Perhaps it was because I was dead tired that day, or because recently I've been going through a sort of spiritual dry period, or because I've never been to a concert before... the experience just didn't feel right to me.
Again, maybe this is because I am not a concert person, so read everything I say with a pinch of salt.
The first thing that struck me was that even though the performance was in a church, everybody was behaving like... well, like everybody. People were yelling and pushing, there were tight skirts and make-up. I guess it sort of made me wonder how comfortable we should be with our own churches. Do we become so accustomed to the people there, and the environment, that we throw aside all care and concern for the way we're supposed to behave as Christians? Yes, the church is a place for sinners, but does that really mean we can be comfortable with being worldly? I'll admit I have probably done this many, many times. As a person who grew up with artsy parents, I've always been a big fan of bright, loud clothes and weird make-up. I'm probably the last person who should be commenting on others' dress codes and make-up usage. And, fair enough, it's a concert, so people have the right to be enthusiastic and really excited. And on a deeper level, maybe this is all an eagerness to experience and encounter God. So I guess this really isn't a problem. It does, however, get me thinking about myself and the way I conduct myself and dress in and out of church.
But then the concert began and I was entirely confused.
To ra-ra the crowd, the worship leader said, "let's have a praise competition!"
That was a problem for me for a number of reasons. First up, different people praise differently. Some people sing along and clap or jump and get really pumped, yeah, but other people prefer to kneel and pray, or just stand in His presence. Going beyond the realm of music, there are people who praise God with talents in dance, or painting. Some people don't praise God with a tangible talent; they help people, they teach, they study the Bible. All this is praise, right? So there's no way to "compete", because that would be comparing apples and oranges. But I brushed that point aside, because yes, in the end, this is a concert, and the band's just trying to find ways to get people pumped for God. And I suppose having a "praise competition" is a way of integrating Christian stuff into normal concert things (although I've never been to one, so I'm just guessing). But the real problem lies in the fact that praise should never, ever be a competition. Praise is between me and God, not me and the other group of people who are cheering louder than me. We don't praise because a world-renowned band told us to. We don't praise because we want to be better than others. God says a lot about that, actually. The Pharisees did that throughout the entire Bible.
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)What makes us think it's alright to do this in the guise of getting excited for God? I kept going back and forth about this particular instance, and it just didn't sit well with me.
It also begged the question: do we do all this for God, or for the band? Before the doors opened, when the band was doing their soundchecks, every time a staff member went in or out of the auditorium, and the door was thus opened, a huge crowd standing outside would start screaming, wanting the band to hear them.
I mean, I highly doubt they were shouting for God to hear them. God wasn't trapped in an auditorium.
It also got me thinking about selective listening. We always talk about selective listening when it comes to secular music, but we tend to ignore selective listening when it comes to gospel music. Yes, most gospel songs are pretty much saying the same things but... there are some things I don't agree with. I don't really feel that an electric guitar solo, or a drum solo, is necessary for us to praise God. I don't really agree with the need to cater songs to the people either; God will lead you to pick the right song. I don't entirely believe that worship is only the ministry of those onstage. I think that worship is something we all do, whether or not we have a mic in our face.
I don't know. I can't judge. But I did do some research and I found that I'm not the only one who feels there's something askew with the praise and worship ministry these days. Here are some links I found:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithwalkers/2012/07/why-ive-stopped-singing-in-your-church/
http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/Browse%20By%20Category/features/HasWorshipMusicLostItsSoul.aspx
http://www.earnestwords.com/truthful-worship-songs-holy-is-the-lord-god-almighty/
Basically, it was a really confusing experience, and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this. Don't take anything I've said to heart; this is really just a personal reflection.
(And don't get me wrong; I do like the Planetshakers. Here's a song by them that I like.)
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