The Cult of Celebrity - Chuck Fromm
The Lord tells the prophet Amos: "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.... Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your guitars! (Actually He said "harps" to the ancient Israelites.)" (Amos 5: 21:23 NIV).
The great struggle of the Israelite prophets was against the constant tendency of God's people to forsake His true worship and return to idolatry. We still have a tendency toward idolatry today-but it's not about worshiping statues, it's the cult of celebrity. It's not a coincidence that one of the most popular television shows today is called
American Idol.
When we employ music and other arts in the service of worship today, do we really use it in service? Who is the audience for the prayer that we sing when we sing a hymn? Is God the Audience or is the audience your god?
Be Aware
The recent explosion in worship music demonstrates the impact of popular music in the worship life of the Church. The appearance of rock bands in church sanctuaries, and the wholesale adoption of pop music forms by Christian communities is not simply an aesthetic trend. It is a revolutionary transformation in the style and substance of worship-the most significant legacy of the Jesus movement of the sixties and seventies. Yet there are many critical questions that leaders should be prepared to address.
What is the relationship between worship and entertainment? How do artists, worship leaders and congregations perceive the role of music in the life of the church? What is the relationship between the music industry, Christian culture and congregational life? What are the ethical issues in marketing worship music? What happens when worship music is marketed like any other entertainment product?
I believe that worship itself is poorly understood in most congregations. Too often, it is conceived as a performance that must satisfy the human audience; rarely is it perceived as a congregation's attempt to communicate with God. And in this, the implication is clear: when the congregation is understood as the primary audience for worship music, then the religious function of the music is subverted.
Idol Worship To prevent worship from becoming simply another form of entertainment in which pleasing the audience becomes the supreme goal (as opposed to pleasing God), pastors and worship leaders must educate themselves and their congregations regarding the true meaning of worship and the appropriate role of music and, what I call, the devotional arts.
If we remember that the function of music and all the devotional arts of worship is communication, and that the primary audience for this communication is God Himself, not the congregation, then we avoid the sin of idolatry. But if the primary audience is the congregation, then we tend to become idolaters: either worshiping the star, the artist, the musician, who holds us in rapt attention, or ourselves. Music can become merely a celebration and confirmation of the good feeling of the crowd, where it does not matter whether it's a church service or a rock concert.
Leadership in the 21st century is about having an unwavering commitment, in spite of every theory, philosophy, or cultural phenomenon that is thrown at you to stand upon the truth of the Text. It is the same call that the Lord gave to the Old Testament prophets-one that constantly keeps His people from returning to idolatry. Certainly we are to utilize the tools available through media literacy and musical creativity. But studying those things is not the role of the worship leader. Our role is to facilitate the prayer of the Lord's people, remembering that the Word is the same yesterday, today and forever.
