"I don’t often play in worship bands for the simple reason that I am an oboist, and very often worship leaders don’t know what to do with me. However, I have been part of worship teams and the Evangelical Church long enough to understand how many church leaders think about music within the context of running a church service. Most of these people are great individuals who are simply doing their best within the given system. However, there is a systemic problem that permeates the mindset of these leaders in the spaces I have been part of. That is the idea that music is only there to serve the program. It is utilitarian in nature, intended to serve the purpose of helping people get ‘into’ God or ‘wake’ people up so they can be ready for the sermon.
We often use it in a manipulative way — trying to evoke a certain feeling from the congregants or to draw people into the Church. Many would say that the intention is to worship God (which, of course, is a good thing), but if we think about the nature of the word ‘worship,’ being worthy, then are we really using the best we have? The music we use for worship is often formulaic, simple to play, easy to sing to, and lacks complexity and depth. The people we put on stage are amateurs — called to serve because ‘their hearts are in it,’ and, of course, rarely paid. Music in the church simply isn’t considered important enough."
It begs the question: what is the standard? Does excellence matter? And if so, what is excellence? Do we produce excellent music in our churches? Is it good enough if our hearts are in it? Is it good enough if we simply pray for God to ‘tune our instruments’ before the service, or whenever we present our art? If you know me or have read any of my previous articles you already know what I think, but let’s break this down a little bit.
What Is Excellence?
There are a couple of ways to think about excellence, and the first way is our standard of excellence. Within that, we have to not only look at our standard of execution but also the quality of what we are executing. For example, an artist may be bringing their very best intentions to a drawing with Crayola markers, but are Crayola markers really the best medium available for them to create with? How do we know what is a high-quality medium, or who is an excellent composer or songwriter? We have to look at quality through the lens of history, tradition, and academic achievement within the genre and then expand to the whole of that artistic medium in general. Philip Graham Ryken states in "Art for God’s Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts," “The difference between good art and bad art is not something we learn from the Bible, primarily, but from the world that God has made. But what the Bible does tell us is that God knows the difference, and he has a taste for excellence.”
We have to look at the people qualified and trained in those fields to help us understand what is excellent. When looking at our current praise and worship music, not only is its quality within the genre of rock almost universally subpar, but within the whole of Western music, it’s frankly terrible. It simply is not the best we can offer. Where are the composers? Where are the artists and dancers? Where are the highly trained musicians and musicologists to help guide us toward excellence? They have left the Evangelical Church because their gifts are not wanted. As the pastor of a former church of mine stated from the pulpit, “Organ music is so boring—I don’t know anyone who knows anyone who likes organ music.” Additionally, we are not training our worship leaders to know and understand the difference between good and bad art. We are not teaching them to pursue excellence within the whole of Western music. It’s a systemic problem that must be reversed. It is not good enough to have your heart in it. My heart would be in it if I had to heal someone with a bullet in their chest, but I can assure you I would probably do more damage than good if I tried. I am not trained as a doctor. Why do we treat music as less important?"
“When looking at our current praise and worship music, not only is the quality within the genre of rock universally subpar, but within the whole of western music, it’s franky terrible. It simply is not the best we can offer.”
This is not to say that it doesn’t matter what the intention is. In fact, intention is another way to look at excellence. Excellence is also a mindset. It is the insatiable desire to learn more, to discover more and to see how close we can become to an ideal that doesn’t exist here on earth. A good artist will tell you they still have more to learn and it is only when our mental or physical faculties fail us when we are unable to grow. In the art of Taekwondo, a black belt is not an arrival, it is a beginning.
This is why when a young child paints a picture it can still be excellent. No it is not Van Gogh. It is not yet developed but it is still excellent because they have put their heart into it and are continuing to improve. This is also why it is possible for an accomplished artist to not be excellent if they no longer put in effort or care to improve.
Why does excellence matter?
It’s fairly obvious to state that excellence matters because God is worth it. He also commands it in Deuteronomy 6:5 (the beginning of the Shema in Judaism). “You shall love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” But there is an additional reason why I think excellence matters. What if this desire to grow, to learn more, and to continuously improve is part of the DNA of the Kingdom to come? What if we are creating with the fabric of eternity, and that growing in our craft is an echo of what lies behind the dark glass? In Music as Prayer: The Theology and Practice of Church Music, Thomas H. Troeger states, 'It [music] does not vanquish the chaos monster, but the pulse and timbre of the music put people in touch with the rhythms and structures of creation that belong to God and that resonate in the heart, providing them with a renewed sense of divine presence and the strength to endure when the world falls apart.” (Emphasis added). There is something unexplainable about music and how it impacts the human race. Perhaps by engaging with art as an active participant we are coming in contact with the aroma of Christ. I cannot speak to the other arts specifically, but music exists as part of creation. When a note sounds, there are natural overtones that simply… exist. This is why certain chords sound better than others.
“There is something unexplainable about music and how it impacts the human race. Perhaps by engaging with art as an active participant we are coming in contact with the aroma of Christ.”
I often think that we will never stop growing and learning about Christ. Even in eternity we will continue to learn more about him only to find out that there is no end to Him. We will always be discovering more. Growing is part of what it means to be human and we are made in the image of God so what if eternity is much like that? If true, then pursuing excellence is not only reflection of the nature of eternity but even as we grow and develop our art we are growing towards the New as we wait for redemption.
Yes, beautifully said. I especially liked what you wrote here: "This is why when a young child paints a picture it can still be excellent. No it is not Van Gogh. It is not yet developed but it is still excellent because they have put their heart into it and are continuing to improve." Love that God looks at the heart and sees our efforts, not necessarily just the results.
Play Skillfully unto the Lord! Psalms 33:3