The best art draws us closer to God, allowing us to see His face a little bit clearer, a little bit nearer than before.

The best art moves us from one place to another.

The best art changes us by giving us a new lens in which we can engage with the world.

Over the past few months I’ve engaged in several different types of art that have moved me in a significant way. Some of the pieces I’ve talked about on this blog or other social media outlets, some I haven’t talked much about it. Certainly there is no universal piece of art that moves each and every one of us, but I hope this short list will encourage you to make time and space for engaging with great art, the kind of art that moves you.

One Thousand Gifts

I read this book as I was finishing my own book manuscript, as a challenge to write with more descriptive and emotive language. I didn’t grow up reading a lot (I played sports and chased after girls) so I’m not the best gauge of this, but with that said I have never read a better word-picture writer than Ann Voskamp. This offering of hers is a beautiful portrait of faith in the midst of a shattered life.

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Of Gods and Men

This is the true story of Trappist monks living in a remote area of Algeria in the 1990s. Serving the neighboring communities of primarily Muslims, the monks choose to stay in the midst of extreme war going on around them for the sake of the people who would die without the help of the monks. It’s a heartbreaking and challenging movie to watch. The conversations they have around the table as they make decisions as a group are profound. The movie shows a different level of neighborly love than I find myself willing to give.

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Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

I have just recently been introduced to Madeleine L’Engle’s writing, but this book was a blessing to me. Here’s a few of many, many quotes I took away from reading this book:

“The unending paradox is that we learn through pain.”

“God must be very great to have created a world which carries so many arguments against his existence.”

“I have a point of view. You have a point of view. But God has a view.”

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All Sons and Daughters

I love the simplicity of their music and yet the tenacity it has in the midst of the simplicity. I love the honesty. I think you will love those things too.

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What art has moved you lately?

Someone asked me recently what the current discussions were surrounding the “worship wars.” I told him that I honestly thought, despite there being pockets where this war was ongoing, the war (especially in the western US) is over. For those of you in the dark on this, the worship wars are essentially church disagreements over the musical style used in worship. Typically it is a fight between traditional hymns and contemporary choruses being used during church-wide gatherings.

Yes, I truly believe the worship wars are over.

But I don’t believe this is 100% a good thing.

Disconnecting

First of all, part of the reason these wars are over is that fewer and fewer churches are making a conscious effort to bring new and old together. Many of these younger worship leaders who fought hard for contemporary forms of music left their more traditional churches in order to serve at churches where no war was needed. In many new church plants contemporary worship is being played and it is already engrained in the culture. Hence no struggle between traditional and contemporary.

We’re disconnecting from those with different stylistic preferences rather than forcing ourselves into the messiness of working with those unlike us. I don’t see any circumstance in which this is a healthy, long-term solution.

I like what Russell Moore said along these same lines:

Thankfully, we don’t hear as much about “worship wars” these days, but I wonder if that’s because of growing maturity or if it’s simply because we’ve so segregated ourselves into services and congregations that reflect generational and ethnic and class-oriented musical commonalities. Maybe we need to reignite the wars, but in a Christian sort of way.

The Why

Secondly, now that the wars are over, I believe we’re thinking and meditating far less about “why” we worship. The worship wars forced the ongoing conversation to always look at why we worship so that the entirety of the war wasn’t about “how” we worship.

It seems now that any guy who can hold a tune and strum on a guitar can lead worship. Yes, I just totally ragged on myself. But I sure hope worship is more than playing through some music at church. When I’ve asked other worship leaders why they do their musical worship a certain way the answer I usually get is “it works well for us.” I sure hope we have deeper convictions connecting our “how” in worship to the “why” we worship.

The Good Lost in the Bad

For all the bad of the worship wars, they allowed us to always come back into focus on the key importance of gathering to worship as a church. Instead of telling the church member who disagrees with how we worship to go find another church, let’s spend more time engaging these conversations. I find that the people who take time to complain are those who care the most. Don’t let them walk away because they’ll likely have an insight previously unseen.

I believe we’re constantly in progress, constantly working out our sanctification as believers and as a corporate body. Even as our worship changes to adapt to culture, we must never end the conversation that examines why and how we worship. We must continue to connect our “how” to our “why,” bringing into the conversation various perspectives–allowing church to be messy, gracious, and connected.

Without the war, I wonder if we’re more prone to wander away from the Person behind our worship to instead focus on our own worship doctrine of preference.

Agree/Disagree?

Check out my follow up post regarding this idea of bringing back the worship wars.

Yesterday The Roots came out with a new album that I was looking forward to hearing (listen to the whole album for free here). A number of people I’m connected with on Twitter and Facebook were talking about the album so I thought I’d join in the fray. As I started listening, it all seemed to be great, but eventually I had to turn it off after a bunch of “F-bombs” were dropped and multiple times the “N-word” was used. It’s not that I’m judging them for using those words in their lyrics, I don’t know them well enough to understand the context of why they find it necessary to do so. But for me, it was something that went from being interesting, thought-provoking, and entertaining to listen to, to something that was distracting and no longer edifying.

Even looking through some of the lyrics on the songs I didn’t listen to, there was a lot of great things said. The whole album focuses on the choice of making something of ourselves or living a life of fast money and crime. For me, though, it was too hard to enjoy the good stuff with so much not-good-stuff to sift through.

But really this post isn’t about F-bombs or N-words, and it isn’t about The Roots. I wrote a long while back about how instead of condemning culture, we should critique by creating. And I stand by that principle. I’m sure there’s some Christian group criticizing The Roots for their album. People complain when anything in our culture doesn’t support their own values. That isn’t really my game though. Personally I won’t listen to the album but I don’t find it necessary to tell everyone around me not to listen to it as well.

What I want to discuss is where we draw the line…when does something go from an interesting look at culture (even if it doesn’t reflect my values), to something that is no longer edifying enough for us to engage with at all?

For me, I had to draw the line at letting this language become a part of my thinking habits. Each person probably has a little different way of engaging with pieces of our culture that can be difficult to engage with. I don’t think we’re each called to engage in the exact same way with the exact same things. We’re not robots. Some of us are probably called to go to a Roots concert with friends, others are called to stick with Christian radio.

For you…where do you draw the line of disengagement?

The church growth/seeker sensitive model of church has always focused on us providing a sacrifice of excellence, which often trumps a reliance on the Spirit. This subtly teaches a works righteousness mentality where we come closer to God through our own perfection. It also breeds selfish behaviors where true worship is reflective of what individuals deem it to be rather than a heart captivated by God.

If worship is truly not about us, then our focus on excellence is in the way of a truly worshipful connection with God. If excellence, from a human standpoint, has a limited role in worship then it should also be said that our disagreements over style, song choice, and volume have absolutely no role either. If worship is truly not about us, then worship is always what we can call a subversive act in our culture.

This subversion away from excellence and selfishness, toward communal worship through the Trinity, is the shift we need in today’s worship understanding. A quote I always come back to, from Marva Dawn, talks about this:

“The focus (during worship) was on us, instead of on God and what he reveals. Such worship fosters the basic perspective that faith depends on how well we notice God’s glory, rather than on the gift of God’s revelation that God’s grace enables us to receive.”

While I don’t think this changes much for what churches do for corporate worship, it should shift our focus toward engaging in the worship taking place between Father and Son through the Spirit, rather than pursuing excellence for the sake of sounding good for God and impressing the unbeliever. Our worship is ultimately sustained, not in human effort or musical quality, but in God.

Instead of focusing on musical performance and excellence, worship should help foster an environment that builds the communal body together in order to reflect more of God as we worship.

I wonder where these albums would fit with my top albums of 2011…

(If you’re reading this in an RSS reader, you’ll want to come here to listen to all the music)

This first song is probably my top nominee for song of the year. It’s catchy, it has substance. I’d say that the whole album from Needtobreathe is as good, but the first song is titled “Oohs and Ahhs.” Sorry folks, that’s lame. But this song, “Slumber,” is awesome.

Katie Herzig is probably my favorite artist who isn’t mainstream in any way. Her latest album came out the same day as Gungor’s and Needtobreathe’s and this is by far my favorite on it: “Closest I Get.”

This isn’t really a new song, but it’s one I’ve listened to a lot. I think it especially relates to Christmas and the incarnation. Josh White is a musician and pastor who lives in East Portland, and he wrote this song, “Our God is Present.”

This is my favorite album of the year so far. It’s been a journey getting to that statement though. I’ve been a huge Gungor fan for a few years now. When this album came out I wasn’t much of a fan. But then I started listening to the whole thing as a story, instead of looking for the single song that I could play on repeat. The whole album is the Biblical story. It’s a must have. Here’s the final track on the album.

And last but not least, the album I’ve listened to most of the past 3 weeks. It hasn’t gotten old yet. Enjoy this album from M83.

What have you been listening to and loving?

The answers were about what I predicted. Some said the consistent meeting of their small group, others said the teaching, and many said the worship/music was key to them. I suspect that the answers would be similar if any of us talked to the people we’re closest with at our own churches.

It’s always interesting to talk to some of my closest friends about their church. Almost every one of them either says they are at their church because of either the teaching or the music. And if I’m honest, both of those are way too high on my list of most important things about a church.

What is most important then? Community.

Yes, community. Even though it is a buzzword these days, I think it is the life blood of any great church.

When we say the music/teaching component in church is the most vital, we’re valuing 2 things far too highly:

1. The Church Gathering. The weekend gathering of the church is important to church. For most non-Christians, the gathering is their first opportunity to hear about Jesus. But making it the most important part of church means we’re nothing more than consumers of church.
2. Ourselves. By saying we’re at a church for music/teaching, we’re really only at a church for what it does for us, not what we can do for it. It’s a selfish mentality. Think about it…if the greatness of the church’s music or teaching disappeared overnight, would you be out the door to find another church that had it? The answer given is indicative of how most people look at church as something that exists for them.

Community gives value to the church gathering and to ourselves, but it was never meant to be the vital component of church. Why is community the most (or should be) important part of church?

1. It gives us an opportunity to serve and be served. Community isn’t a one way relationship. Everyone has gifts and great churches help you find them and serve with them. But church should never be just about what you can do for it, because if everyone is serving it also means you will be served with others.
2. Only community can truly encourage, exhort, admonish, mentor, and disciple. I believe the teaching and music parts of church play a role in these aspects of church, but only one piece. I know that in my life, true life change never came after hearing my pastor telling me to stop sinning, it came after an intimate conversation with a mentor or friend about my life. As someone who preaches and leads worship, I simply cannot speak into the life situation of person who comes, but community allows that to take place.

MASSIVE DISCLAIMER.

Community isn’t easy. In fact, community is downright messy because it exposes us for who we really are. And let’s be honest, none of us are all that pretty when we dig down deep. This is why I hate that “community” has become the buzzword, the silver bullet, the fix-all for churches. Just about every church has something written on their website about the importance of community. But we all know that most churches don’t allow for a strong community environment to take place. I don’t blame the pastors for this though, I blame us.

Why? Community means being vulnerable with ourselves and stepping into difficult situations. And this is why so many people won’t say community or relationships are the reason they stay at their church. Most of us have a lot of baggage from community we’ve been a part of at other churches. It’s likely the reason we don’t go to those churches anymore. I have my own baggage from community that burned my family many years ago. It still stings, even 8 years later.

There’s a common saying often used when people are talking about dating. It goes like this:

Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.

Better said for us: Better to have loved and lost a community through heartbreaking circumstances, then to have never found the beauty of community at all.

How do we make community more than a buzzword?

Community is created by us taking the first step.

Make it happen.

The question is, why are you at your church?

(Photo: OJCCC)

As I consume music, I think about the musical composition before I think about lyrics. You can have phenomenal lyrics and a horrible sound and no one will care. In that case, the band should take up poetry. So I do give more weight to composition, while still considering what the artist is actually saying in their songs. Here’s my top 5 albums of the first half of 2011, starting from the bottom.

5. Death Cab for Cutie (Codes and Keys)- Starting with a bit of an obvious choice because everyone knows them by now. Back in college when they were much more unknown, all my friends thought we had found the next big thing. Turns out we weren’t wrong. I don’t think they reinvented the wheel with this album, and they didn’t need to. They have no way to surpass the greatness of Transatlanticism, but this is still a good effort. My favorite song was “You Are a Tourist.”

And if you feel just like a tourist
In the city you were born
Then it’s time to go
And define your destination
There’s so many different places to call home

4. Bon Iver (Bon Iver)- If this whole album was as good as the first 4 minutes, this would be #1. The album was recorded out in the sticks of Wisconsin which adds to the wilderness feel of the whole thing. I’m not sure it surpasses the greatness of the first album, but there’s just too many good songs not to call it a great album. My favorite song is “Perth.”

Iʼm tearing up, across your face
Move dust through the light
To find your name
It’s only faint
This is not a place
Not yet awake, I’m raised to make

3. King Creosote and Jon Hopkins (Diamond Mine)- This album didn’t make much headway in the states (they’re from the other side of the pond), but I couldn’t stop listening for a few weeks. I think what makes the album special is how it starts. The first song takes place within what is essentially a coffee shop, with a man who starts playing piano. There’s talking, clatter, people walking, and yet there is beauty. Listen to some of the album here.

2. Adele (21)- I don’t know that much needs to be said about the album. She’s been all over the radio and she placed herself at the top of the “best female vocals” list after this album. My favorite song is “Turning Tables.”

So I won’t let you close enough to hurt me
No, I won’t ask you, you to just desert me
I can’t give you, what you think you give me
It’s time to say goodbye to turning tables

1. Fleet Foxes (Helplessness Blues) – I love what Paste magazine said in their review of the album: “While some bands can’t keep an entire album within a similar tempo range without producing a muddled, bland collection of songs, Fleet Foxes excels in meaningful simplicity. The foundations of many tracks are similar — the band frequently returns to the strumming, “ohhs” and “ahhs” that define opener “Montezuma” — but Fleet Foxes know how to layer sounds to add depth and make each song distinctive.” My favorite song is “Helplessness Blues.” Take a listen:

What would you add or subtract from the list?

Not every song I like is meant to be served up to my whole church. I remember when I discovered the song Beautiful Things by Gungor. That one was a no brainer. It was too perfect, but that kind of song is the exception to the rule.

The past week I’ve been listening to a song by Jesus Culture (young adults group at a church in Redding, California) titled Come Away. You can watch the live version of the song here (click here to watch RSS readers):

I love so much about the song: the guitar riff, the drum pattern, the words of the bridge, the lyrics are written from God to us which is different and sweet, and I’m a sucker for driving but slow worship songs. But I know this song wouldn’t work well at my church or most churches for that matter. The lyrics aren’t deep theologically (“it’s gonna be wild”), the song has a strong charismatic emphasis, and the song is far too repetitive for many people to engage with for the whole song.

Not every song is meant to be shared with the church, even if I love it for myself.

This one I’ll be keeping to myself (and sharing with you).

What are songs you love that you’re keeping to yourself?

Earlier this week I took Rose to see Brooke Fraser as a Christmas present. Needless to say, she’s a big fan. We don’t get out to concerts too often. They’re expensive and time consuming and they don’t often fit in our schedule that already has a lot of nights full. We both really enjoyed watching and listening to Brooke but I walked away thinking about the power of art. Art in this case, being music.

Art is all around us, but some of it lacks meaning to each of us, while some means everything to each of us. It’s a somewhat subjective thing.

Here are some ways (as I observed myself responding to the musical art at the Brooke Fraser concert) I think art has power:

• Art has power to inspire us. It’s no wonder many artists are behind the charge for clean water wells and cancer cure funding. Artists of all sorts inspire us to think of the big picture. Usually when I walk away from art that has inspired me I want to do something moderately epic. Go on a long run, run for President, etc. Art inspires us.
• Art has power to convict us. I think great art gets inside the human heart to show us where we’ve gone wrong. It’s introspective enough that we go from observing the beauty of the art, to seeing how it should change us as well.
• Art has power to comfort us. People can comfort with words and actions. Art can comfort often without either. It could be a picture, a sound, a scent. Even at the concert Brooke talked about the purpose of a song as one of comfort for people who are struggling. It took the song from being merely lyrics, to being a comfort.

In what ways have you seen the power of art?

The supreme current example of secular songs written to and/or about God is “Awaken My Soul” by Mumford and Sons. I love the song, but I don’t know that it becomes a truly sacred worship song because of that. Easily one of my favorite songs over the last 6 months. Listen to the song in this video:

(come watch the video here RSS readers)

Liz, in her Relevant magazine article said:

“Worship music doesn’t end when the standard four-song medley ends. It’s everywhere—it’s interposed in moments of “secular” songs by “secular” bands. It’s written on the walls of bar bathrooms and shouted amongst audiences by people who may not even realize what they’re quoting—but that’s the thing. It connects with people in a vastly authentic way because it reaches a genuinely sincere feeling in the human soul. We need our God, and sometimes we try to exist without Him. And all these songs, whether written or not, are about just that” (read the full article here, emphasis mine).

I think a distinction must be made between Christian music and corporate worship music, otherwise all Christian music could also be called worship music.

With that in mind, I’m wondering what your experience has been with the use of secular songs for congregational worship. Couple quick thoughts on my end:

• I’ve always tried to avoid doing that because it often turns the attention to “oh my gosh, we’re doing a secular song right now” instead of God. And I don’t know that it is easy to avoid thinking this way.
• Does the intention of the author/band make a difference? I think so. Most songs we sing in church were written to be sung in church or at least to be sung in a time of worship. Secular songs weren’t written for that purpose. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t sing those songs, but we definitely need to be more cautious with them.

What say you?