G’day Rowland and the Group

A very interesting post, and important I think.

Sorry if the following is a bit no-prisoners. I think it reflects what a lot of others feel too and may not say.

At 05:58 PM 6/25/02 +1000, rcroucher wrote: Good morning Rev.Croucher.

Having been a leader in the Body of Christ for some 20 years I have now come to the point that my voice has seemingly no value anymore amongst other leaders. I am a widow now which seems to make it even worse. (Praise God that He is not a respecter of persons).

I see many people from 60 years and over, being pushed out of church because of the loudness of music. Especially due to the damage that is being done to aging and painful ears. The drums and bass guitar in my church have become so loud that I cannot attend my church anymore. I have written to the oversight (in a nice way), had them visit me and received a judgment that I don’t understand that most of the people being catered for like it loud. I only asked for the possibility of decreasing the sound of the drums and the bass guitar.

No. You didn’t ask for the “possibility”. You want it done.

If you were only asking for a hearing, you would be satisfied. But you got a hearing, and the decision went against you, and you aren’t satisfied, and you’re now appealing against it.

And you always will. And if you win the volume thing, you will then want the choice of songs changed, and some old hymns reintroduced. Won’t you?

And if you do succeed in having this service made more old-person friendly, and older people start to come in numbers, you will have a case for this.

I’m not saying you are wrong to want any of this. I feel for you. I just want us to understand what is really happening here.

I am not talking about the choice of songs or the difference in tempo etc. There are youth services and seniors services, but are we not allowed to have a Sunday morning service where the whole “family” may enjoy the worship.

Am I to understand that you choose to go to the youth service, not the senior service, and now want it changed to suit you?

I suppose you have also suggested that they add some quiet bass and drums to the seniors service, to make it appeal to a wider age group too?

If the aim is to get a middle-of-the-road service, either could change. Why is it always the contemporary service that is expected to change?

Or let’s attack it another way. Suppose the younger people were to approach the organisers of the senior service and say, we’re concerned that the whole people of God don’t worship together. We know there’s a contemporary service, but older people aren’t comfortable in that. So we think you should add some guitar, bass and drums to the senior service, to attract a wider range of people.

How would you react?

Isn’t that exactly what you are saying to the organisers of the youth service?

I cannot even hear others sing anymore as the pounding has become so loud.

(Sigh) I agree with you here. When I play drums I can hear the congregation singing. When I teach drums I tell my students that four things will come at once: You will play faster than ever before, slower than ever before, louder than ever before, and softer than ever before. This is control. Anything else is limiting.

But the drummer and bass player are just continuing a pathetic tradition of bad church music. Most church organists don’t seem to be able to hear the congregation either, and don’t seem to care. The one time I provided a “wedge” for a church organist so they could hear the choir (for a combined all-age service) they hated it. In their idiom, the choir was supposed to follow the organist. The trouble is, in our idiom, the accompanists are expected to follow the singers. That makes combined choirs rather difficult.

My joy in worship is being killed off and I am now forced to make a decision to either go back to a formal and “dead” church or not go to church anymore at all. I am aching for myself but also for the many others who already were forced to leave and for those who want to keep going because of a variety of motivations but who are hating the times of worship because of the sound.

I share your pain.

And I love the old songs, personally. I love part singing and belong to an a capella ensemble. I’d love to have a service in which all music styles were used and enjoyed. But I seem to be in a very small minority, and I accept this.

I have read the article of Dr Barry Chant “Retuning the Church”, which you will have undoubtedly read as well. My senior Pastor has read this and though he agreed with some parts of the article he laughingly said that it was easy for him to write such an article as he (Barry Chant) was no longer a Pastor.

You can read this at

http://www.tabor.edu.au/articles/2000/retuning_church.html

and it is well worth it. But I agree with your senior pastor. Some parts of the article are excellent, others are laughable.

I hope this does not sound too condemnatory, but I am hurting for the whole Body.

Have you written any articles concerning the sound of music and its distructive effect in the church? I have read many of your articles which cover the choice of music and songs but I could not find anything about the effects of the very loud music in the Church. How do you feel about the music? Is there anything that can be done about this influence? And how can we encourage mature aged people to be courageous and to speak up? There seems to be so much fear of man.

(Sigh) yes.

I thank you for listening to me and I would appreciate it very much to receive a response from you. My Pastor reads your material regularly and you would know him if I told you his name. I write in confidence to you and trusting you I feel free to sign with my full name and address. Yours in the Lord Jesus Christ,

[Name Withheld: reproduced here with her permission].

A couple of notes (from a 64-year-old):

1. I carry in my glasses-case some ear-plugs for just such occasions (I put them in surreptitiously if I need to).

2. As a former pastor of several churches, with thriving ministries to young people, I had the habit of telling people in advance if the music was going to cater for ‘fringe’ or ‘outside’ young people.

3. I personally don’t like loud rock music – Christian or other – so I have to be careful when I am critical of it.

I do like secular rock music, which includes an enormous range of styles of course. Dire Straits developed the material for their first self-titled album playing in restaurants, at a volume that allowed people to talk easily. But my favourite secular bands all use a far greater dynamic range than the average contemporary worship band. That is to say, they have soft tender passages too, not just an unrelenting wall of volume.

I’m less fond of Christian rock frankly. I love it when I listen to it on its own, But most of it is a pale shadow to the secular stuff. There are exceptions. Marty Sampson’s recent song “All Day” is the first track I have ever considered putting on a party mix alongside the Police. Reuben Morgan’s recent songs are awesome, but the recordings of them are still a bit shallow to my ears.

We claim to be passionate about Jesus. Our music does not express this at all. I don’t know why not. And when I then hear modern Christian music described as being overly emotional, I really can’t believe what I am hearing. Have those who claim this never listened to the last verse of “It is well with my soul” sung well? Did they really keep their eyes dry? Or to Billy Joel’s… well, almost any of his songs… I’ll just suggest “The Longest Time” as one example… oh dear, it’s a capella, isn’t it! Hmmm, is it just possible there’s more to secular rock music than some think…! OK, try the Red Hot Chilli Peppers “Under the Bridge”. Is that raw emotion or what?

But I have been known to turn up the volume when my favourite classical composers (Rossini, Beethoven) are playing!

My church has three services, one traditional and two contemporary. The only time I have taken a sound meter along, the loudest of the three was the traditional one, in terms of sound pressure level.

4. Yes, I have noticed that when young people mature in their faith – and in other ways – there’s less of an inclination to appreciate loud volumed music. I don’t want to go into the ‘Satanic’ dimension of it all at this point – maybe another time.

Interesting.

I believe that there is a tendancy to think that loud music sounds better. That is, it sounds subjectively as though the players are playing better, even if you also find the volume painful.

5. And yes, if something’s painful to a small minority, the church has to make some tough choices.

Believe it or not, some people do object violently to traditional hymns. Yet visiting preachers who preach at our contemporary services regularly ask for them in these services without batting an eyelash.

Doesn’t it cut both ways? They wouldn’t suggest for one moment that we take the bass and drums into the traditional service!

In my wife’s congregation (she’s a pastor there)

they’re facing the issue of some women who have a serious reaction to perfume. Solutions aren’t easy…

6. Let’s keep talking, sensitively…

Yes. Let’s.

Here are some unpopular suggestions for some blooming hard work that will help in the long term.

Firstly, encourage your good musicians. Your sensitive ones. Even the drummers. Perhaps especially. You may well find that the band is having to “mix up” to the guy who plays loudest. They may welcome the chance to play with someone more musical, even if they aren’t as flash technically. Give them the chance to try it.

Second, acknowledge that the entry of contemporary music into the mainstream churches has been a war. Many dirty, dishonest and underhanded tricks have been used by supporters of traditional music to try to keep it out. I don’t know why but I was there on the receiving end. These people were in the majority in the church leadership when I was young, and are still over-represented probably. I’m not asking for apologies, just understanding if we seem uncompromising at times. Please understand that if you expect us to risk our hard-won music, you ask a lot.

Thirdly, be evenhanded. This is not easy I know.

Food for thought?

Yours in Christ

andrew alder