"We all have a theology of worship. The question is: is it a good one? The more we can learn about the nature of the God we are worshipping the better we will be able to worship him, and to assess the validity of our practices" Graham Kendrick

LBC takes worship seriously with a one-year course in Music & Worship on offer, and a two year diploma and three-year BA Hons in Theology, Music and Worship, recently receiving approval from Brunel University. The Review asked Graham...

What are the things on your heart for the new generation of worship leaders?

The priority always has to be what God is looking for and that I think is most clearly described in the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well; that the Father is seeking a certain kind of worshipper, those who worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Firstly worship which overflows out of a genuine relationship with God, secondly it is the unique worship that is only possible through the Holy Spirit, with an emphasis on the ‘Holy’, and thirdly worship that is saturated with the truth that is essentially the revelation of Jesus Christ through the scriptures. In a culture where the medium has become the message it is all too easy to find ourselves engaging in the worship of worship rather than the worship of God. There are many spiritual experiences to be had and many different kinds of spirits which our culture is engaging with and it is essential that we are discerning and exclusive in our engagement with the Holy Spirit. The concept of pluralism is rife and the risk of unconscious syncretism has never been higher, therefore we must test all that we do and say in worship against the scriptures whilst attempting to be comprehensible to the culture around us.

Whenever something new is happening which pushes it’s exponents into the limelight, especially in a culture which worships the new just because it is new, it is vital to avoid a ‘cooler than thou’ attitude and to have a humility which actively seeks to value what is good in other traditions, streams and nations. In all spheres of music there is tendency for those who like it to try and create a mystique around their preferred music, as if by so doing they have demonstrated it’s superiority. Humility is the antidote.

Is it important to study theology alongside music in worship and why?

We all have a theology of worship, the question is; is it a good one? Theology is simply the study of God and the more we can learn about the nature of the God we are worshipping the better we will be able to worship him more, and the more will be able to assess the validity of our practices. All of us bring with us a whole bundle of assumptions about how we should worship, many of which we may never have questioned. Theological study enables us to positively question these assumptions and sort out the good, bad and indifferent. It also puts us in touch with 2000 years and more of Christian thought and understanding about worship. In every generation there is the danger of what could be called ‘historical amnesia’, ignoring or despising past movements and their traditions and failing to learn from their mistakes. Deception is an ever present danger and the knowledge of where people have gone wrong in the past can save us from the same dangers.

How significant a development is the Music & Worship Department in this respect and why?

I am not aware of training opportunities in the UK or Europe which put the musical and worship leadership development alongside the theological in this way. People have had to pursue one or the other. It is also a great opportunity to be exposed to other influences, to question and assess within a worshipping community committed to academic excellence. Music has become very prominent in church life, but without development, peoples full potential remains unfulfilled and mediocrity can set in Why have you agreed to be president of the appeal and how would you encourage people to support it and the Department?

Firstly I believe in it, secondly I have great respect for those who have pioneered it and want to get behind them, thirdly I am pleased if my profile in the world of praise and worship music can draw peoples attention to the course and its needs.

Where do you think worship and worship music is going in this country over the next 10 years?

I have been saying for sometime that I think the future is eclectic. There are already many different and complimentary developments going on. For example there is an increased interest in traditional forms of worship, whether it’s liturgical, Gregorian chant or classical. At the other extreme there is the dance / rave / multimedia experimentation, there’s Taizé, Celtic Christianity, gospel, soul, etc ... the list goes on. I don’t think we should see these things as competing but as complimentary. In any case our culture is very diverse and we shouldn’t be surprised to find worship expressions of great variety appearing side by side and serving very different groups of people. However it would be a tragedy if the result of that was that we lost common ground but I’m not seriously worried about that because mass communications means that we are probably more aware of what other people think and do than ever before. So there is a great opportunity to appreciate diversity whilst still enjoying our own preferred style of worship expression. However, in every variety of expression I would like to see a lot more attention given to content of worship, in particular the need for a modern equivalent of the doctrinal / didactic hymn, sung texts which are rich in truth and present it to a new generation in a fresh poetic way that lodges in the mind. I believe that songs have an incredible potential to teach and if we are to see a great influx of new believers in to the church in the near future we will be wise to prepare songs which are much more than a subjective expression and which are, if you like, a kind of Alpha courses set to music!

Finally I hope to see a more holistic understanding and practice of worship, offering up the whole of life and not just the songs that we sing. A helpful pattern is to be found in Acts 2 vs 42-47 where we read that the early church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer, all in the context of community life, witness and wonders. In a culture where spirituality has become fashionable, a deep and real worship lifestyle has the potential to draw many seekers. John Piper says that ‘missions exist because worship doesn’t’, and I would love to see our evangelism broadcast the Fathers’ call to all become true worshippers. After all, the Samaritan woman's condition, a moral mess, religiously confused but spiritually thirsty, is not a million miles away from the end of the twentieth century.