Musical Manipulation

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Permalink Reply by JoelPrid on 18 August 2008 at 8:18pm

Hi Paul
Great to see you on here too... and what a can of Whoop@$$ worms you've opened!!!

I think maybe you ultimately have to test things by their fruit. If people walk away from a musical worship experience and they have not been changed by an encounter with God then it probably wasn't the genuine thing for them.

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by JoelPrid on 18 August 2008 at 8:12pm

...In Awe of the One who gave it all,
I'll stand my soul Lord to You surr.... oh sorry... got a bit carried away... who turned that lever?!!!

Mate - great to see you on sharing your thoughts on here.

On a serious note - do you think sometimes people need levers turned on for them? Isn't the whole musical expression thing one big lever to help us express ourselves?

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Permalink Reply by Mark Sharp on 5 August 2008 at 7:30pm

Ok, it's not directly related to this discussion, but it's a funny clip from Steven Fry about demagoguery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFD01r6ersw) - emotionally charged rhetoric.

This discussion can also be applied to preaching and prayers - are they sometimes geared purely to extract some kind of emotional response from a congregation?

There will always be those who seek to create an emotional response for its own sake, and there will always be those who seek an emotional trip from worship, preaching or prayers. Our role as worship leaders and musicians is to prayerfully consider how we approach worship - as we would expect a preacher to - leaving our musical egos at the door.

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Permalink Reply by Acts7 on 6 August 2008 at 9:39pm

"It's the Spirit who inspires true worship, not our musical trickery."
That being said isn't it enough to simply worship?
I guess being new to playing in a praise team, Im more concerned about keeping up with the band. Personally unless you are up there doing a "look at me" performance, then you just play and play well.
My first Sunday, some of the most powerful worship was the worship leader singing and my hitting a few gently placed wobbly rhodes notes over a pad. I guess the key is I was fixing my eyes on Jesus. Did that playing bring someone closer to God? I don't know but I know that I was playing in a way that was not distracting. And that was my prayer... God let my playing be of you and not a distraction to anyone.

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Permalink Reply by Al Hamill on 5 August 2008 at 9:44pm

A great question to be considering, Paul. It’s so important that we understand the purpose of music that we may use it in as God-honouring way as possible. Here are a few thoughts I have on the subject

1. We are intended to respond to God with our emotions (as well as our minds and wills)
Psalm 43:4 says this, ‘I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy.’ The psalms command us to respond to him with joy (66:1), thankfulness (75:1), intense longing (63:1), gladness (100:2). We are not just to talk to him, but to shout aloud (95:1) and even to sing (105:2). In life, we tend to praise the things we prize – so we bring honour to God by the way we take a greater joy and delight in him than in the things he has made.

2. Music is a God-given gift that is designed to help evoke and express our emotions to God
So where does music fit in to this? As we all know, music is a language of emotion. It can stir our hearts and produce an emotional response. God has designed the gift of song in exactly this way as a means to help evoke our emotional response to the truth of who he is and what he has done, and as a means of helping express our emotional response to those truths.

Jonathan Edwards has said, ‘The duty of singing praises to God seems to be appointed wholly to excite and express religious affections. No other reason can be assigned why we should express ourselves to God in verse rather than in prose, and to do it with music, but only … that these things have a tendency to move our affections.’

3. But music alone should not be the cause of the stirring of our emotions; the music must serve the truth of the lyrics
That’s why the bible talks more about singing than music – because singing uniquely combines the emotional power of music with the truth of the lyrics. If all we do is hype people with music, we’re not much different from the pop concert down the road. If, however, we carefully use music combined with words that remind us of the character and works of God, then we respond emotionally to God in our singing, aided by the music, not manipulated by it. To answer your core question, Paul, if we’re using lyrics and music to point people to the glory of the gospel as revealed in Christ, then we are undoubtedly helping them, and aligning ourselves with the work of the Spirit to build our faith in the glorified Christ.

4. But if we tend to focus primarily on the emotional power of the music than the deeper realities of the truth of the lyrics, that’s when music can be used to manipulate rather than build up.
Music must always serve the lyrics – that priority can never be reversed. You’re totally right to be concerned about hyping a ‘response of faith’ through music alone. If that’s all we do, we’re not truly serving those we lead. The only kind of faith that will be deep and robust enough to cope with the harsh realities of life is faith which is founded on unchanging truth, not merely a short term emotional fix through music.

We worship leaders have a tremendous opportunity – and awesome responsibility – to serve and help our brothers and sisters. Let’s make truth foundational, using music as God intended to help us respond with our emotions to Christ, so that we might see him more clearly, love him more richly and trust him more deeply throughout all our lives.

Al Hamill
music.glenabbey.org.uk

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Permalink Reply by Matt Osgood on 5 August 2008 at 10:23pm

Hi Paul, I'm not sure about the idea of music increasing people's faith. It may have the effect of making them _feel_ more faithful, or that they want to trust in God more, or whatever, but I'd think it unlikely that music could increase someone's faith. Perhaps the words of a song declaring the truth about God could be used by the Spirit to have that effect in their heart, but fundamentally we know faith is built on truth about God, and that comes through the Word of God, or prophecy, or preaching, or testimony, or Biblical lyrics etc etc... not through music or its effects.

Al that's a great post, thanks. Completely agree that worship songs need to be all about the lyrics, with the music supporting them, not the other way round.

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Permalink Reply by Al Hamill on 5 August 2008 at 10:43pm

Matt,

I think you make a very important point about what builds our faith. Check out this quotation from Harold Best:

"If I truly love the music ... I can make the mistake of coupling faith to musical experience by assuming the power and effectiveness of the music is what brings substance and evidence to my faith. I can then quite easily forge a connection between the power of the music and the nearness of the Lord. Once this happens, I may even slip fully into the sin of equating the power of music and the nearness of the Lord. At this point music joins the bread and wine in the creation of a new sacrament or even a new kind of transubstantiation." (Unceasing Worship, p30)

BTW, that's an awesome book - well worth a thoughtful & considered read...

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Permalink Reply by Brenda Cameron on 6 August 2008 at 8:12am

This is a very important question that all worship leaders have to ask, as they are in the responsible position of leading the entire congregation to that place of worship, where earthly things fade away and we stand in awe before a holy God.

The reaction of the brain to music has been extensively researched by scientists and it is a known fact that the brain reacts strongly to music as both a stimulant and a relaxant, depending on the music. (There is an interesting (secular) article which may be useful for worship leaders who wonder why some songs ‘work’ for a while and then appear to become stale – see http://www.neilslade.com/music/question.html, though I am not suggesting we should use this as a guide for worship times!)
As Christians we can see that God has created us with this ability to both enjoy and create music and to use music as a worship tool. It is a gift unique to humans and given to us by God to use for His glory. This is clear from the Bible, particularly in the case of David, who not only used his harp to sooth Saul and cause the evil spirit to leave him, but he also danced before the Lord with all his might when the ark was brought to Jerusalem with shouts and sounds of trumpets, much to the annoyance of his wife Michal, who thought his frenzied reaction was a disgrace! David pointed out that he was celebrating before the Lord and would become even more undignified!

The important point is surely this – if someone is a Christian and is worshipping in ‘Spirit and in Truth’ then music in worship will provoke a spiritual response of praise in his/her heart and when this is combined with fellow Christians worshipping together it is a wonderful, important part of our Christian experience and offering of worship to God.
However, we cannot assume that everyone in the congregation is a Christian, and it is impossible for a non-Christian to worship in spirit and in truth – therefore we have to be wise and discerning when people who do not have a real knowledge God are ‘carried away’ with the music. This is where Al Hamill sums things up very effectively in his four points above - the truth of the lyrics must back up the music. This, combined with good teaching, will help people to discern what is real worship and what is ‘emotional hype’. I do believe it is a good thing if outsiders are moved by worship music in our churches, provided they are not persuaded by us that this equates to a spiritual experience, leaving them confused later when the music and emotions are gone. Of course God can use the music and emotions to bring people to Himself, but ultimately we are saved by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and if this is missing, then the observed response to music is without the Holy Spirit and is no more than the brain stimulus experienced at a rock concert.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Childs on 6 August 2008 at 11:39am

Of course,there's always this train of thought...

The Holy Spirit thinks "It would be good if we could see some hands raised/bowing down/dancing... I'll prompt the worship leader to think that a key change/tempo change/instrumental break would be a really good idea at the end of the next chorus... that will do the trick."

Perhaps sometimes God is manipulating us as worship leaders to manipulate His people's emotions and actions through music.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Osgood on 7 August 2008 at 10:16am

Actually that's exactly what we pray for if we pray 'God would you lead me as I lead others in worshipping you' (I tend to pray 'lead me' rather than 'manipulate me'!)

But I know there's a difference between me getting a sense that yes it would be appropriate to do xyz song or wait in silence or invite people to kneel before God or encourage them to dance in praise of Him etc ... and me thinking 'hmm, no-one seems to be 'into it' this morning. Let's pull out 'How great is our God', that'll get a few hands in the air'. It's such a subtle distinction, but often I feel there is a natural sweetness to worship when the Spirit is genuinely leading it, and there's a heaviness when I'm too much in control. That's not a hard and fast rule as sometimes I feel like a complete plonker and choosing every wrong song possible, yet it transpires God has been greatly at work.

Not sure that adds anything to the discussion, but there we go...

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Permalink Reply by Peter Debney on 8 August 2008 at 7:21pm

God made us to be affected by music and encourages us to use music in His worship. I feel that it is right to use appropriate music at suitable times during the service to reflect and lead the mood of the congregation, just as in Sunday School we play really lively songs to begin with, then play slower ones before and during the prayer time.

It is a fine line between leading and manipulation, just as it is a fine line between an appropriate and inappropriate level of "performance" during a worship service. It is all down to where it points to: us or Him.

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Permalink Reply by Rob Pember on 8 August 2008 at 10:49pm

When it comes to choosing songs, whether they are planned or not, we are probably going to pick songs that we have heard - and songs that make us feel closer to God with/uplifted/touched are particularly likely to end up shortlisted. So we ourselves have to be careful that songs are picked because they are appropriate and not just because we are stirred when we hear/play them. However if a certain song really affects us (probably due to a lyric) then it may be God prompting us to use it

On Sunday mornings, leading worship is an extension of private worship times, so if we are worshipping 'in Spirit and in truth' then the focus won't be about evoking a response from the congregation - but there has to be an awareness of whether the congregation are engaged in worship or not - which is where raised hands etc help indicate. However, when using a song where it mentions raising holy hands, clapping, shouting, the response is likely to be greater as people feel more comfortable.

Certain songs will affect certain people and in different ways, there might be a nostalgia of when they first heard it and/or when they were impacted (the question is whether they were impacted by God or the song, the surroundings, people etc).

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