The State of Worship Music Today

Mike Cosper, Pastor of Worship at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY, is interviewed briefly by Bob Kauflin on the state of worship music today.  Note what this pastor-theologian-musician is and is not focused on.

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Worship’s Unique Ability to Give People Spiritual Wisdom and Insight...Especially with Suffering

Psalm 73 makes a shocking claim that often gets overlooked.  It is a raw psalm that is perhaps more honest than many Christians would dare to be before God.  Its first half is nearly bitter:

I envied the arrogant
     when I saw the prosperity of the wicked
They have no struggles;

…Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure;
     in vain have I washed my hands in innocence.  (vv 3-4a, 13, NIV)

The psalmist expresses being on the brink of despair.  Haven’t we all been there?  Whether we’ve merely scratched our heads or actually shaken our fists toward the heavenlies, we have all sensed from time to time that the wicked seem to have it just fine and the righteous seem to be loaded with trials.  It is one of the most apparent Divine injustices.  But here comes the surprising pivot-point:

When I tried to understand all this,
     it was oppressive to me
till I entered the sanctuary of God;
     then I understood their final destiny.  (vv 16-17, NIV)

How was this theological and existential struggle alleviated?  Not by a Bible study.  Not by a counseling session with a pastor.  Not by taking a seminary class.  The psalmist communicates that a very special spiritual wisdom and insight was imparted in “the sanctuary of God,” in the context of worship.

Extrapolating outward, is it not easy to see the rich benefit of corporate worship?  Of the many blessed by-products of worship, this is surely one of them--that, in worship, we are often given (many times supernaturally and mysteriously) wisdom from God that aids in gaining perspective on some of life’s deepest struggles and problems.

This is a vivid reality for me.  Five and a half years ago, I was finishing up my seminary degree and leading worship in a small church plant in north Denver.  My wife, Abby, was diagnosed with cancer.  During that period of time, I can recall feeling that worship was very much a discipline foisted on me by God…something I had to do simply because it was my job.  Believe me, I wanted to retreat.  But worship became a most blessed discipline.  Worship perpetually put before my head and heart the greatness of God, the eternal perspective, the Kingdom mentality, and the love of Christ.  Worship provided the frame of wisdom and insight that bordered the portrait of my suffering.  It didn’t take away the sting of suffering, but those of you who have been there know the difference between suffering well and suffering poorly.  I believe I suffered well.  In the words of Sheldon Vanauken, I believe that worship helped me to experience suffering as a “severe mercy.”

I believe that this is one of the reasons the book Habakkuk ends the way it does—with a worship song.  I believe Habakkuk understood that when we come to the end of our wrestlings about the vexing incongruities of life, when we hit that wall, worship is one of the ways God graciously provides for us to break through to the wisdom on the other side.

Perhaps Psalm 73 would have us then rephrase James 1:5: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should gather with God's people…and worship.”

What Does "Unbudding Fig" Mean?

Alright.  I've had enough people ask me about what the copyright name under all my music means, so I devoted a permanent page to unraveling the mystery behind the "Unbudding Fig."  Check it out if you're curious.

And, yes, I'm aware that "unbudding" isn't a real word and probably needs a hyphen. ;)

P.S. I don't have a logo but would love one.  If any of you savvy, cutting edge designers out there would be interested in some pro bono work for a poor, lonely pastor-musician, send an email my way.  (Truth be told, by world standards, I'm not at ALL poor.  Nor am I lonely...I have a wonderful wife, some great kids, and I've been brought into fellowship with the Divine Community of Three.  Still, if you find your tear ducts welling up, then the whole "poor, lonely" bit was worth it.)

Suffering: The Elephant in the Sanctuary

What does slap-happy, pump-you-up worship do?  (1) It makes you feel great for a moment.  (2) It marginalizes those who are suffering. 

If all we’re interested in as worship leaders is planning a worship service that has the spiritual effect of being a “holy pep talk,” we’ve done a great disservice to the body of Christ.  But, oh, is it tempting.  There have been several times in my past where I’ve sold out to what I knew would give me positive feedback.  I had planned a set of fast, happy, and at least partially superficial songs.  It sure makes you feel great as a worship leader when everyone is engaged and comes away energized and excited. 

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Confession Isn’t Only About Sin (Liturgical Lessons from Isaiah 53)

I have the privilege of being part of a pretty dynamic pastoral team.  We maintain a shared leadership model, and there really is a sense of mutuality among us, despite the pastoral prefixes of “Senior” and “Associate.” Our shared leadership now extends to a more shared preaching model (a newer innovation), and with that comes shared exegetical (Bible study) and homiletical (sermon) preparation. 

A recent thought-provoking concept emerged from my colleague Marty Martin out of one of these think-tank sessions.  Marty read the following passage:

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
Yet we considered him stricken by God,
Smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
And by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:4-5, NIV

We’re Protestants, so a big part of our understanding of salvation in Christ involves substitutionary atonement and justification by faith alone.  Marty pointed out that one of the negative effects of this theological emphasis is that, in worship, it truncates Confession to be purely a confession of sin.  Of course, confession of sin is valuable and even integral to the gospel, but it is not its sum.  Philosophers would say it is “necessary but not sufficient” to display the gospel.  Marty made the point that personal sin is merely a subset of the greater package of the human problem—need.  He said that our neediness includes but goes beyond our moral sinfulness.

When we read the passage above (observing my underlinings), we notice that what Christ bore on the cross was more than our “transgressions” and “iniquities,” though, so often, that is what we truncate the gospel to.  He bore our “infirmities.”  He held our “sorrows.”  He took on our peacelessness, our sickness, and our brokenness.  It is not "by His wounds we are forgiven," but, "by His wounds we are healed."  The Gospel shares the news of a greater healing than merely the healing of our sin.  In it we hear that Christ bore my wife’s cancer, my friend’s chronic illness, my son’s autism, and my grandmother’s dementia.  Christ took on my real animosity against radical Islam in Afghanistan.  He bore the weeping of my friend going through a divorce. 

Liturgically, then, what are we saying if, week after week, all we do is confess our sin?  We are certainly saying that the Gospel is the remedy of our moral failure (which it is) and that it is also the news of a broken relationship restored between me, a sinner, and God all-holy.  But, without further explanation, that’s about where it ends.  Of course, if that’s all we say, I think we’ve done pretty well, because the Gospel’s essence can certainly be distilled into those realities.  But can’t we use the Confession as a time to prepare for receiving a more robust, full-orbed good news?

What if, from time to time, we were to shake things up and not so much have a “Confession of Sin” but a “Confession of Need?”  What if, in our silent prayers, instead of praying, “God, I repent of having done x, y, and z,” we prayed, “God, I’m really sick,” or “God, I’m really sad”?  Imagine how different the proclamation of the Gospel would sound having made those kinds of confessions.  Think about how much more glorious the life, death, and resurrection of Christ becomes in the eyes of the people of God!