The Next Worship

Glorifying God in a Diverse World

Sandra Maria Van Opstal

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780830899487
• Topic: Teologia e religione
• Subtopic: Pratiche e rituali cristiani

Christianity Today's Book of the Year Award of MeritWhat happens when a diverse church glorifies the global God?We live in a time of unprecedented intercultural exchange, where our communities welcome people from around the world. Music and media from every culture are easily accessible, and our worship is infused with a rich variety of musical and liturgical influences. But leading worship in multicultural contexts can be a crosscultural experience for everybody. How do we help our congregations navigate the journey?Innovative worship leader Sandra Maria Van Opstal is known for crafting worship that embodies the global, multiethnic body of Christ. Likening diverse worship to a sumptuous banquet, she shows how worship leaders can set the table and welcome worshipers from every tribe and tongue. Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God's invitation for all peoples to praise him.When multiethnic worship is done well, the church models reconciliation and prophetic justice, heralding God's good news for the world. Enter into the praise of our king, and let the nations rejoice!

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TENSION AT THE TABLE

Challenges and Opportunities in Diverse Worship

Why are you forcing me to sing in other languages? That’s not at all helpful to my personal worship. We should have worship in a way everyone can participate.” These words came from a twenty-something Asian American college student. His question was sincere—he really wanted to worship God in a meaningful way. His statement was also ridiculous, but to understand why, the backstory is necessary.

Dinner Bell in Swaziland

A few years back I had the honor of visiting Swaziland, Africa. In my time there I was able to connect with a couple of local women with whom I am still in contact today. As we visited sites of Christian caregivers for HIV victims, we had time for walking, talking and singing. In one of the experiences I had the opportunity to sit with some young women (ages 14-18). It was hard to communicate with Naky, Boledi, Fikile and Kayise given that they did not speak English and I did not speak Kiswati. We made lots of gestures, smiled and laughed a lot. I told them (through a translator) that I was a worship leader and would love to hear some of their worship songs. “Could they teach me one?” I asked the interpreter. “Yes, we can teach you one,” she said. (She too was a worship leader.) They shared with me the meaning and melody of the song. As they taught it to me, the women in nearby homes began to sing with them—stirring soup and singing, hanging laundry and singing, caring for a neighbor and singing “Siyabonga Jesu (We thank you, Jesus), Wahamba Nathi, Siyabonga (You walked with us; Lord, we thank you).”

We spent the rest of the evening singing to and learning from one another. It was an amazing experience I will never forget. An evening of worship with four young Swazi women in a rural community, sitting together at the table singing. It was a glimpse—a foretaste of God’s kingdom in Revelation 4 and 7 where those “from every nation, tribe, people and language” stand before the throne and worship God together along with the living creatures around the throne who “day and night . . . never stop saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Imagine catching a glimpse of what is written in Revelation 7:9-12:

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:

“Amen!

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor

and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!”

Months later, I was directing worship at Urbana 12, in which tens of thousands of college students had gathered, to invite them to consider God’s heart for global mission. The worship is planned to expose students to the global church in all of its beauty. One of the evenings we celebrated the work and lives of those caregivers I had met in Swaziland. We partnered with their work by assembling the medical care kits that the workers use as a part of the worship time. It was an evening of testimonies, videos, musical worship, prayer and action. As hosts, we knew that the reality of the situation in Swaziland would make the worship participants sad, and though lament is important, I wanted to also share the strength and hope of these caregivers who often sang in worship on their long walks to serve others. What feels sad to us is simply life for them, and the last thing we wanted was for people to walk away thinking, How sad for these poor Africans. Let’s pray for them and help them because they need us. Instead we hoped the experience would be one of mutual exchange. We were being invited by the caregivers to be partners, yet we had something to receive from them as well. Through their strength and hope we learned what it means to follow God and to live mission in the midst of struggle. We joined their lament and hope, singing: “Siyabonga Jesu (We thank you, Jesus), Wahamba Nathi, Siyabonga (You walked with us, Lord, we thank you).”

The musical worship, prayers and videos played a huge role in creating an atmosphere of celebration, power and party. We sang, we confessed, we lamented the injustice and pain, and we responded with cries and hope. During times of congregational worship I introduced the songs I had learned from my friends. I did not have the time to share all that my heart was feeling, but I could teach them that diverse worship is not about singing a cool African song I once heard. Multicultural worship is not entertainment. It is an act of solidarity with communities we may never meet. It is connecting our story to their story, through which the Holy Spirit brings communion. That night I brought thousands of students to a table outside a house in rural Swaziland to sing with my four young friends.

However, not everyone wanted to come to that table. The young student I mentioned earlier was very frustrated. During a seminar explaining diverse worship he shared his desire for “normal” worship. Even though thousands of students at the conference came from different cultures and backgrounds, his preference was English, rock, contemporary Christian music (CCM). He assumed this was the form or style everyone could relate to. The conclusion was also rooted in his value for individual worship, which was interesting given the fact that he was responding to our corporate worship. This is what instigated his question: “Why are you forcing me to sing in other languages? That’s not at all helpful to my personal worship. We should have worship in a way everyone can participate.”

When I heard this, I experienced the most odd and powerful filling of the Holy Spirit, and began to address his question. I stood up and the words echoing Revelation 4 came out of my mouth.

The picture at the end is of the nations before the throne singing and yelling “Holy, holy, holy.” People from every tongue, nation, tribe and language giving glory to God in all of their splendor. Day and night they’ll yell, and they won’t stop, “Holy, holy, holy.” The practice of worship here on earth is to reflect, point to and practice that ultimate worship experience. We come together as a community for corporate worship so that we are not solely focused on our own personal worship. If you don’t want to be distracted by other forms of music or languages you don’t prefer, stay at home and press play on your iPod. Sorry if it feels inauthentic to you, it will be the authentic way of the kingdom!1

There was silence and barely a dry eye in the room. I’ve been preaching, speaking and facilitating for a couple decades, and I had never experienced that sensation before. It was as if through his Word in me God’s Spirit was compelling these young folks to look beyond what they were comfortable with to the new and more real reality that will come! That particular man came to me afterwards and thanked me for my exhortation. God invites us to come to his table in unity. That has always and will continue to cause tension, given the diverse nature of his people. This is particularly pronounced in worship, where people desire authentic spaces to express themselves.

Perhaps you may have these same questions about worship. Maybe you’re thinking, Diverse worship is great for a missions conference but not for my local congregation. Or perhaps you like multiethnic worship but don’t have a framework for why the church should do it. Perhaps others have approached you with these same questions, which is why you’ve picked up this book. Many communities do multiethnic worship, but they don’t know why they are doing it. It may be for pragmatic reasons: their congregation is changing. It may be because they want more _________ [insert a group here] in their church. Many feel the pressure to stay current with worship trends. The primary reasons we should pursue multi­cultural worship, however, are neither pragmatic nor trends, but biblical community and mission.

Awkward Dinner Party

Sandrita, venga a comer! Growing up, I heard my mom shout out the window for us to “come and eat” more times than I can remember. This call told us that the time had come for us to gather as a family. We’d not only eat a great meal of arroz con pollo (a Colombian rice-and-chicken dish) but we’d also be forced to share about the best and worst part of our day, our highs and our lows. This was our family tradition.

Christians also have a table at the center of our family tradition. Many scriptural images talk about table fellowship. In the Old Testament, sharing a meal with someone was a sign of friendship and esteem. An invitation to a banquet table was a huge honor and showed that the person was valued and trusted by the host. In the New Testament, Jesus spent much time eating and teaching at tables (Matthew 26:7; Luke 5:29-32; 7:36-50; 14:1-24). Jesus was also breaking rules that had been added to the table by sharing the space with women and tax collectors.2 Even in Jesus’ last days the table was the place of his final instructions, including a command to continue to gather at the table in remembrance of him (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Meals were full of significance and order, and provided a way for God’s people to experience him as they connected with one another.

A meal was never simply a time to ingest food and quench thirst; at meals people displayed kinship and friendship. Meals themselves—the foods served, the manner in which that was done and by whom—carried socially significant, coded communication. The messages had to do with honor, social rank in the family and community, belonging and purity, or holiness. Social status and role were acted out in differentiated tasks and expectations around meals, and the maintenance of balance and harmony at meals was crucial to the sense of overall well-being. Among God’s chosen people, meals became ways of experiencing and enjoying God’s presence and provision.3

Likewise in worship, as we connect with each other in community, we encounter God. If the worship experience and practice is filled with people coming from different ethnic backgrounds, social ranks and ways of eating, then there will be opportunity to enjoy God’s presence together. This guiding image of communion at the Table of Christ is central to why we participate in cross­cultural worship. The table communicates fellowship with others (across differences, as Jesus modeled) and with God.

One of my favorite places to encounter Christ at table is in Luke 14, which illustrates a master’s invitation to a great banquet feast. The master’s invitation list reveals no favoritism at the table. All are invited the banquet: the social elite as well as those from the highways and byways. The tension mounts: people from different ethnic and socioeconomic standings gather. The result: awkward dinner conversations. And let’s face it, we tend to avoid parties where we expect awkwardness.

But isn’t being at the Lord’s Table in the church like being at an awkward party? Imagine a dinner where random strangers from all walks of life—poor, rich, old, young—are invited. There they are, staring at one another across the table wondering what they can possibly say and why the other is dressed like that. This is the church! The church consists of people from every walk of life, profession, culture, nationality, race and background. We come together at God’s invitation. The table is an intimate and unique place of communion; shouldn’t we Christians be able to share a meal without the painful moments of disconnect? It would be easy if we were all clones, but God in his wisdom did not create us that way. As individuals we are different, and as communities we are different. The way we communicate and relate is shaped by culture, and the result is tension and awkwardness.

The awkwardness we experience when sharing a table cross­culturally can be present for many reasons.

1. Lack of exposure. When I was visiting friends in Cairo, they served me a dish of slimy green soup. I stared down at it and the tension began to show on my face. It was molokhia, which is similar to kale but with three times the calcium. It was delicious!
2. Preference. In Northern China many of the families we visited served us mutton dishes. Lamb is not my favorite.
3. Fear. Given that my mother is from Colombia, I decided to sponsor a World Vision child from a slum outside of her hometown. When my sister and I went to visit, our hosts served us a water-based mango drink. We consumed it and prayed for our digestive system.

On a recent trip to Portugal my Portuguese friend Pedro publicly made fun of me for eating with my fork in my right hand. He told me that he can tell who in a restaurant is American because they put their knife on the plate and move their fork from their left to their right hand. He said putting your knife on the plate lacked etiquette in most European countries. I immediately jumped online and looked it up in order to defend myself. Sure enough, there are different styles of cutting and eating food, and I was being offensive in this context. I imagine that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of cultural cues we give off when sharing a meal. The food at the table, the way we cut our food, and whether we use utensils at all give away our country of origin, cultural background and maybe even socioeconomic status. Pedro and I went back and forth for a bit, but in the end we decided that language wasn’t the only thing that we didn’t share in common. We ate, laughed and thought about the many difficult and awkward moments there are to share crossculturally. When people come to the table across differences, tension is not necessarily because people dislike one another. Tension exists because we each carry a particular set of norms that we subconsciously live into.

Challenge

One of the greatest challenges of our generation is t...