Music, Mediation and the Modern Worship Leader: Part 1

I am not entirely comfortable leading worship. It’s a role I have grown into over the years, and while worshiping God through music is one of my most favourite things to do, there are aspects of worship ministry, especially as a worship leader, that I am still thinking through and working out in practice.

Most recently, I’ve been thinking about the concept of mediation as it relates to leading worship. Picture this quite familiar scene: one musician on a raised stage, often in a spotlight of some kind, flanked by a symmetrically arranged team of other musicians, backed by giant words on a moving background, speakers blaring out to the masses that remain somehow distant in the dimmer lighting. This is modern Sunday morning worship. The worship leader is tasked with the job of bringing people into the presence of God, of “leading” them in worship. And many people’s experience of worship rises or falls with this individual leader. In some way, whether we realize or it not, the modern worship leader has been set up in a mediatorial role, a bridge between the people and presence of God. Is this good? Is this bad? Is this biblical?

The Mediatorial Nature of Christian Life

We Protestants, and especially evangelicals, would be quick to emphasize that there is only one Mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ. And we would be right, speaking in terms of salvation. There is no other person, entity or reality that makes the connection between heaven and earth. Jesus Christ, Son Incarnate, is the only reality in which this connection occurs. But we would be naïve to assume that all of Christian life is a pure, unmediated experience of spirit to Spirit. Christianity is not an ethereal religion that excludes our physicality. Jesus is fully human, just as he is fully divine. And he meets us in our own physical humanity. So what am I saying?

I see a few main areas of Christian life in which mediation plays a role. All of these have their source in Jesus, the Mediator, whose presence within us and within the church and in the world is now mediated by the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit does not simply provide us with an invisible link to heaven, or stop at an inner witness. His work is often quite tangible, and we access it through a physical reality.

1.       Witnesses (Source: Jesus the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the Dead, the Spirit-Baptizer)

These are the real people Jesus entrusted his gospel and mission to. Without people telling His story and passing it down, person to person, how could anyone else hear and respond to the good news? Yes, we’ve all heard stories of Jesus appearing in dreams and other miraculous occurrences. But Jesus primarily commissioned his followers, who in the power of the Holy Spirit make him present to those around them, in word and deed. At a larger level, there is the historical, worldwide community of witnesses, the Church, which makes Christ known and present. We meet Jesus through other humans’ words and actions – their testimony, compassionate touch, acts of service, prayer, etc. – not to mention the operation of the fruit and gifts of the Spirit in the body of Christ. The work of Christ on the earth is continued through his Body, with all its very “human” parts.

2.       Word (Source: Jesus the Living Word Made Flesh)

The Bible is a real book, Spirit-inspired, but written by real humans in real languages. The canon of Scripture as we know it was itself mediated by a community of witnesses led by the Spirit. God speaks through this holy book, a physical reality. In preaching we are confronted with the Word of God as proclaimed through the words of another witness. Scripture is our main source of truth about God and ourselves, and our main channel for hearing God speak.

3.       Water and Wine (Source: Jesus, Crucified and Risen)

Baptism and Communion. Two ordinances instituted by Christ, means of grace - signs which participate in that which they signify and provide a real benefit to their participants – that involve body and soul with the physical symbols of water, bread and wine. They do not confer salvation, yet they are Jesus-mandated opportunities for a grace encounter.

So I do not reject the idea that there are persons and other physical realities (such as the Bible, water, bread, wine) that in some way mediate our encounters with God. After all, Christ’s mode of presence in the world today is largely through his Spirit-indwelt church. On the basis of His perfect work as our Mediator, He invites us to participate in His mission of making God known.

So what about Worship? Does it function as a mediator of God’s presence in the Christian life?

In worship (meant here in its more limited sense of congregational worship - the regular gathering of believers to praise God together, usually with music) we are also given the means of an encounter with God.

This is entirely biblical:

The LORD inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)

Wherever two or three are gathered, I am there. (Matthew 18:20)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

The act of our coming together as a people called by Jesus is powerful.  And what we do together when we gather, and how we do it, is significant. Quite simply, that is what “liturgy” is. The word literally means “the work of the people,” and basically refers to the structure and elements of a church service. More narrowly, it is used to describe the very deliberate and more formal structure of services in what we would think of as “liturgical churches” (i.e., Catholic, Anglican, and other mainline churches.)

Every church has its own liturgy, formal or otherwise. Some are very intentional. Others, sad to say, are not. One of the best understandings of what “The Liturgy” is is the participation of the congregation in a reality that is bigger than themselves – the story of Jesus Christ. Some churches go to great lengths to immerse their people in the symbolism of that story.  This symbolism can be reflected in a variety of ways, from the shape and design of a sanctuary, displays of art (or lack thereof), selection of music, the placement of pulpits, altars, crosses and Bibles, and even the arrangement of where people are located and in what position. We are symbolic creatures, and our symbols say a lot about who we are. Being intentional about our symbols is key.

Many modern evangelical expressions of church have taken more of a pragmatic approach to the structure of Sunday worship. Our choices are guided by practical issues of audio/visual equipment, and perhaps – more than we know it – by modern performance culture.

As I spend more time reflecting on my role as a worship leader, I’ve been thinking about what the structure and set-up of our services says about us, and ultimately about God.

The worship leader as mediator?

What I find interesting is that the modern worship leader is probably one of the closest things we have to someone acting in the role of mediator in our services.  As Protestants, we reject the notion of “the priest,” the special leader who is in a position of mediating God’s presence or grace in a way no one else is authorized to or capable of. Indeed, pastors have gone to great lengths in recent years to show that they are “one of us.” They have done this not only in their communication methods, but also in other ways, such as dressing like the rest of us, moving pulpits down from the platform to the main level (or choosing a simpler podium), walking among the congregation, etc. We’ve seen many pastors and speakers get down off the platform to connect on a more even level with their congregation.

Yet at the same time, the worship leader (or team) has been elevated, quite literally. What do we often see? What symbolism is at work?

-          Worship leader front and center on a raised stage

-          Performance lighting which illuminates “the band” and often leaves the congregation in darkness

-          The cross on the back wall, which used to be a focal point of the church, is often obstructed by the screen for projecting song lyrics and other visual matter

-          Sound levels which make it impossible for people in the congregation to even hear the person singing next to them

-          Song selection which highlights the skills of the leader or band but which are difficult for congregational participation

-          All eyes are on the worship leader and their expression of worship

-          There is a distinction (physical/spatial) between the worship leader/team and the rest of the congregation, resembling the “concert” distinction of performer and audience.

[As a side note: I’ve been in churches, most recently in the chapel of my Anglican seminary, where the musicians are up near the front, but off to the side. Both the organist and the piano/guitar players led from the side of the room. You also see this in many of the older arrangements of choirs. The front center is reserved for the altar. It certainly is a different dynamic. ]

Possible results:

-          Just the physical set up of this scenario places a lot of emphasis on what the worship leader is doing. A lot of pressure can thus be put on the worship leader (intentionally or not) to create the best worship experience for others. They must lead the way, and if they don’t, how can the church hope to follow?

-          People rely on the worship leader’s skill or expression of worship to “jumpstart” their own.

-          Separation/distinction between worship team (performers) and congregation (audience). The congregation’s role can become more passive and less participatory, less communal and more critical. What happens “up there” is more important than what’s going on “in the pews.”

-          People come to “consume” a worship experience (what can I get out of this?) rather than “be consumed” and join in offering themselves wholeheartedly to God with their fellow worshippers. Much of an individual’s experience of worship rises or falls with individual worship leaders. People have a hard time worshipping when the leader does not worship in a style or to a degree of perfection that other individuals prefer. (This speaks to a wider church/cultural issue – there is simply no longer a standardized or universal “hymnal,” or collection of songs which everybody knows. Worship has spread across the musical spectrum  and individuals in the congregation respond best to their own musical history and preferences.)

What I see happening here is the worship leader being set up in a mediatorial role. I am not ready to say all of this is bad, but I do want to really think through what all of this means. As worship leaders, many of us would express our roles along these lines: to lead or bring people into the presence of God. Most of the imagery we use in describing this role comes from the Old Testament priesthood and practices of the Levites. They were specially selected by God to “perform” the worship of the people, to sacrifice and praise on their behalf. They often led the charge into new territory as the head of the army or start of a procession. While this imagery has much to teach us about the nature of worship, I often wonder whether this alone gives us a balanced picture of the church’s worship, and the role of its leaders in this aspect of church life.

So what’s a worship leader to do? Embrace the mediatorial role as one of the Spirit’s gifts to the church? Throw down the mic and bring back the hymn book?

There’s a lot more to explore, but I think this post is long enough for today! These are my (somewhat scattered) observations on current worship leading culture, and some of the pitfalls I see inherent in this set-up. I want to think through these issues intentionally, biblically, and in community. I’d love to hear from others in worship ministry.

Next I’ll look at whether this mediatorial role has some benefits and how it can best be put to use, and also other instructions and examples of New Testament worship which need to be given just as much consideration.

Thoughts? Objections? Suggestions? Please comment!