Urbana 03 - Worship and Culture
Read some of these descriptions written by a few Urbana 03 Worship Team members to help you “dig in” at the extravagant feast of worshipping a Global God.
Worship Culture in Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada
by Paul Y.S. Chin
Worship at Canadian Inter-Varsity chapters is influenced predominantly by contemporary Caucasian evangelical culture. Canadians have a high regard for simplicity, equality, community, and authenticity so worship leaders must be clear, but modest and not draw attention to themselves. Canadians appreciate a worship leader who functions as an authentic “lead-worshipper”, stepping out of the way, humbly inviting participation and drawing the congregation into worship. They also look to the worship leader to provide guidance and give permission to facilitate individual expression within a group dynamic. Theological teaching and explanation to assist the group to engage with lyrically rich songs is common, though not always required. Stylistically, worship music tends to blend classical, folk, Celtic and rock influences. Students bring a diverse mix to their musical worship, including folk and classical instruments like the fiddle, tin whistle, violin and flute. Generally, reserved, worship experiences often contain both celebration and significant space for quiet reflection. In addition to the U.S., the primary sources for songs and musical style are the U.K., Ireland, Australia and the Canadian Vineyard. There remains an appetite for the vintage truths found in hymns, which are often contextualized with a contemporary musical arrangement.
If you’d like to hear an album that reflects the Celtic influence in worship, listen to Robin Mark’s Revival in Belfast.
Latino Worship Culture
by Krista-Dawn Kimsey
Worship in the Latino community is a communal celebration of God’s power and presence of the Holy Spirit. As a community you are invited to enjoy the fiesta of God’s presence in worship. The worship leader is the host of this party, and will lead with a lot of energy and excitement, giving directions to the congregation. Often the leader will call out to the congregation and invite a response, whether in singing or shouting praise. The music we will learn together is in Spanish and reflects many Latino musical styles. It’s impossible to worship to this music without dancing! There is permission to bring all your life experiences and deepest emotions into the presence of God. As a white woman learning to worship in the Latino culture, I am deeply grateful for the leader’s role in teaching me to worship as a member of a community and not just as an individual.
If you would like to hear traditional coritos in various Latino musical styles, listen to the album Coros de la Reunion by Miguel Angel Guerra.
Second/Third generation Asian Worship Culture
By James Choung
Asian American worship is primarily about an invitation to experience God with full freedom, intimacy, authenticity and devotion. Though the lyrics which second generation Asians connect to in worship are often intense proclamations of full devotion, it would be hard to pin the worship down to a certain musical style or rhythm. For Korean Americans in particular, the concept of “han” – of great suffering and despair – easily finds its way into the language of sacrifice, suffering and devotion found in Christian circles. Much like the indirect nature of our cultures, much more is “said” beyond the song itself. The heart-felt intensity of our worship and the words spoken (or more importantly, not spoken!) in between the songs all help to create space for both the lead worshipper and everyone else in the congregation to experience God’s presence. The instrument of the worship leader, “speaks”, rather than the person, giving directions to the band and the congregation through musical dynamics. You will be led into an intimate relationship with the Father and celebration of His unconditional love and acceptance.
If you’d like to hear an album that reflects common themes found in Second/Third generation Asian culture, listen to the band The Exodus.
African-American Gospel Culture
by Krista-Dawn Kimsey
Worship in the African-American Gospel culture is often a celebration of freedom in God as a Holy community. Is there anything worth more celebration than God’s power, His faithfulness to His promises and His redemptive purposes? The worship leader will exhort you as a member of the community to give all that you are in the presence of God. The leader will model a passionate, expressive and emotional response to the Truth of God’s goodness, and He/She will call out that same response from you. The words of the songs are often sung repeatedly to allow the truth to move from head knowledge (declaration) to heart knowledge (personal testimony). There is a lot of freedom to express your testimony as you like, and often the songs will end with a time to sing your own words of praise and gratitude. We will linger in what the Holy Spirit is doing through that song. As a white woman, worshiping in the Gospel culture has enabled me to learn how to express my joy unself-consciously and enabled me to become more bold and free in the presence of our good God.
Caucasian Worship Culture
by Matt Ryan-Kelzenberg
As Caucasians in the United States, we draw on a rich heritage from the foundations of the European Church – a place where music and art were highly esteemed as forms of worship. Today, when we say “worship”, what many of us really mean is singing our hearts out to our God! We love music. We love thoughtful and thought-provoking words of praise, and we long for the intimacy that we have often experienced as we meet Jesus in many different ways in worship. This happens through the combination of singing, prayer, preaching, testimony and art. In our culture, we place a high value on understanding and knowledge; this shows up in how we practice our faith, and in our worship as well. We value knowing and understanding the words and melodies that we sing, so we often spend ample time learning new songs, and we like to have the words where we can see them clearly. These cultural values are also important to us in worship leading. Our worship leaders will often spend time explaining the choice of songs or the words, and how they “fit in” to our time of worship. In the liturgical tradition, every part of the worship service has meaning, which is drawn from either scripture or the enduring traditions of the saints. At Urbana, we see, hear and experience God’s truth in new ways through video, theatre, art and musical worship.
If you’d like to hear an album that combines new musical styles with ancient words, listen to David Crowder albums.
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