Thinking Theologically 1: Am I A Theologian?
READ: Matt 7:24-27
DISCUSS:
1. Dallas Willard once said that “we are at the mercy of our ideas”. What do you think this means?
2. What is your definition of ‘theology’? What does it mean to ‘think theologically’? Especially as a worship leader? How does our theology play out in the songs we sing, the ways we act, what we say in worship?
3. What is the danger, as described in our passage? How does our scripture today model ‘thinking theologically’?
REFLECT:
As a drummer, a singer, a keyboardist, a guitarist, or a bass player you may not think of yourself as a theologian, but you are. All who lead our congregations in worship, whether we are music leaders, musicians, pastors, or liturgists, give a theological statement every time we stand in front of our congregations. Theology literally means ‘the study of God’. Sometimes Christians cut down theology as being all head and no heart, but theology is important because it deals with our ideas about God. Who is God? What does God want? How is God working in our lives? As Dallas Willard wrote, “we are at the mercy of our ideas,” so our answers to these questions will define how we live our lives and lead our congregations in worship.
The problem though, with all of us at times, is that we think very little about our ‘theologies’ and the ‘ideas’ that define us are often inconsistent or contradictory. We see this play out in our lives especially in great times of personal struggle or temptation. For example, a young woman is struggling because her boyfriend wants to have sex. Theologically, her beliefs about sex are based on the scriptural understanding that God has sanctioned sex only within the bounds of marriage, yet her IDEAS about sex are more shaped by her culture, the media, and her friends, which conflict with her theology. So this internal conflict may lead her to disobey her beliefs in place of her ideas without even really understanding what is going on.
The same often happens in our leadership in worship. So often our ideas about what is good, interesting, crowd pleasing, and engaging in worship are shaped by our culture, upbringing, friends/family, and the media. And this is not necessarily wrong, but it can, at times, conflict with our theology of worship. If our primary focus as a church is (whether we realize it or not) how excellent musically we are, how cool our lighting and multimedia is, how fun, or entertaining our services are, then our worship services may have high performance quality and excellence, but confusing and contradicting messages about who God is, where God is, and what God is asking of the congregation in worship.
Whether we realize it or not, everything is our worship service gives a theological statement. So often we think that our song choices, liturgy, or preaching are the only times we speak theologically. But in worship everything speaks theologically, because everything in worship is infused with meaning. So, our demeanor as a leader gives a theological statement, the musical dynamics and transitions we use speak theologically, the ways we pray, incorporate silence, speaking, singing, standing and sitting, etc…teaches people about God. Even the way the band is positioned, and the ways the chairs are set up in the room speak theologically! There is no dead time in a worship service; everything has a theological message. And this makes understanding our own theologies and the theology which we portray as a band member and worship team deeply important.
A friend of mine and I have had a long running debate about the use of guitar solos in a worship set. He believes that solo’s can help people have an unstructured space to be with God if used correctly, and I tend to feel that extended guitar solos in a worship service are more about performance than worship. We both though agree that guitar solos are much more than a personal preference but a theological statement. It is not just about whether we like guitar solos or not, but about what a guitar solo portrays theologically and how it functions in worship service. For me, guitar solos make me think of worship as a concert, a spectator sport, when God is calling us all to participate, but my friend sees a well positioned solo as an invitation to prayer and meditation, a sign that God wants to be with us and meet us where we are.
As our debate continues my friend and I both agree that though this may seem like a trivial issue, there is nothing trivial about our worship service. Worship is our life’s blood as Christians; it is the very air we breathe, so we are called to take it seriously. And worship teaches, so every time we gather for worship we remind the congregation who God is, where God is, and what God requires of them.
God longs for His grace in Jesus Christ to become what is most true and real in our lives; more true and real than all the other ideas that we have learned and embraced. So we are called to conform our ideas to what we believe, to “build our house on the Rock”(Matthew 7:24-27), so that we can portray the gospel of Jesus Christ consistently through our worship services and through our lives.
Remember, as worship leaders you are not just members of another band: you are teaching people who God is and how to approach God in worship. So, if you are not thinking theologically you are in danger of committing idolatry and of leading people into the worship of another God that is not Jesus Christ.
If you are unsure about how to ‘think theologically’ and what exactly you believe, I encourage you to take 30 minutes and write a personal statement of belief. This might end up taking over 30 minutes, but at least take that much time to begin. In this statement just ask yourself: what do I believe about God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, church, life eternal, sanctification, etc…. Take 30min to an hour to do this and then compare it with the APCH statement of belief (on the website: www.apch.nl). Were there any variations? Now, begin to think through the songs we sing, etc…. through the lens of that mission statement. After you have written your statement of faith, you could write a personal mission statement about how you want to live out what you believe.
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES (to read throughout the week):
Psalm 119: 9-16, John 1:1-14, Colossians 3:15-17, Hebrews 4:11-13,
REFERENCES (for further reading)
The Complete Worship Leader, Kevin J. Navarro
2 comments:
This is from Creig, one of the musicians on the praise team:
I was just reading your recent worship leader study where you mention the debate about guitar solos. I remembered going to a "concert" a year or so ago to see/hear (worship with?) Sons of Korah. Of course their songs are enjoyable and professional and worshipful (since they sing the psalms/Scripture) and instructive and edifying. But I also remember very long instrumental interludes by a very skillful guitarist to which I reacted by thinking "was that just about his mastery of the instrument?" and if not "how was that worshipful?" I found that such solos (since there is no content), at least for me, left me feeling that I had watched a performance, whereas when the lyrics were being sung it tended to be worship to some degree. I guess I could ask myself if I feel more negative about the instrumental solo out of jealously (i.e. he is "showing off") of his skill, but then if I had such skill and used it in a prolonged manner in a church service it seems it would have to be egocentric and entertainment oriented to some degree. Maybe if the "performer" was not seen it would make a difference? Not sure. I can see where an extended time of instrumental music (which of course would still involve skill) is a place for contemplation and quietness (which think we need more of in church not less) and enhances personal, private worship. But then maybe a church service is really (only?) about corporate worship anyway. I also remember a bass player (with a 6 string bass) playing a very long solo in church (not APCH) once, independent of a larger song context, and the reactions I heard implied few if any found it worshipful but they were impressed with the bassist's skill. Anyway I think I tend to agree in principle with your reservations about extended guitar solos, but it is an interesting issue. A gifted voice, while lyrics are (theological content is) involved, still evokes debate about performance vs. worship at times. Some level of performance is always there, I guess, the question is whether people respond with a focus on God or the musician (I imagine the latter being more probable if the musician is very bad or very good, which if true raises some interesting questions as well). Well, just some off the cuff thoughts on a Monday morning for what they are worth. Blessings,
Thanks for the comments. I usually feel that a guitar solo or vocal solo brings the attention on the persons performance, no matter what their personal intentions are. Yet I also have experienced worship where guitar solo's, etc... enhance worship and provide more of the sacred space to just be with God. I think ultimately it depends on our theology of worship. I often look at corporate worship primarily as sacred space where we lay our whole lives before God and open ourselves, as individuals and a community, to being transformed by His loving presence. So a guitar solo could work to create this sacred space, because there is a larger narrative going on in worship than just the structured elements of our liturgy and order. What do you think?
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