A Surprising End to a Skirmish in the Worship Wars

By Nancy Karpenske

My daughter was in one of those traveling Christian singing groups””one with loud, fast, contemporary songs, with choreography (not just moves, but all-out dancing), rap, flashing lights, and swirling scarves. The rest of our family packed up and traveled several hours to attend one of their concerts. We could barely contain our excitement. She and her group had been touring for several weeks. This was the first time they”d been scheduled near enough for us to attend.

As we exited the freeway and turned into the neighborhood where the church was located, we saw that the houses were old and stately. The trees were old and huge. There were old-fashioned corner stores in the neighborhood, whose broad sidewalks were empty of kids, bikes, or skateboards. I think you get the picture.

We found the church building. No sign yet of the touring bus. So while we waited, I did what I usually do when visiting a church for the first time. I scoped out their children”s department.

Hmmm. Flannelgraph and antique teaching pictures. Attendance charts with rows of gold stars. Cuddly lamb wallpaper in the nursery, still called the “Cradle Roll.” The primary and junior departments were separated by a sliding floral curtain. I felt transported back into the Sunday school of my childhood.

Afraid

A small ball of fear began churning in my stomach. I climbed stairs and left the fear behind when I saw the tour bus with several dozen noisy, busy teens pouring forth. We hugged our daughter and stood back while the group hauled and set up their microphones, speakers, soundboards, and banners. Then they went downstairs to warm up their voices and pray.

In the meantime we staked out front-row seats, along with a few other parents who had driven in to reunite with their children and enjoy the concert. The congregation began to arrive. White haired and elderly, nearly everyone. They used walkers and canes. A few of the women wore hats. The gentlemen were in suits and ties on a hot summer night.

The fear returned. How did this singing group ever get booked in this church? Most of the audience could be the great-grandparents of these singers. Will they be offended by these kids””cover their ears or storm out? I tried to squelch my racing imagination, but the convergence of the young performers and the elderly audience seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

Then the lights went down, singers took their places, and I forgot my worries as the music started. The songs were loud and fast and noisy. The singers beamed with excitement and enthusiasm. They sang and danced their hearts out. They dispersed hope and joy.

I was a doting parent and fan, caught up in the praise and the gospel message. I never looked back to see how the rest of the audience might be receiving the program. All too soon the music faded. The group”s director thanked the audience and asked brother Wilbur to come give the benediction.

Brother Wilbur came slowly, and he wasn”t smiling. His brow was furrowed, and his lips were pressed together. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. When he arrived at the front, he turned to the audience and said, “If you folks will excuse me just a moment, I”d like to have a word with these young people.” I cringed and held my breath. He spoke softly to the teens for a moment.

Then he turned around with a huge smile. “Doesn”t a group like this make you feel great about the church of the future?” He gestured toward the singers. “With this kind of enthusiasm and talent, I have confidence that the gospel will advance! Now let”s thank the Lord for bringing them here.” Brother Wilbur bowed his head and prayed.

Relieved

Tears were running down my face””tears of repentance. I had badly misjudged these folks. I had expected these older folks to dismiss the faith and message of these teens because it wasn”t exactly the style of music they preferred. Their big hearts overcame any wishes they may have had for the music to be not so loud and not so fast.

I thought the whole event was quite miraculous. Then I learned the rest of the story. It turned out this congregation was the home church of the tour director and his wife. During the school year this young man was the music minister at this church. In the summers the couple left to lead these tour groups for teens. Love covers a multitude of sins, and in this case, worship styles.

It wasn”t the supernatural intervention of God that caused these elderly saints to accept the new, fast, loud music and boisterous kids. It was relationship. They believed in their young couple. They came to cheer them on in their ministry to young people. It wasn”t about the music style at all.

I treasure the memory of that concert. It happened a few years ago, and while I”ve wanted to tell the story, I”d come to assume that perhaps it wasn”t so significant or unusual. But lately I”ve visited some churches and heard stories of others where the tug of war over music is still raging and ugly. I wish the warriors could meet brother Wilbur and his friends.

Enlarged

While pondering this dilemma, I discovered a kindred spirit in our own congregation. Ed Klor taught the Friendly Folks class for several years. This class has been together since they were young couples. Now the younger ones are in their late 70s. Some of their members have graduated on to glory.

Ed prepares lessons as if he were a college professor. His “students” are treated to PowerPoint enhanced presentations, in-depth outlines with maps and charts, and intriguing discussion questions. Most of these pupils have been in Sunday school longer than I”ve been alive. So Ed has to dig pretty deep and think pretty creatively to show them something they haven”t talked about before.

Recently Ed resigned his teaching post. The Friendly Folks gave him a farewell party and sent him to the other end of the building, to the youth department. Ed is now volunteering with Ladder 56, a ministry specifically for fifth- and sixth-graders. I asked him how this monumental shift came about.

“I”m a retired teacher,” he said. “When I heard about this new opportunity, I felt the call to make a connection with the young people. I had a chance to bridge the generation gap, and I didn”t want to let that opportunity slip away.”

Ed is the “Answer Man.” Every week students submit questions about God or the Bible. Ed does his homework and makes a presentation at the beginning of each session: two on Saturday night and two on Sunday morning. Kids have already figured out that when something comes up in their studies that baffles them, they can take their questions to Ed. Now he has a backlog of questions for which the kids want answers.

What if a solution to the worship wars is not about music? What if one of the keys is relationships? Brother Wilbur and his friends have confidence in the church of the future because they have come to love their music minister and the young singers he brings into their church. They haven”t changed their musical preferences. They have enlarged their hearts.

Brother Ed could have continued his teaching ministry in the Friendly Folks, but he saw a possibility that his skills and background could make a difference with a new group. He took a risk that pulled him out of his comfort zone and landed him in the midst of some rowdy kids.

Thank God for saints who set aside their own preferences and build relationships across the generations. May their number increase.

 

 

Nancy Karpenske has been a part of LifeBridge Christian Church, Longmont, Colorado, since 1976. Her responsibilities have included children”s ministry and adult education. As the director of women”s ministry, she now focuses on developing and leading Bible studies and nurturing women in their spiritual growth. Providing service and outreach opportunities for women is an important aspect of the women”s ministry program.

Before joining LifeBridge, she worked as an editor at Standard Publishing in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a graduate of Cincinnati Bible Seminary with a bachelor”s degree in Christian education.

She and her husband, Mark, have three daughters: Katie (a recent college graduate), Kristy (attending a Christian college in Canada), and Kelly (a high school senior). She loves to garden, swim, and read.