Performance Versus Participation (Part 1)

By Reed B. Waggoner

The stage and the pew. You probably have both in your church building (though the pew might now be replaced with a row of chairs). The stage and the pew, like the pulpit, are not only physical objects but also symbols. Just as the pulpit symbolically represents the church’s teaching ministry, the stage and the pew—for our purposes—represent two competing views of worship—performance and participation.

The way churches choose to worship the Creator has a long history of divided opinions, ranging from the use of instruments in church to the so-called “worship wars” of recent times. But there is another issue that must be addressed for modern worship. I am referring to the way consumeristic entertainment has set the pace for a growing number of churches, especially large and influential ones, which pass on their trends to thousands of others. For these churches, worship is a performance put on each week that must wow the audience and try to keep the attention of media-saturated minds.

This entertainment-oriented, performer-focused approach is what I refer to as the performance paradigm. The performance paradigm views worship as happening primarily on the stage and extending to the congregation. A large and talented band is essential, while the congregation is seen as an audience that is invited to join in the worship experience if they choose to, but even then, participation is optional. A performance expects little from the audience except their attendance and applause.

Though few would admit it, a great many churches have embraced this performance model of worship. When all attention is directed toward the stage, there is a tendency to have a ministry that is staged. Warren Wiersbe warned about “evangelical exhibitionists,” who put themselves on display, stating, “If the worship service is platform-centered, then we will be only spectators at a religious performance.”¹

In contrast, the pew represents the congregational participation in worship. In this way of thinking, the congregation, not the band, is essential for worship to take place. The band and any music in the service exist only to aid the congregation in singing praise to God. Though every service is likely a blend of the stage and the pew, one or the other will tend to dominate.

What Performance Gets Wrong about Worship

Performance, in the sense of “putting on a good show,” misses the mark of what true worship is all about. Before we come down too hard on the word “performance,” we ought to acknowledge that any time a person picks up an instrument or sings, they are performing. We should also admit that not everything about entertainment is bad. But when something as important as worship is cheapened to mere entertainment, we should be concerned, and viewing worship as a performance should concern us.

1. It Exalts the Performers

When worship is viewed as a performance, it puts the spotlight on the performers, literally and figuratively. While I am sure there are many earnest and sincere worship leaders who long to see Christ praised, the very way they structure the Sunday morning experience screams, “Look at me!”

Self-promoting or self-centered ministry is a significant temptation when prominence is given to an elite group of performers on the stage. This was, in part, the issue in the Corinthian church. The Corinthians were divided over their allegiance to certain magnetic personalities like Peter, Apollos, and Paul (1Co 1:12). Paul reminded them of the foolishness of exalting mere men, writing, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed” (3:5).

While Paul was talking about preachers, his words also apply to worship leaders. Ministry, and especially worship, is always meant to focus our hearts on the Lord, not on the servants. Worship has never been about the worshippers, but about God.

2. It Incites an Emotional Response

No one who has read the Psalms would dare argue that emotions play no part in worship. To the contrary, congregational worship stirs the emotions in powerful ways. However, performance-based worship tries to manufacture an emotional response. Rather than stir the emotions through beautiful, timeless, biblical truth, it attempts to artificially create emotion by special effects. The expression “worship experience” is now commonplace. While every worship service is an experience, the experience modern churches are chasing is emotionally charged. Whether the emotion is based upon truth or from a I-V-IV chord progression is irrelevant. After all, it is the performers’ job to create the emotion and atmosphere.

3. It Puts the Focus on Technical Precision

If we think of a church service as a performance, the emphasis will typically be on the quality more than the content. Certainly, church music should always be done well. But the performance paradigm turns Sunday morning into a production. The more impressive the skills, the better the worship.

Despite all the talk about excellence, there is something truly beautiful about worship that lacks production quality yet flows from grateful hearts and sincere intentions.

I became the de facto pianist at my church when I was thirteen years old, because in our very small congregation, we had few other options. I had only begun taking lessons a year earlier. Equipped with a simple book entitled 25 Favorite Hymns, I timidly and incompetently stuttered through the handful of songs I knew. I was not very good, but the congregation never ceased to show their gratitude. Over time, my repertoire expanded as did my ability. Eventually, I became adequate at playing in church.

Though I lacked all the finesse of even moderately talented musicians, mine is a story of a young man who, despite his inadequacy, sought to serve the Lord as he could, and the church that showed Christ-like love and Barnabas-like encouragement that helped set him on a life of ministry. I prefer that story to the hyper-talented praise band that puts on a concert-like production each week.

In a larger church, my terrible playing would not have been tolerated, which I fully understand. I would not advocate that Sally, who just began taking violin lessons six weeks ago, should screech through a piece on Sunday morning. On the other hand, I am afraid that our preoccupation with “excellence” is really just a cover for our desire to be like the world. We want specialists to praise God on Sunday morning.

4. It Promotes Passivity

If the reigning paradigm in many churches is that of a gifted group of musicians taking center stage and putting on a concert, the congregation is reduced to an approving audience. It is no wonder that there is a noticeable decline in congregational singing, especially among men.² Bob Smietana, from Lifeway Research, refers to a 2008 survey in which nearly half (47 percent) of church goers surveyed said that they were “going through the motions” during congregational singing and prayer.³

Congregations are regularly enjoined by the worship leader to “make a noise” or “sing with us,” but in actuality, it makes little difference if anyone chooses to sing along. No matter how enthusiastic the invitation, the mode of worship communicates loud and clear that what is happening on stage is truly important. If you want to sing along, great! If not, worship is still moving forward without you. This kind of approach to worship encourages passivity.

There is a better way to think about and structure music in the local church: through the paradigm of participation. (Coming in Part 2)