Worship with a Global Smell

[Sam: last year I heard Ian give a challenge for western churches to engage more with the worship music of other cultures.  It got me thinking about why, in multicultural Britain with so much world music on the radio and in the record shops/mp3 sites, our worship music is sourced almost exclusively from the ‘west’.  We have responded by learning songs from some other cultures - every night of our tour kicks off with two African worship songs – but there is so much more to discover.  Take a moment to hear his heart, and ask God what your response might be to this exciting challenge!]

Apparently Mongolians describe music as having certain “smells”; what fragrance do you think your church’s worship would have for them?

Have you noticed how people’s hearts “zing” when the worship music is their own? Last weekend, I met a Zambian lady in a church in Leeds who has struggled for two years in an English church. She has been considering joining an African church. At the close of the worship time, our team sang a well-known African song and we encouraged people to move around the church. A worship leader watching this commented, “That’s is the first time this Zambian lady has come alive in song. Normally she stands there rigid, like she wants to break free, but cannot.” This church is now thinking of learning more songs like this. Good move! Good smell!

That reminds me of a Zambian friend in Manchester. I hopped into his car recently and what was playing in his CD player? It was Jojo Mwangaza, one of the best known Bemba gospel songwriters in his country. What does this tell me? It tells me how important this musical “smell” is to my friend! One YouTube viewer comments about Jojo, “though i haven't been home for years i am so glad that i can find songs of my own country.” This longing for familiar music is hardly surprising, but how can British worship leaders respond to these musical yearnings of church members from other cultures? 

Do we all have to learn Bemba (and Swahili and Hindi and Chinese, and, and..)? Apart from being unrealistic, this is not what our brothers and sisters ask of us. All we need to do is learn one simple song at a time. As we journey into the worship world of other cultures, we find it begins to seep into our hearts. These worship cultures can enrich our praise in ways English worship may not: a new angle, an exquisite phrase, an unexpected emphasis, a captivating fragrance. Beware, once you have truly caught its scent, you might even find yourself longing for more!

Such songs of other nations are gifts to the world church. As the Apostle says, we need one another.

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ....If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? (I Corinthians 12:14-17, NLT)

One helps us catch sight of shafts of God’s truth, another the beat of His heart, and yet another the aroma of His Presence. Like the eye ignoring what the the ear hears, or the ear ignoring what the nose smells, might we be missing what other cultures have to bring to Christian worship?

Fear not. These days it is easy to find songs from other nations. Even better than YouTube clips, we can ask a church member to teach us an easy worship song from their culture.  By “easy”, I mean both the words and music can be sung by others (like us!). Many Brits are hopelessly nervous about other languages, so if no translation exists, work with your non-English friend on an English version. I have found that worship can take off when the English is mixed in with the original. 

If you want to know more about multicultural worship, there are some opportunities coming up at the London School of Theology, Northwood, Middlesex.

1)    Multicultural Worship Evening Class (6th May 2009):
http://www.lst.ac.uk/newsevent.php?newseventid=78

2) Worship Connect Summer School (21st-24th July 2009)
http://www.worshipconnect.org/

Coming back to smells, it seems as though our worship gives off a smell to the Lord. The question is whether it is fragrant incense or smoke in his nostrils (Isaiah 65:1-5). Hopefully it is the former...

Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering. (Psalm 141:2 NLT)

This smell is our heart attitude and relationships with others. It is far important than our music. One chief way we truly worship God, then, is by living in harmony with one another and, with the diversity that multiculturalism brings, humbly offering our shared praise “with one voice” to God:

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6 NLT)

Ian Collinge

websites:
International Council of Ethnodoxologists: www.worldofworship.org
EthnoDoxology Journal: http://ethnodoxology.org 
Global Consultation on Music and Missions: www.gcommhome.org 
Heart Sounds International: www.heart-sounds.org 
Aradhna: http://www.aradhnamusic.com  
Resonance: http://www.wec-int.org.uk/cms/trek/musical-internship-programme
http://www.echoesofthekingdom.com/heart-worship.html

training opportunities:
1. European Training Programme (ETP) http://www.eurotp.org/DE/session.asp?SessionID=203
2. London School of Theology (LST) - Music and Worship Foundation http://www.lst.ac.uk
3. All Nations Christian College (ANCC) - Bible and Arts:   http://www.allnations.ac.uk/

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