In the introduction to Chumbawumba's 'Tubthumping', from the film Brassed Off, one of the characters says:
Truth is I thought it mattered
I thought that music mattered
But does it? B*****cks
Not compared to how people matter
In the context of the film, that's true, but in the context of public worship, I'd want to rephrase it...
Truth is it really matters
I thought that music mattered
But does it? Absolutely!
Because people matter.
A bit of context... I love Baptist Assembly, and I love our diversity, but every year, every single year, I find myself feeding back the same reflection on the sung worship and the language that is used within the context of worship. Perhaps I am now a grumpy old woman where once I was an eager theologically informed critic. And, I need to give credit where it's due rather than simply critique/moan, this year's musicians played skillfully and at an appropriate volume. After failing to do so in the first session, they also included 'as you are able' in the instruction to stand.
So, some general thoughts before my explicit gripes...
- Leading Worship 101 (we din this into our students) make sure that the first and last hymn/song is really well known and non-contentious. There is nothing worse than beginning or ending with something you have never heard of - and the worship leader said of many songs 'you probably don't know this one'.
- Invite don't instruct (another thing we din into our students). I am a rule-follower, I comply... if you tell me to stand, I'll stand; if you tell me kneel, I'll kneel... Not everyone is able to stand/kneel/raise their hands... not everyone is comfortable turning to their neighbour, touching a stranger's (or anyone's) arm... not everyone likes being told what to do, and for some it can feel controlling... 'I invite you to...' 'If you are able and comfortable to...' Ask... don't tell.
- Words are powerful, can liberate and energise, can hurt or harm... (Yes, you've guessed, our students get told all this too...). Check the words of hymns, the writers/contexts from which they came... Are there versions of hymns that are more inclusive (or less excluding) that could be used? Might it be wise to omit certain verses that could be problematic e.g. for people with disabilities, people who have experienced abuse, people who are not white, cis-het, etc etc. Nothing is perfect, and this isn't political correctness gone wild, it's pastoral sensitivity...
- Does the hymn/song do the job it needs... to gather, to praise, to confess, to teach, to dismiss, to bless? Is there variety and/or movement in the 'feel' and style of music... if we can do everything with three to five chords and a capo, or if everything is 86 86 D, then there is scope for better!
So, to some specifics from this years Baptist Assembly...
The Good...
When we sang 'When I survey the Wondrous Cross' and 'Be Thou my Vision', and when we had 1970s Sunday School choruses ('This little Light of Mine' and 'Higher, Higher') everyone sang, and sang lustily. We need more of that.
Mostly we were asked 'to stand as we are able'
I understand that a song change/adjustment was made in response to feedback from Deaf delegates; I applaud this as an example of good practice.
The Not-so-Good, and the Bad ...
This relates to specific examples.
Not so good...
- The total absence of non-English language or 'world church' songs... there are oodles out there, and in a multicultural, multi-ethnic, outwards facing context, we should be choosing some of them
- The use of exclusive language versions of out-of-copyright hymns were there are good inclusive language versions, notably 'Be Thou my Vision'. To be clear, I am not one for changing words willy-nilly, but sometimes the newer versions are better - and some writers even issue updated words they'd rather we used.
The Bad... some specific lyrics that were meaningless or offensive
- The line 'Praise is the water my enemies drown in' is, frankly, abhorrent and even, dare I say it, antithetical to the teaching of Jesus... 'Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.' When people fleeing persecution or abuse are forced to use small boats, and some drown as a result, when some political activists speak of drowning people who don't look like them, there is no way any Christian should ever sing such words...
- The line 'let praise be a weapon' is no less troubling. I admit that 'spiritual warfare' is a theology that many find helpful but I don't. Irrespective, if we see praise as a weapon, I feel we have our priorities wrong... praise is about honouring who God is, not beating up another, whoever.
- 'You've got a lion inside of those lungs'... Just what does that mean, even in context ("Come on my soul, don't you get shy on me, you've got a lion inside of those lungs"). If it doesn't make plain sense, or if you have to explain the metaphor, it's failed even before it begins.
To be clear - I do not expect to like or agree with everything that is chosen for worship, it's not about me and my preferences or my theology, it's about honouring God...
- I struggle with singing 'Ten Thousand Reasons' because I encountered at a time when the reality of my own mortality was in especially sharp focus, and I could not - and cannot - be confident that in my last moments I'll be singing 'bless the Lord oh my soul'. But I will still choose it for worship because it's a song worth singing.
- There are lines from 'In Christ alone' I either don't sing or sneakily tweak, because vicarious pecuniary atonement and election/predestination are things I find difficult, but it's still a good hymn, well known and I'll use it (interestingly at Assembly the problematic verse was omitted...).
- There are some songs were I just won't sing the bits that are wrong 'the father turns his head away' erm, nope, check Psalm 22... 'David rebuilding a Temple of praise' nope, God told David that a tent was just fine... but I get that others love them
So, yes, I am a theolgically, pastorally and liturgically aware grumpy old woman... who I hope does her best to honour the God who love her, calls her and continually transforms her.
