I recently attended a Christian music concert that left me with some thoughts:
There is something super-powerful about a corporate gathering of people singing about a shared set of beliefs and values. I’m not a huge fan of large concerts…my preference would almost always be acoustic music in a much smaller setting. I don’t get caught up in music and sound the way I know a lot of people do. But…even so…I cannot deny the power in the room when clearly lots of people ARE getting caught up in the music and environment.
Sometimes it’s good to sing about God’s ultimate power and victory. My current tradition tends to focus more on ‘God in the now’ than on ‘God in the not-yet.’ The music at this concert was mostly about God’s overall power over the universe and eventual victory of death and darkness. I find great richness in seeing God in the present. I’m not sure I like the idea of God as ultimate Puppet-Master, pulling all the strings and rolling out some pre-determined script. But…in the midst of things that were feeling heavier and darker than I necessarily knew how to handle…it was a welcome relief to be invited to focus on the “God’s got it all in control and will one day win” message. I don’t think it can be the only thing we say…but sometimes we need to say it.
Don’t use the word ‘diversity’ if you don’t really mean it. The point of this music concert was theoretically to demonstrate the ‘diversity of the big church.’ The main MC said several times, “We are here to celebrate diversity!” But everyone who spoke at the microphone (except for one female artist) was male, and predominantly Caucasian. In the video they showed about the diversity of the church around the world, there was no representation of the Catholic, Orthodox, or any Protestant tradition that would wear a robe or an alb. The first ‘altar call’ was in the first 30 minutes of the concert. The discussion of ‘missions’ was exclusively ‘us going to them’ in talking about the needs of the world. The videos did not lift up any women in leadership, and all the language about God was male. So what did ‘celebrate diversity’ for this concert really mean?
Get over it and lift those hands up. I was recently reading and pondering about praying with your body, and reflecting on my own anxieties and internal wounds that make me extremely cautious, self-conscious, and uncomfortable with all kinds of stuff related to body. I was a bit envious of those around me who were evidently able to give themselves over to the music, environment, emotion in ways that are much more challenging for me. I’ll just be the one over in the corner getting the nerve up to ‘carry the TV’.
“Worship” and “Concert” are not necessarily the same thing. One thing I struggle with at Christian music events is when an artist will talk about how they’re so excited to ‘be in worship’ with the crowd. Then they will lead music that no one else can sing, dominated by their voice, the drums or the electric guitar, and make sure you know their ‘merch’ table is in the back so you can buy their latest CD on your way out. That’s not worship. That’s a concert. I appreciated the final artist at this concert, who sat at his piano, set up a microphone that picks up a wider sound, invited his band to step away from their microphones and gather around the piano, and then led the crowd in songs that were sing-able by everyone. He even leaned away from the microphone so that the crowd singing could be heard. And he didn’t mention his merchandise. It was still a concert, but it was a different kind of performance that I connected with much more strongly.
My issue is not with the Christian music concert. They have their place and people enjoy them. But if we call a Christian music concert ‘church,’ and we ‘celebrate diversity’ but don’t mention any culture/story other than our own…we miss something…or…a lot of things.
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