Internet for new mate- rials to introduce, like original songs or experiential elements. I’m kind of an aggregator, to use a technological term. It’s also akin to being a cura- tor for a museum exhibit, but with a deeper grounding in theology.
Schmit: You came from a traditional worship family.
Rimbo: I did. And I’m grateful for that. My dad (Metropolitan New York Synod Bishop Robert Rimbo) is pretty widely respected as a liturgi- cal theologian, writer and lover of all kinds of worship, but especially tradi- tional liturgy. I like that too. It’s good to know where you come from.
Schmit: How did you move from your traditional roots to where you are today?
Rimbo: I’m not sure I’ve moved all that much. I still have a deep appre- ciation for hymnody and good order. As I grew up, especially in places like camps and youth gatherings, it was easy to learn how other people were doing things. When you experience new things you’re given the option either to dismiss what’s different from your experience or look for the value in it, even if it has to be adapted to fit your context. So that’s what I chose.
Schmit:How would you define what your work in workshops and confer- ences is about?
Rimbo: I’ve been thrilled to lead workshops in several synods on what I’ve seen and experienced with regard to worshiping in millennial commu- nities. The people who show up want to know what folks on the other side of the generation gap are looking for in worship. I think the first step in re-examining
the way our congregations plan wor- ship is to recognize that there’s been a shift in the way young people perceive things. It’s not necessarily about a
Editor’s note: This series is intended to be a public conversation among theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at
www.thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Michael Cooper-White, president of the Lutheran Theo-
logical Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.), on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
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