Define This: Multi-Generational Worship

Aug

Define This: Multi-Generational Worship

Posted on August 31st, 2011 in Church Life, Faith, Worship Leadership, Worship Q&A by Fred McKinnon

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Multi-Generational Worship.

This is a buzz word these days. We keep discussing this at our church, and how we desire to create it. I have news for you, it’s not that easy.

We’re in the midst of ongoing, challenging, yet fulfilling discussions about our worship culture, and we always come back to these questions:

What is “multi-generational worship”?
How do we define a “culture of worship”?

So I’m reaching out to you, my online friends. I’d love to hear from worship leaders, pastors, and non-church leaders. Congregants. Moms. Dads. Kids. Youth.

At the bottom of this post is a “Add a Comment” box. How would you define “multi-generational worship” or “blended worship”. I’d suggest checking the box that enables you to get an email reply if someone else comments on your post so that the dialog can keep going for days.

Go for it. (Facebook friends – I’d be honored and grateful if you’d leave your comments on the blog, and not on Facebook (or both) …. by leaving them on the blog, we keep all of the conversation in one place.)

For the Kingdom,
Fred

David Graves

I like to use Revelation 4&5 as a blueprint. Its a heavenly scene where God is present in his Triune glory, the angels are present, the elders(that’s us) are present and the living creatures(the worship leaders) are there SOLELY to point people to ‘the throne’. Worship simply points people to the throne of Almighty God and we all worship him for who he is and what he has done. Only Jesus is worthy. It is impossible to embrace everybody’s preferences, but its not about us, its about God. Our preaching, our bible reading, our prayer and our music worship should all focus on who God is and what he has done and not on us. The beauty of God’s grace is that worshiping in God does us good too. If people are offended by that truth, too bad. If we’re not guiding people to think like that then shame on us. Enduring old hymns are powerful, as are modern right-focussed songs, as are some more left field things such a silent meditation on a scripture. The minute it becomes about the preacher, the guitar solo, the emotion in the middle eight, the ascending bassline, then we’ve lost that God focus. A culture of worship is born and thrives at the foot of the cross as we become aware that God is Almighty and he is Saviour. As Christians, we no longer live, Christ lives in us. Leaders should lead their people into worship by focsing them on God with clarity, honesty and grace. The more we understand God, the more our default position will be to worship and the less concerned we will be about the ‘how’ questions of style and ‘our’ preference.

GregMoore

Well spoken, Dave. It seems worship is what people do between themselves and God; the worship leader does not actually lead worship (that’s why a lot of us don’t care for the title), but leads us towards worship, just as a good shepherd finds good grass for his woolly minions. Overemphasis on the Act of Worship makes it just that, an act, or perhaps a fancy vehicle to get towards worship, a stretch limo with tinted windows to take you to Yosemite at sunrise (the embracing of preferences), but when you got there everybody just stayed in the limo and never got out and really experienced what God had provided.

David Graves

Totally agree Greg, the most majestic thing we could come up with would be insignificant compared to the glory of God. Its about him not us. Anything we offer as worship should only magnify God. I’m glad he creates us with gifts, talents and abilities that we used in praise to him. However when the focus becomes my preferences, my band, my ‘ministry’ we’re in the realms of idolatry because the focus isn’t God anymore. It’s an honour to lead worship but its also a massive responsibility.

http://www.Gnation2gnation.com Andrew Kirk

My ministry is called generation to generation and multi-generational worship is one thing but a generational church is a far bigger issue.
All over the world the church disconnects the generations in many ways and it’s also disempowers parents. We do leadership conferences all over the world on this issue.
Would love to connect and talk more about it if you want. I’m currently in singapore : http://www.gnation2gnation.com.

Jamie in Jamielish

Ah ha – I wondered when you’d pop up on this one. What’s up my friend!! We need a chat soon! Miss ya!

Jamie

http://www.freejazzlessons.com/ Steve Nixon (freejazzlessons)

Hi Fred. Glad I found this site as I was looking for piano based blogs. I think it’s always a good idea when people of all generations can come together to share and worship. A type of worship experience that appeals to young and old

http://www.fredmckinnon.com fmckinnon

Thanks, Steve!

Glad you found us

Ohh4four

In the 70′s, when “Jesus music” began to filter in to the church via muddy thermofax copies of spiral-bound books, it was accepted hesitantly in many locales as a complement to the hymnal. In the booming 80′s, when young people could afford to buy their own guitars — and amps — and drum sets, and had codified “rock” as a new traditional beat, you had the basis for segregation, relocating the youth to a refurbished barn, where they began to form their own worship culture, taking their cues from pop and revivalist styles. All in all, I would say my generation drove them out.
This generation is now in the driver’s seat and is making decisions about who worships God where and in what style? Will we be reactionary? We we be reconcilers? I predicted to my peers in the 90′s that we are training our youngsters to be more inconsiderate and exclusive than we were. I hope that prophesy proves untrue. What do you think?

http://www.fredmckinnon.com fmckinnon

Hey,
great points … in my experience; however, the older generation is far less tolerant of the “new music” than vice-versa.

Greg

My experience, about equal; but the younger generation tends to be sharper with insults towards the older, with the heaviest insulting coming from older people trying to champion the younger.

FredMcKinnon.Com

Define This: Multi-Generational Worship

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