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Singing the Lord's song--evangelism and music (1).

Article Excerpt
Jaci Maraschin, a former member of Faith and Order, used to say that worship was an activity that was good for nothing. To praise God had no value. I begin at this point because we do damage to the core of worship when we turn it into an activity that gains something else. Something is lost when worship, and consequently the music in worship, is seen as a tool for something else.

Music in worship is to enable the community to express its faith and to encounter the presence of God, not to seduce a particular social-economic category or age group to attend. I am firmly opposed to using music to fragment God's people and to separate them one from the other. Worship can never be a niche activity, and evangelism loses its credibility whenever it chooses to attract some people (and usually make sure that some others do not come.) The only exception to this is when the church decides to target the poor, the unwanted, the unacceptable and to invite them in. Otherwise, it is captive to the marketplace and the ideals of the marketplace. Such strategies undeniably reap numbers but it is a following of the marketplace, and the marketplace has one interest, viz.--making money, even when it comes in religious guise. Then I am happy with Jaci's dictim, "Worship is good for nothing."

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