For the last two weeks, we've been working our way through a controversial card from a church bulletin. It lists eight features that one will presumably find at the church. There's no indication on the insert about the name of the church or the denomination or any larger affiliation. However, the podcast listeners of Straight White American Jesus did some digging and found out that it is a reformed church in Arizona, fitting in with our previous assumptions from the concepts on the card.
The first topics covered were “Smiling Wives” and “Obedient Children”. We addressed the family structure and gender norms that were mostly geared toward women. However, this week we address “Loud Singing”. It doesn’t seem like it fits its placement within the list, given that the next topic on the list is firm handshakes, which seemingly addresses masculinity and patriarchy once again. Yet here we are addressing the issue of loud singing sandwiched into the list.
Before we dive into this church’s concept, I want to address the practice of worship in conservative Protestantism. The center of a church’s services is typically Sunday morning worship services in the main sanctuary. It is the focal point within the layout of the church and draws congregants in as they gather in large numbers in one specific place within the building. While the message is that there are other programs and places to discuss God and fellowship together, the worship service is a time to gather and give God the praise he is due. Many pastors and leaders of churches will convey that the worship service is the entire service. It would include the music and sermon and maybe the offering and announcements as well. Most people typically separate out worship as the music portion of the whole church service.
In theologically conservative churches of the past, worship often involved hymnals, organs, and singing in unison. Around the early 2000s, around the time I was in seminary, a type of “worship wars” began with the type of music that should be played in churches to appeal to a younger audience. Those of older generations and more traditional environments wanted to keep the hymns and organs. However, a movement toward pop and light rock worship music took flight. This was made popular by big names such as Hillsong and Elevation Music. We went from organs to electric guitars, bass, and drums. Voices began to harmonize, and words were projected on the screen and lights and sometimes smoke were added to create an atmosphere that was familiar and engaging. Worship shifted. The debate became more about how we worship and the right way to worship, rather than the worship itself. Some churches opted for both traditional and contemporary services, offering options based on preference. But contemporary services took over many churches. The church I pastored was one.
When I was in seminary and around other younger pastors around this time twenty or so years ago, I was on board with the contemporary style of worship. It became the norm in many American evangelical churches and was embedded into the brand. It reflected a lot about American conservative Protestantism and changed the question from “What does worship sound like?” to “What does worship look like?”.
I’d like you to picture a certain type of worship service. You enter the sanctuary where the production quality is high. The technology is expensive and geared toward the music part of the service. The musicians, including the band, are loud and have an appeal to that of a concert. The music is simplified in a way that the refrain is easy to catch on to and learn the words the first time the song is sung. The line between spectator and participant is blurry as the congregants sing along, but they cannot hear their own voice. These services draw in the non-believer. They attract those seeking something more for themselves, leading to more souls saved. This is all in stark contrast to the old school way of worship, and it fuels backlash of whether church is for the seekers or church is for the committed.
So where does all this fit into the card in the church bulletin? I went to the church site, and it confirms what I thought. Their model of worship fits right into these “worship wars”. The site explicitly makes statements about the emphasis of the congregant voices over the use of instruments to focus on worship to God. The messaging implies a critique of instrument and band driven music. There is a clear sense that the congregation should be active participants rather than observers and consumers. It is their voices that should be heard
The focus on singing leads to the narrative of a more authentic and committed form of Christian worship. This message of loud singing drives home the importance of traditional worship music with hymns and theologically rich lyrics that reflect the congregation’s praises toward Heaven. It is also the introduction for the main part of a traditional Protestant service, which is the sermon. It all intertwines on this list as it eventually leads to the point on Biblical teaching.
There is still a lingering question. Why is loud singing the third topic down on the list? I am not entirely sure if there is a strategic order to the list, but I am going to suggest that its placement is important. I think that it is there because it stands as a stamp of approval and endorsement of what has come before. Loud singing captures the idea of excitement and engagement, and it increases participation from the congregants which reflects the message of what their church looks like. It communicates enthusiastic approval of the other items in the list, specifically those ones that have come before.
When I talked about Smiling Wives, I said that this communicates the idea of women who know and accept their roles within society, family, and the church. When I talked about obedient children, I said that this communicates that the family, church, and society are in proper order. The children know their role and they carry it out. Loud singing following these first two means complete approval and affirmation. The wives are smiling, and through its participation in worship, the church is smiling with them. The focus on loud singing situates everything on this list in the will of God. It's all part of worship. And it's not just that the church happens to do these things, but it’s that they bear witness to God's approval worship and everything else on the list takes place at God's command.
This in essence is the narrative of this and so many others’ definitions of the spirit of worship. When you enter the focal point of the building, the sanctuary, you find smiling wives and obedient children. You find a congregation that in its active worship affirms and accepts those things as God’s will and God’s command. It is what God desires, and it moves with God. And at the pinnacle of the church’s weekly programs and events, you find all of this on Sunday morning.
Dan Miller is a co-host of the podcast Straight White American Jesus and professor of religion and social thought at Landmark College. Dan produces “It’s in the Code” series every Wednesday on the podcast.
Hello, Brad, Dan and Tiffany! I'm a SWAJ podcast paid subscriber, and I enjoy your work. Good to see you here! 👋🏻