Participation Vs Observation

“The church must worship, and worship and entertainment are at opposite ends of the table.” - A.W. Tozer

I have been thinking quite a bit about the line between worship and entertainment these days. In part because over the past 18 months, our church has been in the process of finding quotes, establishing a budget, raising money, and seeking grant monies for a major audio-visual update of our space. More than just the physical reality of new equipment, we have had to determine how our convictions shape not only the kind of equipment we purchase but how it is used during the weekly gathering.

Like many things in our world, there is an opportunity for polarization when it comes to style, equipment, and the implementation of technology in the corporate gathering. There are churches by conviction or default have a simple setup. Sometimes these churches will accuse the high production value of another church of being distracting, performative, and putting on a concert rather than leading people in worship. And there are churches that are early adopters of new technology, always at the cutting edge of the latest and greatest technology, style, or song. These churches can often accuse simpler churches of being distracting, unwilling to use technology to engage the world, and behind the times.

Everyone has personal preferences tied up in music, volume, aesthetics, and style that are important to acknowledge. I think it’s also important to acknowledge that in many cases the convictions we carry about the implementation of technology and how we chase the latest and greatest or cling to simplicity is a second and third-tier issue. Jesus-loving, Bible-believing Christians can hold different convictions around these ideas and still be in fellowship with one another.

This is an area that can be gray. But I have started wondering if we are asking the wrong questions. Perhaps the better questions here would be: Are the decisions we make encouraging participation or observation?

Participation is worship - it is liturgy - the work of the people. Observation is entrainment - it is passive and encourages consumerism.

I believe in some ways this question frees us to make decisions with our unique congregation in mind. It does however require an awareness of the culture, the people we serve, and a clear philosophy of worship that is rooted in something longer-lasting than style and technology.

Are the decisions we make encouraging participation or observation? In some ways, this question seems almost pre-Reformation. One of the things we see during the Reformation is the tendency all Christians have to outsource their faith to “the professionals.” The Mass was observed in a language many did not speak or understand - they became passive observers, rather than active participants. What was true 500 years ago is true today - participation is an essential part of the corporate gathering.

Choosing A Key

Choosing a key is a tricky business in this world of corporate sung worship. Trying to land on a key that allows men and women, young and old, competent and tone-deaf to sing out their praise to the Lord is nearly impossible. Like many things, you can likely find resources online that coach you through the key-to-key range that is best suited for congregational singing, but I am not a theory teacher, and this is not that post. Rather in this post, I want to offer a few points to consider when it comes to choosing a key:

1. What is comfortable for your range? Who is going to be leading this song? If something is out of range (low or high) for the vocalist who will be leading the song, it will automatically become more difficult for the congregation to follow along.

2. The original key. Many worship songs these days end up on the radio, which means they are likely pitched higher than even the worship artist would play or lead them live. Just because you can sing something in the original key doesn’t mean you have to. That being said, sometimes putting something in the original key can make it a lot easier for musicians and vocalists to learn their parts.

3. What else are you playing? A larger consideration for me in choosing a key to a song is the other songs surrounding it in the setlist. Now, this is not something I have to worry about as much using tracks and pads to smooth transitions, but I want to be able to move seamlessly from one song to another. As a guitar player this means thinking about things like - will I need to change a capo? Retune my guitar? If it is not in the exact same key, what are the transition chords I need to play to move me into the next song?

4. What key will be on the edge? Where can I pitch this song to encourage people to be right on the edge, and have to really sing out, but still be singable enough that they simply stop singing because it feels completely out of reach. I think about this with lighting in the worship gathering as well - I want it to be bright enough that people can see one another, but dark enough that they don’t feel exposed in their worship.

5. Consider the song. People will often give modern songs a hard time about the anthemic octave jump from one part to the next, but truthfully, if you sing a lot of hymns, the melody range can be just as significant. The only difference is that we have become familiar with these melodies in such a way we do not notice the jumps.

Ultimately, there is trial and error involved. One of the reasons I like Co-Leading, especially with men and women on the team, is that you can choose keys for a man to lead that will be comfortable for men, and choose keys for a woman to lead that will be comfortable for women. We need to be willing to serve our congregations, serve the song, and be willing to sacrifice some artistry - just because you can sing that high doesn’t mean this is the right place to make that known.

20 November: Liturgy + Set List

• THIS I BELIEVE (THE CREED)

  Call to Worship: Psalm 33:20-22

  Brothers and sisters, God is trustworthy. I hope one of the byproducts of spending the last 14 weeks in the Apostles’ Creed reminds you and me that our faith does not rest in our feelings or experiences. Our faith rests on the eternal and unchangeable character of God. These truths have been passed down from generation to generation. Let’s sing about the heart and character of God:

• ABIDE

  Nothing to earn, nothing to prove, nothing to earn, simply resting, trusting, and abiding in the completed work of Christ. This is a song that we introduced last week, we’ll sing together:

• FORGIVEN FOREVER

  Sermon: 1 Corinthians 15:12-13, 20-22, 51-55; Revelation 21:1-5, 22-27

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• HYMN OF HEAVEN

  Baptisms

  Benediction: 2 Corinthians 15:58