Worship services of the Churches of Christ are marked by the complete absence of musical instruments. All of the music is unaccompanied singing. The music heard most frequently is, nevertheless, quite diverse and includes a wide range of classic hymns and gospel songs. While congregational singing is the foundation of worship music, choirs and special singing groups are sometimes included. Many congregations now use modern songs that speak more directly to younger people in place of older texts, with their agricultural and seafaring metaphors. The visual arts are not emphasized, although increased attention is being given to the worship setting. Drama is slowly being introduced in some churches.
Music
Music in Churches of Christ is unique among evangelical churches. The first thing most visitors notice when they attend a worship service is the absence of musical instruments. Churches of Christ sing a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment). This practice is based upon the belief that musical instruments were not used in Christian worship until around 1600 A.D. Feelings surrounding the use of instruments in worship were so strong that the introduction of a piano in worship was one of the primary factors that split the American Restoration Movement of the nineteenth century into the Disciples of Christ (who chose to use instruments) and Churches of Christ.
There is a great diversity of music in Churches of Christ, including great classic hymns in the Watts-Wesley genre, gospel song classics from the nineteenth-century Crosby-Doane era, and gospel songs in the twentieth-century tradition of R. E. Winsett and Stamps-Baxter. Most hymnals used in this fellowship include time-honored hymn tunes such as “ARLINGTON,” “AZMON,” “CONSOLATION,” “DUKE STREET,” “MERCY,” “OLD HUNDREDTH,” and “ST. PETER.” Music scholars within Churches of Christ say there is a body of some 1,000 or more hymns that have endured from generation to generation since the beginnings of the Restoration Movement in the early 1800s.
Although most Christians do not realize it, many religious musical traditions come from secular music on the American frontier. Christian writers frequently adopted favorite recreational tunes and added Christian words to them. Many religious traditions continue to cherish songs that were made popular during this period. For some older church members, any other type of music simply is not “church music.”
Churches of Christ have avoided choirs and emphasized congregational singing in the assembly. Although congregational singing remains the predominant musical mode, many congregations committed to worship renewal have begun to make limited use of choirs and special singing groups. Many of them use a variety of methods to encourage singing. Some congregations use a worship team. This team is usually comprised of a quartet (sometimes including two women singing the soprano and alto parts) who lead the congregation in singing. Traditional congregations call on one man to lead the entire congregation, but worship teams allow the congregation to hear the four-part harmony more easily and clearly. This aids in teaching new music. It is not uncommon for renewing churches to employ full-time ministers of music who are trained musicians and who work primarily as worship coordinators and leaders.
Occasionally, congregations have a chorus that sings to the congregation. This is different from the traditional choir in most other religious groups. There are no choir lofts in Churches of Christ. These choruses may stand in front of the people, but more often than not, they stand to the side or in the back or in the balcony. A chorus might sing a new song that teaches an important lesson or that motivates other worshipers to focus on the Lord more clearly. Although a growing number of congregations are experimenting with such groups, there is no reason to believe that Churches of Christ will abandon their love for and commitment to congregational singing.
Renewing churches are making a commitment to music that praises God and causes worshipers to fix their gaze above rather than on one another. There is a place for songs like “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” which are primarily designed to help believers encourage one another. Renewing churches, however, believe they should sing more songs that adore the Lord such as “O Worship the King” and “There’s Something About That Name.” The older hymnbooks contain far more songs with a generally inspiring focus than a God-centered focus. Therefore, renewing churches supplement their hymnals with new songs shown on overhead projectors or distributed on song sheets. Hymnals used in Churches of Christ, such as Great Songs of the Church (Abilene, Tex.: ACU Press), have recently undergone revisions to reflect these concerns. Praise for the Lord (Nashville: Praise Press) is a new hymnal that includes about 80 contemporary hymns along with almost eight hundred well-known standards. The Singers Worship Series, edited by Ken Young and produced by Hallel Music in Irving, Texas, provides new song sheets, music, and cassette tapes to individuals and congregations desiring to learn and use new praise music.
Many of the old songs, while expressing eternal truths, use agricultural and seafaring metaphors that no longer speak to many younger people. Therefore, renewing congregations strive to include music that is contemporary and that reflects the feelings of the worshipers. Although Churches of Christ use no instruments of music in the worship assembly, many of the younger generations have a profound appreciation for modern contemporary Christian music and feel deeply blessed by it.
The Other Arts
Art has never played a significant role in this tradition. However, a growing number of congregations are beginning to give attention to this aspect of worship. Many assembly halls have semicircular seating where people can see one another and interact more easily. The Garnett Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has a round auditorium with the platform in the center. In many congregations, large wooden pulpits have been replaced with clear plexiglass podiums. Stationary microphones have been replaced with cordless lapel microphones. All of this is designed to remove the barriers that might distance worshipers from those leading in worship.
The Lord’s Supper is the central event in worship. Churches of Christ partake of the bread and the cup every Lord’s Day. The physical placement of the Lord’s Table varies from church to church. Some congregations place it in the front in the most prominent position possible. Usually, it sits immediately in front of the pulpit. Occasionally it sits behind the pulpit but is elevated on a platform above it.
No vestments are used in Churches of Christ. A growing number of congregations are using banners and hangings to direct worshiper’s minds to spiritual truths. The Madison Church of Christ in Madison, Tennessee, the largest Church of Christ in the world, chose the theme “Victory in Jesus” for its first banners. Each of the two banners is about twenty-five feet long and hangs on either side of the stage.
Drama is slowly making its way into the worship of renewing congregations. The Madison church has begun using drama. Occasionally its preacher will assume the role of a Bible character (even dressed as the person might have dressed in biblical days) and preach a “first-person sermon.” However, most of the drama occurs at times other than the Sunday morning assembly. For its “Summer Spectacular” (a new night-time approach to a Family Vacation Bible School), the Madison church has staged rather elaborate productions such as the story of Noah and Jonah and the Great Fish. On Sunday and Wednesday evenings, this congregation has done such events as a dramatic reading of the story of Job. The Madison church has a troupe of teenage actors called the Prime Time Players who perform modern situational dramas, each of which is designed to teach some biblical truth or principle for godly living.