Is it time to ditch singing in church?

Probably not!  But it's an interesting thought. I am currently reading Andrew Dunlop's Out of Nothing: A Cross-Shaped Approach to Fresh Expressions and was struck by a comment he makes - "I regard communal singing as one of the most countercultural aspects of church - even though I happen to like it."

Is he on to something? It is certainly true that, aside from football matches and karaoke, church is one of the few places where adults regularly sing together - and it clearly feels very strange to unchurched folk on those occasions when we get them to come to church, usually for some special reason. We are having to re-imagine music in church thanks to the pandemic, and it is proving quite challenging - and I just wonder if there is a long-term lesson to learn. I am certainly not advocating removing music from church. It contributes a great deal, and will continue to do so. Music, after all, is a large part of life. It is just communal singing that is not so universally practised. 

Of course, there are few things more moving than a large congregation singing, whether enthusiastically or meditatively - but that's not what most of us experienced most Sunday before all this started back in March. Might there, at least, be room for a more mixed economy of how we do music in church?

Defining Fresh Expressions

 I am reading Andrew Dunlop’s Out of Nothing – sub-titled A Cross-Shaped Approach to Fresh Expressions. Clearly, Fresh Expressions id not the only form of church that exists, but I am interested in (and supportive of) what he identifies as the marks that make it church.

The first thing to say is that it is a form of church. It is not the only form that church can take, but it is genuine church.

 

The second thing is that fresh expressions emerge out of contemporary culture. These days church fails to ‘hit the spot’ for many. We need a church that relates to our culture.

 

The third point is that fresh expressions need to be established primarily with those who don’t already go to church. This is not a re-branding exercise to help those who are not satisfied with the existing model. This is trying to reach those who are currently not part of the Christian community.

 

As Dunlop says: “My understanding of the Gospels is that Jesus came to invite everybody to respond to living a life following him. If the message is to reach everyone, the church needs to find a way of reaching those  … who may have no background in church or Christian faith.”

 

That is a big ask, but that is the call.

Fellowship as a Holy Habit

Disagreeing doesn’t mean that we can’t have fellowship. We are different. We will disagree. Diversity is good. But we need to disagree well. However, I think it important to include this element in our thinking. We are human. Life, and the church, is messy, and can be chaotic. We need to recognise that, and not be too hard on either others or ourselves. It is also perfectly appropriate to hold different views on certain things. But we need to treat each other respectfully and in love. It is important to me that I can have, and be in fellowship, with folk with whom I disagree. It does not, of course, mean that any significant/serious issues should be ignored. Those are in a different category that is not part of this Holy Habit. 

In Romans 16 Paul specifically and personally greets a whole bunch of the Roman Christians. Quite a lot of people are named. That is significant. Together they form the Christian community in Rome. Paul wants them to get on with each other in the right way, to be in fellowship. That’s why he warns them about what can go wrong. 

But what does fellowship look like? It’s probably not all that easy to describe it. It looks like you and I getting on with each other, working together, supporting each other as we seek to be disciples … intentionally trying to form the Holy Habit of fellowship. I guess the word that works best is love.

We get a helpful description in 1 John 3:14-18 – “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another

............  This is a brief extract from my YouTube video, made for Eastern Synod, offering a reflecton on the Holy Habit of Fellowship - to see the whole thing - Fellowship as a Holy Habit (Eastern Synod URC)

Spiritual Formation

In many ways Henri Nouwen's Spiritual Formation follows on from his Spiritual Direction. Certainly it also has some really helpful pointers with respect to the spiritual life. I like what he says about our realising how hungry we are for God - "we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year, in order to become more fully aware of our hunger for the Spirit." 

Three things particularly struck me.

In the first place, he points out how we need to let the Bible speak to us. "The Bible does not speak to us as long as we want only to use it. But when we are willing to hear the Word as a word for us, sacred scripture can disclose itself, and its message can penetrate into the centre of our hearts." In other words, if we just treat the Bible as a book, it is not going to have much impact on us. We need to recognise that it actually is something else.

Secondly, he emphasises the importance of silence. "Without silence the Word of God cannot bear fruit. One of the most depressing aspects of contemporary life is the almost complete absence of silence." We live in a noisy world. We surround ourselves with sound. Sometimes we need to discover what the Simon and Garfunkel song once called 'the sound of silence'.

Thirdly, as followers of Jesus, we are part of a community. (Maybe that is a particularly helpful reminder in these days when there is so much talk about self isolation!) Nouwen says - "Christian spirituality is essentially communal. Spiritual formation is formation in community. One’s personal prayer life can never be understood if it is separated from community life." Of course, we need the solitary, the personal, the private. But we also need the corporate, and to remember that we are part of a community.

However, I think the little section of this book that I most like, and that made the greatest impact on me, is Nouwen's reminder that Communion is a feast that we are celebrating. It doesn't just help us along. It totally sustains us. As Nopuwen puts it - "Jesus never said, “Munch and sip” the bread and wine. He said, “Eat me up, drink me empty, take it all in. Don’t hold back. I want to become part of you. I want you to become part of me. I don’t want to be separate anymore. I want to live within you, so that when you eat and drink, I disappear because I am within you. I want to make my home in you, and invite you to make your home in me.” (See John 6:53–58.)"

Spiritual Direction

Henri Nouwen has long been one of my favourite writers. His gentle probing of questions around spirituality, ministry and relationships, especially our relationship with God frequently speak helpfully to me. Spiritual Direction is one of a number of Nouwen books that was not written as such by him, but put together after his death with editors using notes and unpublished scripts. I am glad that this additional sharing of Nouwen's insights continues.

In this book he considers the value of spiritual direction and, even more particularly, the importance of making space for God. It is a timely reminder in a society which places so many demands on us.

Just asking, as he does, simple, but important, questions is immensely valuable - "How is your prayer life? How are you making space in your life for God to speak?"  He recognises the value of letting the gospel stories soak into our lives and considering where we might be in those stories - "The more we let the events of Christ’s life inform and form us, the more we will be able to connect our own daily stories with the great story of God’s presence in our lives. Thus, the discipline of the Church, as a community of faith, functions as our spiritual director by directing our hearts and minds to the One who makes our lives truly eventful."

He also reminds us that to try and come up with all the answers is not likely to be a fruitful search. We need to recognise that God is bigger than us and, at least sometimes, to simply 'be' with God. There is nothing wrong with searching. The gospels tell many stories of people going searching for Jesus. There are things to be found, but there are others things that are beyond us.

Nouwen puts it like this - "To those with serious struggles and burning questions, I want to reach out with compassion and say: “You seek answers to what cannot be fully known. I don’t know either, but I will help you search. I offer no solutions, no final answers. I am as weak and limited as you are. But we are not alone. Where there is charity and love, God is there. Together, we form community. Together we continue the spiritual search.”"

Joseph

In Joseph: A Story of Resilience Meg Warner brings together her skills and knowledge of the Old Testament and of dealing with trauma. She explores the Joseph story with particular reference to the traumatic events in which he got caught up and, as she demonstrates, there is plenty to learn about resilience, and that is an important and much needed message today.

As she comments -  "Resilience allows a person to take stresses and strains in their stride and to continue on. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she doesn’t feel the cost or pain of a difficult or traumatic experience, or take some time out to come to terms with it, but just that the resilient person is able to pull themselves up afterwards and to continue on – perhaps noticing that the difficult experience has made them stronger, in some respect, than they had been before."

Joseph makes his way through a series of traumas, but ends up demonstrating the value and possibilities of resilience. Joseph, admittedly, does not always respond well. He can be manipulative, even cruel. Resilience is not all good, but it has its part to play.

Warner makes this point well - "I’ve come to the conclusion, I think, that resilience is morally neutral – rather like fire or stories. We need resilience if we are to live well, but it can be a bit lethal if allowed to get out of hand. It is important, even necessary, to learn resilience in order to get on in our stressful and traumatized modern world. Without it, we are unlikely to be in a position to bring the full force of our own particular contributions and gifts to the world. Christians, however, will want to consider resilience within a framework of Christian ethics of behaviour. For a Christian, one’s own resilience can and must never be foremost – the quest for resilience should not be allowed to trump Jesus’ injunction to love neighbour as oneself in any but situations of the greatest crisis."

We do really need a bit of resilience, but better still to live well, demonstrating Christ's light as we love our neighbour.