Tribal Worship

The vision painted in the hymn "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" (United Methodist Hymnal no. 154) is one in which the world and all its inhabitants, past and present, worship Jesus Christ. Stanza one includes "all," including the angels. Stanza two calls for God's chosen people, Israel. Stanza three brings in "sinners." Can there be a more all-encompassing group? Stanza four includes "every kindred" and "every tribe"; that is, all family groups and all groups of people who associate because of a common, shared characteristic, such as occupation, social background, or political view. Stanza five names the martyrs, and stanza six collects them all together in a "yonder sacred throng," of which we are a part.

In thinking about current United Methodist worship and music practice, the terms "tribe" and "tribal" seem appropriate. A tribe is a society or division of a society whose members have come together because of their shared ancestry, customs, beliefs, and leadership. Many today question what brings us together as United Methodists, observing that our worship and music styles, preaching, and even our theology are vastly different from region to region and congregation to congregation.

We often claim to be a big-tent denomination, tolerant and inclusive of a great variety of worship and music styles. Indeed, multiculturalism is one of our hallmarks. But in a recent discussion on the Methodist Musicians List, the discussion turned to a congregation's worship style that was decidedly alternative. The church served a full breakfast each week, and the people sat around tables. Children played on the floor nearby. A jazz and pop band played music, both background and for singing, although most of the singing was by the group rather than the people, who preferred to listen. The songs were both secular and sacred. The pastor sat behind a small table on a small platform in front of the people. Instead of a sermon, the pastor spoke to and with the people, often in a conversation. There were other alternative features of this congregation, but their growing attendance and enthusiastic membership was a testimony that what they were doing was working.

The discussion on the Methodist Musicians List was also enthusiastic. Some suggested that this congregation was pioneering the future of United Methodist worship, while others expressed anger over what they saw as a consumerist approach to worship. The discussion was quite heated and obviously passionate, with strong beliefs being expressed on both sides.

Why does diversity in worship and music style elicit such passionate debate? Most of us are involved in our own congregation and its style of worship by personal choice. Why does a different worship style in a church across town or in another state or even nation bring out such hostility and disagreement? Are we individually wired for worship in a certain way? Is our preferred worship style a result of our God-created nature? Or do we come to it from a variety of influences -- by our nurture -- also a gift of God? Why do we insist that our choice is best and dismiss others? Are we doomed to conflicts over worship forever?

It has often been observed that the Sunday worship hour in United Methodism is the most segregated hour in the church. The objection to that observation, of course, is that no congregation intentionally segregates its worship. We have banded together in congregations largely out of considerations for worship and music style. We have allowed style to sort us -- in the words of "All Hail the Power" -- into tribes. Our lack of inclusivity at the congregational level results, not from race or ethnicity, but from stylistic considerations. Our worship is tribal.

Yes, our worship is diverse … it is tribal. But does that necessarily mean we must be intolerant of that diversity? Must we continue to hurl about charges of entertainment, consumerism, stuffiness, intellectualism, formality, or any number of other adjectives to describe worship that is different from our own? Is not the image of United Methodist worship as a big tent preferable to one of tribalism? Not until we truly celebrate and give thanks for our diversity and affirm the reasons for it -- be they, cultural, lingual, generational, geographical -- will we be able to claim that we are a diverse church without hypocrisy.

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