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Culture Shock
By Evan Rogers
Jubilee Community Church, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Bambelela, bambelela…’ I may as well be singing ‘La Bamba’, so I read the translation in brackets (hold on to Jesus). Are those the only words? Now everyone is doing a type of group dance. This is quite fun even though I can’t really dance. Oh no, here comes another African song, ‘Umanqoba’. How do they expect me to say that? When are we really going to worship?
Multi-cultural praise can elicit many responses. Having had the privilege of directing praise in an increasingly diverse church, here are some observations and helpful hints.
Vision is vital
Diversity must be part of the core vision of the whole church, not just the responsibility of the worship leader. The elders must be convinced of it theologically and be intentional about it. It will never ‘just happen’. At Jubilee, many people could not understand why we were singing Xhosa songs when there were hardly any Xhosa-speaking people in our congregation. At first it felt false but it was necessary. Simon Pettit deliberately imposed a quota of two non-English songs per meeting. What seemed so false then has become natural now. We were seeking to be prophetic in our segregated society.
Praise is a key part of developing a multi-cultural church because:
• Diverse songs communicate a message of acceptance and openness. Many have joined us, some becoming leaders, who are now vital in transforming the church.
• It allows the nations to be glad! When people sing in their own language, it is like ‘coming home’ for them. Put yourself in their shoes.
• Having diverse musicians on the platform expresses the vision.
It is God’s intention and purpose
God’s intention for the church is to display His manifold (many coloured/diverse) wisdom (Eph. 3:10). The mystery of the gospel is that only His grace can join people together (Eph. 2:14, Gal. 3:26-28). Homogenous communities and expressions don’t reflect this. Although we are one new tribe in Christ, Revelation 5 and 7 shows us that culture is not over-looked in heaven. God’s desire is for every people group to be gathered there.
It makes His praise more glorious
‘God is more glorified by diversity than by uniformity’ (Let The Nations Be Glad, John Piper). A church full of different people groups magnifies the manifold mercy of God.
It is a catalyst for sanctification
‘By focusing on multi-culturalness, God undercuts ethno-centric pride’ (Let The Nations Be Glad, John Piper). ‘Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God’ (Rom. 15:7).
Diverse worship confronts the ‘I do it my way’ syndrome. Paul instructed a diverse church,
• Prefer one another and look to the interests of others (Phil. 2:3).
• Bear with one another (Col. 3:13).
Common objections
1. The songs are short, repetitive and simple.
- Yes they are! Therefore you can learn them and sing them easily, particularly while dancing with your brothers and sisters. Consider also that some don’t have the benefits of hymnals/overheads, hence the shortness and repetition.
- 'The Scriptures allude to just about every approach to worship there is; organised, spontaneous, public, private, simple, complex, ornate or plain. Yet there is no comment anywhere about any one way being preferred over another’ (Bob Kauflin, PDI Magazine).
2. There’s not much content to the songs.
- Debatable. Two words can paint a theological picture, but a balanced diet of songs is important. We choose the simpler more accessible songs but do include more content-filled ones now. Truth is still more important than tune, so we choose carefully.
3. I can’t pronounce the words and don’t understand them.
- That’s why we repeat the song and keep them short and simple. By regularly playing the songs, they become second nature. Help your congregation by taking time to teach the pronunciation. Worship is for God’s glory not our good feelings.
4. I can’t engage with God.
- When God’s people gather to praise, He is there regardless of our feelings.
Church is a celebration of God and His people(s)
We all have our personal preferences but diverse praise keeps church interesting. Different cultures bring something different to the party. Dancing is a Biblical not cultural expression of praise. In Jeremiah 31:13, ‘mecholah’ means communal or round dance. Dancing together is a kingdom community expression.
Here are some helpful hints for music directors.
• Make an effort to discover and learn songs from other cultures. Obviously your demographics determine the languages. However, even in a more mono-cultural environment I encourage you to sing cross-culturally. It can make your people ‘nations conscious’. Translating songs from English is a step in the right direction but rather find songs from the communities.
• Praise must always be authentic.
The cultural songs should not be seen as novel but a genuine expression of praise. Develop a flow by interspersing cultural songs throughout the praise time. It will take an effort to learn musical styles and pronunciation, and preparation time will be longer and harder, but remember why and Who it’s for! Don’t attempt it unless you’re comfortable with it.
• Determine to be diverse and develop diverse teams.
Build relationships with musicians from other cultures. Pray for authentic representative musicians to play and lead us. I aim to have various cultures represented on our music platform. I’m generally disappointed if I haven’t sung in at least two languages in a meeting. Evaluate it over a month.
Allow diversity to enrich you. It may be easier to remain mono-cultural, but the rewards of being part of a multi-cultural church far outweigh the difficulties. Hamba kakuhle (go well). It’s worth the journey! |
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