All in Sync: How Music and Art Are Revitalizing American Religion

5. The Joy of Worship: Expression and Tradition in Congregational Life

ch apter 5 The Joy of Worship Expression and Tradition in Congregational Life Whatever else it may be, American religion is a vast network of congregations and meeting houses, fellowship halls and temples, cathedrals and chapels. And in these places of worship, just as in the private devotional lives of individuals, the influence of music and art on spirituality is becoming increasingly apparent. Church members, recognizing the spiritual implications of the arts, are overwhelmingly interested in them. In most churches, music and art play important roles in worship and in the social life of the congregation. In some congregations, innovative uses of music and art are also a source of new vitality. The art sections of most newspapers don’t reflect it, but churches are one of the main places in nearly every community where people are exposed to the arts. Other than school, churches are where children learn to sing. For most adults, church services are the only place where they regularly sing with others, and many adults rarely hear live performances of music except at church. Increasingly, churches are advancing other forms of artistic expression as well: performing skits and dramas, staging liturgical dance in worship services, sponsoring concerts and poetry readings, hosting theater companies, and organizing book discussion groups.1 While it is clear to most churchgoers that hearing music during a worship service or listening to the pastor quote a poem during a sermon is different from going to a concert that just happens to be held in the church auditorium, the boundaries between spirituality and the arts in congregations are increasingly blurred. Strict teachings in some traditions that for many years excluded all kinds of visual art from church 134 buildings have gradually been relaxed. Musical instruments that were once considered secular are now used to accompany congregational singing. The verbal communication of the gospel, long performed exclusively through the spoken word, is augmented by dramatic performances and concerts. At the same time, sacred art that was once supervised by church authorities is increasingly available for viewing at museums and galleries and on college campuses and in public buildings. Consider the following example. On a typical Friday evening, a symphony orchestra in Dallas does not perform at a concert hall, but in the auditorium of its sponsor—Prestonwood Baptist Church. Until recently , this church was located at the corner of Hillcrest and Arapaho in a quiet, upscale residential area of the city. It was founded in 1979 by 150 Southern Baptists who hoped the city’s rapidly growing population would generate unparalleled opportunities for church expansion. That hope was soon realized. The congregation grew steadily until, in the early 1990s, its expanded physical plant (a modern brick structure that was sometimes mistaken for a movie theater) encompassed nearly five square blocks. Inadequate parking, not to mention the need for additional meeting space, encouraged the church’s leaders to purchase a 138acre tract in the suburban community of Plano, on which a luxurious thirty-six-million-dollar worship facility was opened in 1999. A new family center adjacent to the sanctuary houses classrooms, the Prestonwood Christian Academy, and other activities for all ages. Membership currently exceeds fifteen thousand. With an annual budget in excess of ten million dollars, Prestonwood Church supports more than a hundred full-time employees, including two dozen pastors. Four of the pastors head the church’s extensive musical programs. Besides the 80-member orchestra, there is a 450-member adult choir, a contemporary “praise band” that performs at Sundayevening services, several vocal ensembles, and five children’s choirs for preschoolers through high school. Each year the orchestra and adult choir are featured in the church’s “Dallas Christmas Festival,” which is attended by more than thirty thousand people and viewed nationally on network television. Prestonwood’s music program illustrates one way in which religion and the arts are currently converging: larger and more powerful religious organizations, often responding to wider cultural influences, are playing a more significant role as producers of religious art. The scale of Prestonwood’s membership, staff, and budget is the key to its ability to sponsor such a sizable music program. Smaller churches would have neiTHE JOY OF WORSHIP 135 ther the funds to hire four music ministers nor the space in which to hold such activities. Equally important are the church’s state-of-the-art satellite broadcasting equipment and its experienced sound, lighting...