MR: What is a good definition of worship? CF: The apostle Paul did a pretty good job in defining worship as action in Romans 12:1-2. The key word here is "therefore," which refers to Paul's meditation regarding the work of God in Jesus Christ in the previous chapter. Worship is a holy spiritual sacrifice involving our whole being to the praise and glory of God. It is not merely an existential leap or a "feel good" experience or even satisfaction of institutional or informally produced ritual.
MR: What are the contemporary trends in the overall philosophy of worship? CF: There has been a long-term trend in the [baby] boomer culture to discover authenticity in worship. Mainline religious institutions that had maintained and produced a variety of Western European worship forms since the beginning of the colonization of America were rejected by the majority of the largest (if not greatest) generation ever to be born in America. There are those who gather around the heap of rejected forms and say, "This is where true and authentic meaning can be found." "Our ancestors heard from God and we should follow in their footsteps." Of course, this group suffers from one key issue: the abundance of history and resulting overwhelming number of artifacts. And while these worship artifacts may be highly substantive, few people are educated in the styles that would translate their performance into worship communication.The question is with what tradition should we align, east or west? And after that decision is made, what time period or context do you wish to choose? We are just now discovering a treasure trove in the twelfth century! At the other pole, there are those obsessed with new production in the present. These people say or act like the only form or style that really matters is one that is created today. The problem with this group is that style generally rules over substance.
MR: What are the theological traditions or distinctives that drive these trends? CF: Frankly, I don't see theology driving these trends as much as sociology or culture. For example, from the first century there has been a succession of what has been termed "Jesus Movements." The first century Jesus Movement birthed many different forms of fellowship with the first order of worship generating in what is known as the Didache around the first century [a short Christian manual on morals and church practice]. Within the nature of man is the need to organize (especially in the West) into hierarchical institutions. This has led to successive flow of Christian movements and institutions. Today we see such structures from very loosely formed organizational networks like Calvary Chapel to the rigid hierarchies of denominations. But I think the information age is flattening the hierarchies somewhat, and more and more Christians are involved in worship events and social action across what in the past would have been theological, worship tradition or denominational lines. I believe this can be done without sacrificing either our big "I" identity, which we have in common through the work of our Father in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, or our little "I" identity, which is the specific language of worship in which we have been rehearsed and trained.
MR: What do you make of the rapid transformation of American church music from a "high culture" or "folk culture" approach to music to a more "pop culture" approach to music? CF: Again, this is more of a function of language than theology. Language is our most basic cultural form. As we move from the fresh well of experience our figures of speech tend to move from metonymy to metaphor. Metaphor requires more interpretation. Metonymic understanding comes from living within the culture and understanding the cultural clues. For example, in the days of the gold rush here in California, it was not uncommon for the miners to be entertained from the works of Shakespeare. In 1849, Shakespeare was part of popular culture. Today, one needs a course in literature to interpret the meaning of Shakespeare. So it is axiomatic that the further the culture that created the product moves into history, the greater the requirement for study on the part of the audience to gain insight and understanding to the meaning of the language. Thus, the cultural products become what have been labeled "high brow" culture. This, by the way, is an ethnic slur against "low brow" nations. There is obviously a role for the classics. Much of what was recaptured in the Reformation by the great Martin Bucer and the singing of the Psalms at Strasbourg, for example, was due to regaining the ability to read Hebrew. Bucer's innovations inspired John Calvin, and the rest is, as they say, history!So, I guess my short answer is that I wouldn't label anything as "rapid transformation." Perhaps the contemporary music style innovations have reached a cultural tipping point of some sort. But then I would be on the alert for classics to reassert themselves. Currently, the most popular album at Warner Brothers is an album of opera.
MR: What are some of the ramifications of the dispersion of this style of music across the globe, even into countries whose own musical history is not reflected by our Western pop culture? CF: I think the trend is more local today than global. We see this in the indigenization of worship forms in the United States. Rock music and the blues are American innovations and these have merged with the European sounds of the cathedrals. I think the late communication prophet Marshall McLuhan was right regarding the Global Village. But today we are aching for the village and the sounds of the village.
MR: What influence does Worship Leader magazine have in churches across the country? CF: You would have to tell me about this. I hope and pray for good and to the Glory of God!
MR: What is the driving philosophy of the magazine? CF: Those who work at Worship Leader are passionate about worship. At the same time, we believe in a creative God who has inspired an abundance of form old and new. We try to celebrate this diversity, and at the same time gain a greater understanding of what God is telling us in Scripture about himself and how he is to be worshiped. We have a saying around Worship Leader that goes like this, "God created 30,000 species of flies and then proceeded with the creation of cockroaches. There is not one right fly!" There is also not one right worship form. I think of the cacophony of praise that generates every Sabbath to our Father through the mediation of Jesus Christ and prompted by the Holy Spirit as just that. A wide variety of words that ultimately spell action meeting the personal, local community and the world's needs.
MR: How do writers such as Hughes Oliphant Old and Robert Webber shape the context of the purpose and editorial direction of the magazine? CF: These two worship authorities bring the high value of making the past present to our readers. One of the two words of worship introduced by the New Testament, "Maranatha," ties the past, present, and future into one reality for the worshiper.
MR: What are the most significant changes in the Contemporary Christian Music genre that you have witnessed over the past twenty years? CF: I don't see Contemporary Christian Music as a genre. I think of CCM as more of a marketing brand name or an industrialized expression based on the spiritual renewal of what was known as the Jesus Movement. Of course, it can symbolize many things to different people depending upon their relationship to CCM, whether users of or producers of CCM products or competitors and critics of CCM. Like most labels, CCM is a fiction and, therefore, does not exist in reality. But it is not a genre. CCM has produced music and new hymns that have been adopted by worship communities. But CCM also produces a form of popular cultural romance music with a "Sweet & Low" kind of sugar content. I think the significant change in this industry has been the centralization of the capital and resources in Nashville and increasing patronage of this industry. Also, the boundaries of distribution have been increased through significant new direct selling channels and general retail marketing opportunities. On the creative side, I believe that there have been significant breakthroughs with writing talent emerging from the United Kingdom and Australia with great substantive lyrics. Perhaps the greatest change, however, has been the sheer volume of production in music in general in all categories. Of course, the problem of overproduction faces nearly every item in our culture. Have you tried to make a decision on what tennis shoes to buy lately?
MR: How does music shape and affect the nature of a local congregation? CF: Greatly! Even the absence of music is the defining element of some denominations. When you speak of music, I assume we are speaking of both lyrics and tunes. Today, many congregations label themselves essentially by style or how they say their worship, for example, contemporary or traditional. What we must always remember is that while we take great pride in our language of worship, our Father is looking for an integrity that transcends our forms. His ear is tuned toward the heart of our worship, spirit, and truth.
