Independent Christian Churches and instrumental Churches of Christ have historically showed a hesitant attitude toward incorporating the arts in worship, believing evangelism to be more important than corporate worship. In recent years, some congregations have moved away from this position and now actively promote the development and use of dramatic and visual components in worship services. All congregations continue to be shaped by a century of singing both traditional hymns and gospel songs.
The development of music and the arts among Christian Churches and Churches of Christ demonstrates the dichotomy of their background. They are the centrist group of the Stone/Campbell Movement of the early nineteenth century. From the beginning, the movement was a fragile coalition. Churches joined the brotherhood in the interest of unity but came from a wide variety of backgrounds. On one side of the fence were noninstrumental Churches of Christ, and on the other were the Disciples churches. Each side had its own ideas about the arts. Independent Christian Churches and instrumental Churches of Christ, which are the topic of this article, came from both sides of the fence and met somewhere in the middle.
Hymns or Gospel Songs
By the 1860s, a clear distinction arose between the churches that used hymns only and those that were adopting the new gospel songs. Disciples Churches generally preferred hymns only while Churches of Christ were adding evangelistic gospel songs. The majority of independent Christian Churches probably sided with the noninstrumental churches in using evangelistic gospel songs but this was not the case with all. The battle of hymns versus gospel songs has long been over, but the differing approaches to Sunday morning worship linger on.
Around the middle of the twentieth century, most Christian Churches used hymns for Sunday morning worship services and gospel songs for Sunday evening evangelistic services and for revivals. By the second half of the century many of the churches (but certainly not all) were also using gospel songs on Sunday morning (perhaps more to liven up the service than to sing to the lost).
It was almost universal among these churches that there was virtually no singing of chants or the Psalms, although occasionally service music (calls to worship, prayer response, etc.) was sung by a volunteer choir. Several of the churches used responsive readings; but the clear consensus of the churches was that they wanted to avoid anything that smacked of liturgical worship (i.e., both Roman Catholicism and mainline denominationalism). The use of electric organ and piano was considered pretty upscale for most of the rural churches.
Evangelism or Icons
Christian Churches also have historically avoided the arts, devoting their energies instead to evangelism and seeking primitive biblical simplicity. Some are strictly iconoclastic, but that position is seen more frequently in noninstrumental Churches of Christ. Most churches are built as inexpensively as possible. The churches have tended to emphasize evangelism above worship. Also, any investment in something that is associated with Roman Catholicism or denominationalism is suspect. Hence, when some of the larger churches started erecting “Family Life Centers” (gymnasiums) or installing pipe organs or fountains in their buildings in the 1970s, they were met with some criticism.
Even today, functional art is suspect of being too showy and of evidencing poor stewardship of church resources. The term of choice for a church’s meeting center seems to be “auditorium,” and the buildings are generally designed for study and prayer, not the ceremony. A simple Table and pulpit are typically placed front and center, with the only other noticeable symbolic image perhaps being a plain cross on the wall behind the pulpit. In the hallways, there might be an occasional reprint of a painted portrait of Jesus or of some biblical scene, and some of the baptisteries have a mural of a river or water scene painted by a volunteer artist. Pews tend to be in straight rows, facing the elevated platform.
Changes of Renewal
When the Christian Churches began to experience worship renewal in the 1980s, they began to expand their use of music and the arts. While maintaining an interest in evangelism and missions, many of the growing churches are discovering a new appreciation for other worship traditions. Other congregations have had no conscious change in worship philosophy, yet are finding that their traditional assemblies need a new approach for the purpose of evangelism.
Larger churches are designing more lavish buildings, and are including some architectural symbolism. Seating is often in a fan shape, with some sort of architecturally balanced focus on three items: the baptistry, the pulpit, and the Table. Icons are still subtle, perhaps including a dove or a flame set in the brick design over the baptistry, or a rising ceiling going to a steeple behind the pulpit, over the baptistry. Banners are becoming fairly common. These banners are not designed based on the church seasons but are designed instead to highlight a sermon series or to serve a more general purpose. Drama is used in some of the churches, as a short slice-of-life skit to illustrate the sermon. Liturgical dance is attempted in very few churches, although songs performed with stylized sign language are common, even in churches without an organized ministry to the hearing impaired.
Musically, the larger churches have broadened from a staple diet of gospel anthems to include every kind of music, from gospel to contemporary to classical, with an emphasis on majestic inspirational music from nondenominational publishers. Generally, Christian Churches avoid the “classical” publishing houses and those used by the mainline denominations. Reasons for this include concern for theological differences, concern for relevance to unchurched visitors, and the associations of such music with high church denominations. However, many of the larger churches (in which over 400 persons gather for worship on a Sunday morning) are adding band and orchestral instruments to their Sunday mornings. Many are forming worship teams consisting of “praise bands” of contemporary rhythm sections with a few vocalists to provide leadership to congregational singing and a smooth blending of “special music” with the congregational song. Ironically, although the Christian Churches have been slow in associating with other evangelicals, they do not have their own representative music publisher, so they must purchase music from outside their own group. They have not had their own hymnal for years. The most popular hymnals are The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration and other nondenominational, evangelical hymnals.
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ live in a loose coalition of hesitant artistic progression. Some are progressive contemporary churches, such as Belmont Church in Nashville, where many of the Nashville musicians attend. Others explore “high” art, with full orchestra, pipe organ, and elaborate facilities, such as East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis. Most of the churches are somewhere in between. They are moderate in creative expression, committed to evangelism, and of the conservative evangelical tradition.