I’ve never met her, but I have a huge amount of respect for Darlene Zschech. Until 2007 she was a pastor at Hillsong church here in Sydney. She still tours and leads a growing church in Newcastle. Leaving aside the obvious debt we all owe her for bringing worship music to where it has come worldwide, her discipleship and church leadership off stage has benefited some of my dearest friends.
At the same time, I believe it’s often fruitful to compare and contrast our respective theological positions on worship. Our respective traditions may have much to learn from each other. Realising that I don’t have all the answers either, in this brief blog post I also want to provide some friendly critique of her theology of worship as presented in Extravagant Worship.
There is much I love in her theology of worship.
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Zschech is dead right in pointing out that worship is bigger than merely music. Worship is bigger than music. “Although music is a wonderful expression of worship, it is not in itself the essence of it. The core of worship is when one’s heart and soul, and all that is within, adores and connects with the Spirit of God.”1
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She is right to make Christian education a central goal in our music ministry: ‘make the Word memorable and settle the message into our hearts.’2
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She presents a balanced view of the place of emotional response in music ministry: music is ‘not about stirring ourselves into an emotional frenzy’, but ‘corporate worship’ should help turn the congregation’s ‘eyes to the Lord.’3
Yet, I do want to suggest some possible tensions in her theology of worship which make me reluctant to adopt it wholesale without thinking it over some more. The biggest tension I detect is over the issue of ‘excellence’.
Zschech rightly puts great emphasis on excellence, something which I have often written about and agree on. Yet I’m more cautious about the reasons she gives for seeking excellence: ‘We are to serve God with excellence because we know an excellent God.’4 Like the high medievalists, Zschech wants to ‘enter the throne room of God’.5
Largely I think this theology is reactive against more mainline traditions (such as Anglicanism), which have been (I’ll freely admit) too afraid of excellence. She thinks this fear has ‘kept almost an entire generation out of the house of God’.6
And to her credit, this emphasis on excellence is qualified: we give our finest ‘at whatever stage your finest is.’7 We bring our gifts in a context of grace, and Zschech is too experienced a pastor to seek to establish a ‘performance-based Christianity’ on or off the stage.8
However I do take issue with some of the arguments she uses to bolster this argument of excellence. “Extravagant worship grabs God’s attention ... Throughout the stories in the Bible, whenever someone demonstrated extravagant worship, God reacted with extravagant blessing. It’s cause and effect. Extravagant worship brings extravagant results.’9
My nervousness about this is that I am very unexcellent! I’m not talking about the quality of music, even. The fact is that the excellence of our offerings, as God measures it, is entirely dependent on the heart. As Hebrews 10 points out, God has never been pleased by sacrifices or burnt offerings. Zschech obviously knows this, and so concludes that ‘the only thing God wants from you is your heart.’10
I don’t think I’m being too nitpicking to say that there is a tension here. Is God impressed by musical excellence, or does he just want us to serve with the right attitude?
What is missing, I think, is a bridge between the Old Testament passages and the New Testament hope. In the Old Testament even our most righteous works are considered as dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6). In the New Testament, we are given the incredible invitation to continually ‘through Jesus … offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name’ (Hebrews 13:15). What is missing from Zschech’s worship theology, therefore, is the very important concept of a priest: not one who wears robes, but Jesus our great high priest. With Jesus standing as our representative before God, the excellence of our worship is guaranteed.
As much as it pains me to say it, therefore, the excellence (in a musical sense) of our worship, and the strength of our good intentions, becomes much less relevant to how acceptable our worship is. Don’t get me wrong, I want excellent music as much as the next music snob. But I’m not sure that we want to tie that excellence to its suitability for worshipping God.
1 Darlene Zschech, Extravagant Worship (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2002)., 27.
2 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 196.
3 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 169.
4 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 127.
5 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 155.
6 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 128.
7 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 127.
8 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 148.
9 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 34-35.
10 Zschech, Extravagant Worship, 46.
Hey Andy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for a balanced review. Always appreciate someone who says "this is what I like"...
"This is what I'm not sure about/don't like"...
I had the privilege of meeting Darlene at SHINE 2010. I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised by her humility and willingness to serve the wider church. Darlene exudes NONE of the celebrity status that we see so often today.
Back to the review, I would argue if we serve with the right heart, there is a level of excellence. Now 'excellence' looks different for each individual and for each team, because we have different gifts and resources available to us. But God wants our best, right?
Thanks Bren - Yes, I've heard only great things about Darlene as a pastor and person. I am genuinely grateful for her ministry - so I hope that my slight reservations about some of the stuff in her book isn't taken the wrong way!
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the excellence being service of God with the right heart - but is there an objective aspect as well?
Practically speaking do we bother auditioning drummers, or do we just check they have the right motivation? Do we tell a guitarist to learn better technique because their time-feel is bad?
Hey Andy, great post.
ReplyDeleteChristians are called, after all, to work with all our heart at whatever we do in other areas for the glory of God, so why not music? I know you're speaking more skill than effort, though. I think it's appropriate, out of a desire for His glory, to seek to improve in our ability to clash cymbals or play lyres :)
I wonder whether skill also comes into play when a band is leading in worship? If you have a drummer who's out of time, will this distract people, rather than aid them in worshipping whole-heartedly? Of course it shouldn't matter. God sees the heart. But a lot of people, myself included, don't always find it easy to focus on God and God alone during worship through song, and I'm easily distracted.
I think I agree Renee - I guess my slight nervousness is about linking the skill with the appropriateness of our worship! There are plenty of other reasons why we should have great music (love for one another, for instance! Good music should help the congregation sing with one voice and one mind). But the idea of making our 'offering' to God good enough for him is a little ...confusing?
DeleteI agree! Read this passage, (well-timed!), this morning:
DeletePsalm 33:
Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
:)
Doesn't the context of worship (specifically expressed as music in church) play a part here? What I'm trying to say is that there are other things to think about with church music, such as its corporate nature and the goal to lead and edify a congregation.
ReplyDeleteI think this is the other side of the question of musical "excellence" which requires us to pursue a balance. "Excellence" in worship comes from our hearts before God more than from anything else, so the Godliness of musicians must always be prioritised (as with any other member of the body). But it's also worth pursuing a degree of musical "excellence", not because the worship will be any more acceptable to God on that basis, but simply because it will be more approachable and participatable for our congregations if the music isn't off-key, too fast, etc.
Interesting Dan - do you think excellence in worship really does come from our attitude? I'm just thinking of the rubbish attitude that I am constantly guilty of... self-seeking, proud, impatient, apathetic...etc. Does that make my life less acceptable to God?
DeleteI think I want to say that the excellence (or acceptability) of our worship has nothing to do with us, but rather is about Jesus' offering of himself, and our participation in him. Am I on the wrong track?
Important point and well corrected. My post was intended mainly in response to your questions about whether we should strive for musical excellence practically speaking and I was going for "yes", but I did imply what you've challenged here.
DeleteI think there is still a place for saying that our attitude matters. I believe the sacrifices of God are still 'a broken and contrite heart' - as I read the Bible it seems to me to suggest that this is the attitude that God requires, precisely because it drives us to God's mercy in Jesus and nowhere else.
Does that mean my attitude does determine the 'excellence' of my worship to some degree? Not sure how to articulate an answer to that in the most helpful way at the moment...
Great post. It's a tricky one ... Finding the balance between doing the best you can, joyfully to the Lord (even if your best is pretty terrible) and insisting on a basic level of technical excellence. I guess it would come down to individual scenarios.
ReplyDeleteWill your poor drummer, for example, overall add to the quality of the music being played, and therefore do more good to assist people in worshipping, than not having one at all? I think that has to be the guide, although of course that's much easier said than done. It's hard to tell your drummer that the congregation would be more blessed by them not playing!
yes, absolutely, Elise - I think these comments have brought up an interesting theme... the excellence of our music is not so much out of a desire to make our worship acceptable to God as a desire to build up the church?
DeleteThanks of unearthing the missing link.
ReplyDelete"Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." - Philippians 1:18
amen!
DeleteThis is a great article. Personally however, I think some elements of the tension that you talk about is a false dichotomy.
ReplyDeleteYou can definitely have both aspects you talked about - in terms of the 'excellence' in I guess our technical ability and skills, and the offering from our hearts. Surely the offering from our hearts drives us to be the best we can be at whatever we are doing. So our 'excellence' or growth in 'excellence' is therefore a reflection of our hearts.
In terms of the comments about auditioning drummers etc - I think an objective and rational argument can be applied. 1 Corinthians tells us that we have different gifts. Therefore having the right "heart" or "attitude" towards one ministry doesn't mean someone should automatically be in there. If an individual wants to sing but isn't particularly good, I'd be asking them to assess themselves and truthfully see if there are no other areas that they are more suited towards.
You wouldn't put anyone with a good heart and attitude towards teaching up behind the pulpit, so I don't see how it's any different with corporate worship.
Totally James. I hope I didn't suggest you had to choose between skillful music and acceptable worship! I just want to distinguish the two, not separate them.
DeleteSkill seems to me to be a requirement for good service in the church - out of love for one another, more than anything.
Jesus seems to be the only requirement for our lives, and I guess also our service in the gathering, to be an acceptable offering to God.
The two are related, but the acceptability of our worship is not bought by our skill; it is bought by the precious blood of Jesus.
But yes - I agree that giftedness is a factor for service in the congregation. And whether your congregation is a 10 person gathering in Sadleir (like mine!), or a thousand person gathering in the Hills, probably makes a difference to what gifts are required for the building up of the church - maybe?
Some great observations here. Good to think about her legacy, because that is what she has left. I found this sentence of interest...
ReplyDelete"Largely I think this theology is reactive against more mainline traditions (such as Anglicanism), which have been (I’ll freely admit) too afraid of excellence."
I've not observed this at all. What I have observed within conservative evangelical circles is (an almost pathological) fear of emotion and fear of lack of theological depth. This has had some nasty consequences, but I'd say as far as excellence goes, Anglicans and others have striven for excellence in music... just don't call it "performance". lol. The great thing is, some of the stupidity surrounding these things appears to be falling away. Your blog post is a good example of that.
The question I keep asking, as you have is, what is Darlene's ecclesiology like? That is the particular bugbear I reckon. You can't divine God's presence with the right song. ;o)
In response to Pete Wood:
ReplyDeleteWhat I have observed in conservative evangelical circles is not what I'd describe as "an almost pathological fear of emotion and fear of lack of theological depth." To me, these sound like straw-man constructions. What I've observed is a healthy skepticism about emotional manipulation, and a desire for truth to be expressed and taught as teach one another in song. In my experience of pentecostal churches, both have been missing.
When "worship" is discussed in the NT, it never coincides with "singing/music", but it most certainly coincides with "truth" (Jn 4:24). If you're going to speak of corporate Christian singing as "worship", then surely, you should view "fear of a lack of theological depth" as a very positive thing, rather than "stupidity".
I agree wholeheartedly that "Anglicans and others have striven for excellence in music". And in many cases, I'd say it has been attained. The problem is that what many reformed evangelicals would consider 'excellent' in terms of music is, I think, usually something very different than what Darlene might call 'excellent'.