Music in evangelical Baptist churches derives largely from interdenominational hymnals but also calls on a wide variety of sources ranging from choruses and pop gospel to Anglican chant. Many Baptist churches are also making use of dramatic arts and the structure of the Christian year to enhance worship, as does the congregation described here.
Evangelical Baptist churches use the hymn books published by interdenominational publishing houses which have in recent years included music from all periods with an emphasis on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Chorus singing has become important in many of their churches as well. Increasing use of drama and the creative use of space have also found their way into Evangelical Baptist churches.
The music employed in Baptist churches is generally taken from mainline evangelical traditions. The majority of hymns are of the gospel type from the late nineteenth century, but a few hymns as old as Luther’s, as well as traditional Christmas carols are included. Contemporary Christian music in a more popular style is also widely used and enjoyed. As most of our churches make use of untrained volunteers in their music, taped accompaniments are frequently used. Choral music might include examples from Gabrieli to Gaither. There is an abundance of gospel hymn choral arrangements and vocal solos as well as frequent use of small ensembles. Still, there is a strong emphasis on congregational singing, and four or five hymns are sung in each service. Some of the largest churches enjoy sizable pipe organs with excellent organists, while the smaller churches usually have only a piano or small electronic organ with a pianist-turned-organist at the keyboard.
In the author’s own church we do not have a beautiful building to help us focus our worship and thus need to work to provide a suitable environment. We worship in a square, low-ceilinged building and sit on folding chairs under cold fluorescent lighting. There is a concrete beam ceiling only ten feet above us and blue indoor-outdoor carpeting on the floor. During quiet moments in the service, we are able to hear the children upstairs participating in the children’s service. We have no stained glass, a dry acoustic environment, no gold or silver vessels, no sound system, no grand piano, and no orchestral instruments. We do, however, have an excellent electronic organ that provides sounds of great majesty during the singing of hymns of praise. We draw congregational hymns from our usual hymnal as well as many other sources, reproducing them in our order of worship, securing the appropriate permission from the copyright owners where necessary. The hymns selected speak the same message as will be preached by the pastor. The main theme expressed each Sunday is stated in one sentence in the opening portion of the printed order of worship. Everything we do in our service is there for a reason, and each action ties into and helps reinforce the spiritual truth or theme.
In this context, we strive to prompt each worshiper to come to, pray to, and listen to God. Our congregation understands that worship of God is something we do, not something we leave to worship leaders. We sing the Scriptures both in choral and congregational form. Our choir often sings choral descants on certain verses of hymns. We also use alternate harmonizations for organ accompaniment for many hymns, and it is not unusual to sing a verse unaccompanied. In addition to a broad spectrum of Christian hymnody, we sing both praise choruses as well as more traditional Anglican psalm chants, the latter has become a very comfortable experience because of its simple, repetitive nature. This allows worshipers to concentrate easily on the scriptural text, enabling them to offer praise directly to God.
Music is never used as a filler or warm-up for something else. The account in 2 Chronicles 5 shows something of the power that music might have in the worship of Almighty God. The dedication of the temple provided a strategic opportunity for the Holy Spirit to move among people, and it was the ministry of music that ushered in the presence of the Holy Spirit. The glory of God was so apparent that the priests could not proceed. While this is not the experience every week in our church, it is also not uncommon.
The first attribute we see of God in the opening of Genesis is creativity. Since the Scriptures declare that humankind is made in God’s image, our expression of creativity should be important in our worship. A portion of this expression for us is the use of original musical compositions by members of our parish and other local composers. God gifts us with the ability to not only to use traditional elements in worship but also to approach him with new styles and fresh approaches. To those whose worship remains relatively unchanged each week, our more creative worship efforts might seem highly unusual.
One order of worship we use comes directly from the Scriptures. We simply do together what the Scriptures tell us to do. For example, when we use Psalm 95 as a foundation for worship, we read the psalm aloud as if it were being expressed for the first time by God himself. In response, we all sing a joyful and majestic hymn. We then note in the psalm a passage that suggests thanksgiving, which leads us to express our thanks or even celebrate the Great Thanksgiving, the Eucharist, kneeling before the Lord our maker again as detailed in the psalm.
Sometimes we use short dramatic presentations that communicate the truth about the theme of the particular service, finding visual depiction of an idea to be particularly powerful. We design and fabricate banners that express and support our focus for worship. These are sometimes mounted in full view and are sometimes used in processionals at the beginning of the service.
The physical arrangement of the worship area is also determined by the theme of the service. For example, if we want to emphasize that God is in our midst, we might celebrate Holy Communion with the table in the center rather than at one end of the space. Similarly, if we wish to emphasize our membership in the church family, we might arrange all of our chairs around the table. We might also arrange the chairs in a semicircle with ten or fifteen chairs removed from the center and celebrate the Eucharist there. If we want to emphasize that we are each individually responsible to God for our own sin, we might place the chairs somewhat farther apart rather than immediately next to each other in order to evoke a sense of isolation. Different arrangements communicate specific truths and reinforce the preaching of the word. While we at times explain why we have arranged the chairs as they are, most often we do not.
We find that using all of our senses is very helpful in assisting us to experience God’s presence and the truth of Scripture. Relying only on preaching and reading of the Scriptures is unnecessarily restrictive. One meaningful practice is to have each person write down their sins on a sheet of paper and then lay the paper on the table as an act of confession to God and plea for forgiveness. Later in the service, the pastor and an elder would go to the table and pick up the papers, tear them into tiny pieces, and then discard them in view of the congregation while the passage of Scripture that promises forgiveness is read. In another service, wishing to emphasize the importance of hunger for God, we had fresh bread baking nearby and the aroma of the yeast filled the room, giving reinforcement to the theme. At the close of the service, we ate the bread, experiencing the benefit of its nourishment and acknowledging the strength that comes from knowing God.
We also celebrate the changing seasons and feast days of the Christian year. The arrival of Advent immediately reminds us not only about the coming of our Savior as a child in the manger but also of his second coming. The celebration of Epiphany encourages us to learn about the gifts given to our Lord by the Magi but also calls us to examine and act responsibly in response to those many gifts that God has given us. The Lenten season calls us to reflect upon the great sacrifice that Jesus made for our redemption, challenging us to seek God’s guidance in living sacrificially to his glory. We celebrate Ascension Sunday with the presence of hundreds of brightly colored helium-filled balloons. At the end of the service during the final hymn we all process outside the building carrying the balloons. We gather outside and close with the worship leader saying “He is risen!” The congregation responds “He is risen, indeed!,” releasing the balloons that float high into the sky. This graphic experience will always help us remember the reality of Jesus’ ascension to be with the Father. These are but a few of the spiritual truths and doctrines that must be brought to our attention year after year. The Christian year is a tremendous structure in which these truths can systematically fit.
Our goal in worship is to assist people in communicating with God. While this may take many different forms, we always include the reading of Holy Scripture, prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, and a quiet time for listening to and responding to God. Worship is an act in which we focus on God. We talk and sing to him and not to each other. We believe that this brings strength and blessing to his people and great joy to the Lord.