Sung Worship

Quite an interesting debate has opened up in a few blogs that I read about using songs and music to aid worship in Sunday services. It started with Joolian talking about a church having a service with all chart/secular songs. Then Heather picked up the baton thinking a little about the point of sung worship during services especially when it becomes a "hymn sandwich". The comments from Sparkles and Benvolio based on that post move the debate on further to "worship sets"- a 20 minute or more block of sung worship. Monty as a worship leader has interesting points to make here and on his own blog too.

Why do we have songs? In the bible we find singing and I'm sure I could find lots of examples but I'm currently reading Exodus and this passage was last night's reading:
Exodus 15: 1-3

The Song of Moses and Miriam

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.

2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 The LORD is a warrior;
the LORD is his name.

It would seem that singing in some way expresses praise. If I had the time and the inclination, I would also pick out bible passages that show that singing expresses sadness, intimacy and exuberance (but I don't!). Singing in some way taps into our emotions and I would say straight to the soul.

Thinking specifically of using songs not written as an overt songs of praise to God, can these be a form of worship to a variety of people? There are a range of options in this complicated arena. Firstly, the people who wrote the song could be Christian or not. Secondly, the audience could be Christian or not.

It would be foolish to suggest that non-Christians couldn't write music that isn't spiritual or could be used by Christians, in fact historically, it has happened. Because it isn't dedicated to God in its conception doesn't mean that it isn't God inspired. Neil Walker used to constantly remind us that there is nothing "sacred" about some of the traditional hymns we sing as they are the old pub tunes/popular music of the Victorian era, grabbed by Christians to appeal to the masses and entice them to church.

Not all tracks composed by Christians are taken in a worship context. There are several examples but I remember a track by Plummet called Damaged that became a big dance hit a few years ago. The track was originally by Plumb but went "mainstream" when Plummet remixed it. I do believe however that clubbing is actually worship although the participants probably don't realise that! When Jesus talks to the woman at the well he says "You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." (John 4: 21-23) So it is possible to worship and yet not be in tune with the Creator.

I do understand however that for some reasons, singing may not connect with everyone as a method of expression of worship. I think sometimes these reasons are to do with a lack of singing ability and I think that anything that causes people to disengage with corporate times of worship can be damaging. There should always be an alternative so a service shouldn't be all about singing and they aren't (usually). Maybe this is why "hymn sandwich" services have arisen.

I find this quote from Joolian interesting: Being spiritually uplifted by something familiar may not be worship. Music has that power and we just need to exercise some caution not to manipulate with it.
Does music have the power? Or is it the power of God reflected in the piece that stirs our soul, even if we do not know or proclaim Him? If something touches us spiritually, do we have to analyse that sensation? I am interested in this lack of trust for the way we feel things. I tend towards trust but after seeing a programme called Messiah by Derren Brown I am aware that maybe I should be a little more cautious in response to my feelings. (Derren took a group of self confessed atheists and using a series of techniques, induced a spiritual state in them that they attributed to God) I guess comparisions with the Toronto Blessing in evoking a hysterical response to certain stimuli are understandable.
If music has the power to manipulate us into a state of euphoria that may encourage us to believe that we are communicating with God, does this mean that we are not worshipping God? Is it possible to suggest that music does make us susceptible and this is why we use it? Then surely ANY music that puts us into that state is relevant to bring us to that point. So long as we reach that state, does it matter how we get there?

I realise that it's taken me some time to think about all these things and the post is already long and rambling but my conclusion is that sung worship engages the soul at a level that is unseen and in some respects unknowable. This is not however a universal experience and sung worship can be a struggle for some but I believe is a skill that they can aquire over time with patience. I think that the origin of the music is irrelevant mainly and we shouldn't be afraid to use "secular" music as an aid to worship.

Hope some of that makes sense...