tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post9157483335316519651..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: How We Screwed Up Worship SingingAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-14488406230853485512007-09-19T14:26:00.000-04:002007-09-19T14:26:00.000-04:00The problem with bringing modern pop music into ch...The problem with bringing modern pop music into church is that it is not well suited to corporate worship.The rythyms and syncopations, the bluesy nuances and stretches of notes- all work against a large number of unskilled people singing together. It's a medium best suited to the personal expression of one person.<BR/><BR/>Simple yet beautiful melodies that can be sung a capella- and during a power failure - are what will survive our narcissistic age. I love rock music, but at church I'd rather sing "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" any day.<BR/><BR/>What better way to have communion with believers that have gone before us than to sing the same melodies as they did? It's the closest thing we have to time travel.Count Greculahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04341272308629088641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-80666866012717941162007-09-15T09:20:00.000-04:002007-09-15T09:20:00.000-04:00I get what you're saying and have some of the same...I get what you're saying and have some of the same thoughts, but shouldn't music reflect the sensibilities of the people producing it?<BR/><BR/>Meaning....The music I like and relate to is very different from the music that was produced 100 years ago. Is it wrong to translate a worship experience into modern-day language and musical styles?<BR/><BR/>not sure where the balance is ...it can go so many ways, but I don't think I could relate to organs. I hated them way before we had modern praise music, and I still do! :-)terrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12399706958844399216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-49671391149872781982007-09-15T01:49:00.000-04:002007-09-15T01:49:00.000-04:00Huh. It's never been so around my church (Catholi...Huh. It's never been so around my church (Catholic)...always amateur hour, no amplification, maybe some nice organs but that's it. A really great singer once but he dropped dead (heart exploded they said--terrible thing, graduated with his son, wondeful family, almost 15 years on and we still miss him).<BR/><BR/>Some time ago brought my fiancee in for her first Catholic service--so her family rooked me in for a service at the Baptist--now Bible?? church down the street. Oh yeah, guitars and drums and whatnot. Rock on for Jesus! I mean, the pastor was quite nice, recognized me as an outsider (note how I phrase that) afterwards, but really--after a lifetime of traditional hyms and community singing...this "Jesus rock" just kinda freaked me out. And, watching her worship rock on TV has always bugged me.<BR/><BR/>People waving their hands. Swaying around in stadiums. Really--the last time I saw anything close to that was in '93, when the Pope was in Denver for World Youth Day and we had Mass in the Rockie's Stadium. And we didn't have no hand waving! 140,000 people in Cherry Creek Park and no gee-tars, man. Didn't need all that.<BR/><BR/>Sorry. Maybe I'm too traditional, even though I may be considered "young" still. But...this rock-em-sock-em crap always leaves me wanting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-35786269742510202352007-09-14T22:57:00.000-04:002007-09-14T22:57:00.000-04:00Yeah, we noticed that Dan. Fortunately for you, t...Yeah, we noticed that Dan. Fortunately for you, that's considered a plus around here.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-73339116865985248252007-09-14T22:38:00.000-04:002007-09-14T22:38:00.000-04:00A great stumbling block to my participation in chu...A great stumbling block to my participation in church is, besides the inane foolishness that often spews from the pulpit, that the purpose of going to a worship service has become entertainment of one sort or another. The Rite I services of the Episcopal Church are sparse and allow for meditation and community and it is that rare combination I usually am drawn to--good luck finding one other than eaaaaarly Sunday. But the more popular services in the area are cultist, or some version of Six Flags, no matter which "charch-uh" you attend.<BR/><BR/>Music in it's pop-Christian format is to be regarded with a jaundiced ear: Somebody is trying to get something from you whether it's membership in the "group", your money, or your participation in one cause or another. Music is one means of membership and display, and that is not all bad, but it is also a potentially shallow harbor.<BR/><BR/>If the point of community singing is to praise and provide a means of expression not found in prayer, then why on earth is there amplification, or complicated arrangements, perpetually smiling "directors", and why is everyone so uncomfortable with the process? My experience is that music is an phoney intrusion to the service and I can't wait for it to finish.<BR/><BR/>But then I am a grouch.<BR/><BR/>Dan Patterson<BR/>Arrogant Infide.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-13140369261091354322007-09-14T17:31:00.000-04:002007-09-14T17:31:00.000-04:00Hmm. Great thought...Hmm. Great thought...Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-18581966604447652272007-09-14T08:09:00.000-04:002007-09-14T08:09:00.000-04:00I can't remember any communal singing when I was g...I can't remember any communal singing when I was growing up besides church and music class in school. Which might explain why some people have difficulty participating. I've found myself less driven to sing during worship lately though I don't know why.<BR/><BR/><I>Singing in worship is now different from nearly all other singing.</I><BR/><BR/>I think the use of Christian pop praise songs, especially when lead by a singing group, drives alot of the 'worship-tainment' you're talking about. The songs are so much like secular pop/country/rock and usually presented in a format that mimics a concert, not a worship experience.<BR/><BR/>In someways it might be better that the music in church was different from what you heard on the radio. It would certain change our frame of reference from trying to imitate the professionals to discovering how we could relate to the songs.Der Hahnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05967487071137862252noreply@blogger.com