I’ve been thinking about accessibility and cultural relevance.. (e*g)

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Green Online Worship Values Course with Dan Wilt.


Last weekend my old youth group asked if I would come lead worship after their monthly “HardStone Cafe”. There were a few guys who had come to play at the cafe who stuck around afterward for the sleepover. Which meant that they would be there for our time of musical worship. I didn’t know who they were, who they had come with, or what they were about. I knew that they were not the usual youth group kids. A lot of the crowd that comes to the cafe are into metal and like to smoke pot. Not really the type that would willingly subject themselves to music about Jesus.

A few thoughts came to my head at once:

First, did they know what they were getting into? Last year while I was helping to lead this youth group, the kids had developed a real comfort in worshiping with one another. It was really amazing to see them open up and let themselves loose before God as the year went on. It was different every time - "as distinctive as wine from a bottle, not as generic as Coke from a can!"1 - sometimes they would just soak it all in, sometimes they would giggle and dance around, sometimes they would fervently intercede and pray with one another. I never know what to expect when it comes to these kids and God. It is not a static experience!

Second, are the kids going to feel free to give themselves fully to Father if they feel like they’re being watched?

What followed couldn’t have been more opposite than what I had expected. I’ll be honest in saying that I was a little anxious about their presence, although still trusting that God knew what He was doing even if I didn’t. I asked a couple girls to pray with me about my anxiety, and that these guys would somehow be blessed by what we were about to do.

While I was setting up, (I had forgotten all my music and overheads, and someone else had taken the sound system that night) the boys were still jamming from the cafe. I didn’t know how to transition - “hey guys, maybe you could stop so we can sing some Christian songs now?” Besides, they were really good, and I was enjoying listening to them.

Everyone had gathered by then, and I was grateful when the youth leader, Jon, said that he was going to pray and we were going to start. He prayed, and I started singing, trying to choose songs that most people knew the words to. I was aware that the guys were still in the room, and I was completely at peace. The songs were flowing, people were singing. It was a really sweet time. (Not sweet, like “awesome”; more like honey).

Somewhere in the middle I started singing “When I Survey”. I knew that most people wouldn’t know the words, but I knew that I still had to sing it. The stillness in the room was incredible - not a sound, as I sang my heart out, and tears began to slide down my cheeks.

When we had finished, the guys stood and walked out without saying much. I wasn’t sure what kind of impact it had had on them.

The next day when I checked my email, one of the guys had written on my wall on facebook. It said, “hey, I just thought I'd let you know that when you were playing that big medley of songs after the cafe this weekend, I don't think I've ever heard anything so packed with genuine emotion and inspiration. That helped me understand why people are religious.”

Father is so incredibly powerful. He amazes me every time I lead people in worship. He took my feeble efforts, my disorganization, my apprehension, and opened the doorway for these guys to see what a relationship with God can look like. That it doesn’t have to be boring, or restrictive, or any of the other pre-conceived ideas they have about God and His Church. That it’s for real.

Dan wrote about cultural relevance being the art of creating atmospheres that are authentic and that build bridges for those can cannot build them for themselves.2 I'm really glad that God's a bridge builder, and that He gets us to help Him build them sometimes.



1. Eddie Gibbs. Time in a Bottle: Reflections on Worship. (Vineyard Music: Inside Worship: Volume 44, 2001) p.251.
2. Dan Wilt. Essentials in Worship Leadership: The Values of Accessibility and Cultural Relevance. (New Brunswick: St. Stephen’s University, 2009) p.5.