Thoughts

Culture shock

… “Bambelela, bambelela” , I may as well be singing Bambeleo or Labamba 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 , reminding me of the Macerana. This is quite fun even though I can’t really dance . I’ve never noticed John in worship before – my eyes are usually closed. Ok, so that dance was demonstrating me holding on. 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. Establishing a multi-cultural congregation of praise can cause a “culture shock” and many objections. Having had the privilege of directing praise in an ever increasingly diverse church, here are some observations I have made on the journey.

Vision is vital
Diversity must be part of the core vision of the church. It can never be the responsibility of the worship leader to create a diverse church. The elders must be convinced of it theologically and be intentional about it. It will never just happen.
Praise is a key part of becoming and developing a diverse church. Because …

Diverse songs communicate a message of acceptance and openness. We have had many join us, some becoming significant leaders, who are now vital in transforming us to become the church we want to be.
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.
Diverse musicians on the platform reflect the vision. When people see a multi-cultural praise team , there is an immediate level of acceptance regardless of their particular culture. Some may call this window dressing, I call it painting a picture!

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 unnatural but it was necessary. We went so far as having a quota of two non-English songs per meeting .What seemed so false then has now become quite natural. We were seeking to be prophetic in our segregated society.

It is God’s intention and purpose
Revelation 5 and 7 set the prophetic scene. God’s intention for the Church is to display His manifold (many coloured/diverse) wisdom (Ephesians 3 v10). We are to be the praise of His glorious grace (Eph. 1). The mystery of the gospel is that only His grace can join people together (Eph 2:14 Gal. 3 v 26-28). How can this be demonstrated if we do not express it through our worship? Homogenous communities fail to reflect this. Although we are one new tribe in Christ, Revelation 5 and 7 show us that culture is not over-looked in heaven. Jesus prays, “ Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s desire is for every tribe, tongue and nation to be gathered together in unified praise.

It makes His praise more glorious
Piper says: “God is more glorified by diversity than by uniformity. The fame and greatness and worth of an object of beauty increases in proportion to the diversity of those who recognise its beauty”. 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.” – Piper.
We are faced with issues of the heart when living amongst those unlike us. “ Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7) Worship is about sacrifice, not singing. It confronts the “I do it my way” syndrome. God gives us the fruits of the Holy Spirit for this purpose !
Wasn’t much of Paul’s instruction to a diverse church? This is why they are told:

Prefer one another and look to the interests of others.(Philippians 2v 3)
Bear with one another (Colossians 3 v 13).

Common objections

The songs are short, repetitive and simple.
- Yes they are ! So that you can learn them and sing them easily, particularly while dancing with your brothers and sisters.
  Consider the cultural background. Some cultures may have developed without hymnals/overheads hence the shortness and repetition.
- "The scriptures include or allude to just about every approach to worship there is; organized, spontaneous, public, private, simple, complex, ornate or plain. Yet there is no comment anywhere about any one way being preferred over another.” - Bob Kauflin.
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 songs initially but as singing in other languages becomes more familiar, we include songs with more content.
- The truth is still more important than the tune, so we choose our songs carefully.
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 playing the songs regularly, they become second nature.
- Help your congregation by taking time to teach them the pronunciation.
- Our willingness to step out of our worship ‘comfort zone’ is our sacrificial praise offering to God.
I can’t engage with God.
- When God’s people gather to praise, He is there, regardless of our feelings.
- Movement of any kind can be considered a distraction by some but dancing is a biblical, not merely cultural expression of praise. In Jeremiah 31v 13, “mecholah” , means communal or round dance . Dancing together is a kingdom community expression.

Variety is the spice of life.
We all have our personal preferences but diverse praise keeps church interesting. God is a God of variety and many flavours. Our praise should express it. Church is a celebration of God and His people(s). Different cultures bring something different to the party. 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 challenges. Hamba kakuhle (go well), it’s worth the journey.

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 testifies to God’s glory and can prepare you and make your people nations conscious. Translating songs from English is a step in the right direction however finding songs from the actual communities is even better.
Praise must always be authentic. Congregations sense our hearts. Learn to enjoy it otherwise don’t do it! It will take an effort to learn musical styles and pronunciation. Your prep 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. Make every meeting an opportunity for diversity. I’m generally disappointed if I haven’t sung in at least 2 languages a meeting. Evaluate it over a month.
Develop teams that are diverse. Build relationships with musicians from other cultures. Pray for authentic representative musicians to join your team. I aim to have various cultures represented on our music platform, particularly leaders. They have the ability to express their culture the best.
Keep it authentic and natural. The cultural songs should not be seen as novel but a genuine expression of praise. Develop a flow between the “normal” and the cultural. by interspersing cultural songs throughout the praise time.
If there is resistance, particularly to movement, rather encourage than belittle or enforce dancing. Exhort don’t whip. If the leader is enjoying it, the people join in.