Chorus as Creed -- Other "Thinking Drafts" and writing by Keith Drury -- http://www.indwes.edu/tuesday

 Why is it today's younger generation are so transfixed with singing "praise choruses?" In fact, when did this praise chorus thing start?

The current "Praise and worship" movement has its primary roots in the Jesus Movement of the 1960's. Converted hippies gathered together in churches, sat on the floor, strummed along on guitars, and started singing simple choruses taken directly from Scripture. These flower folk came directly out of the culture epitomized by the 1969 Woodstock festival in upstate New York. Popular culture was hurdling away from traditional values. Sex drugs and rock 'n roll joined unity, peace and love as a- double trinity of new values. God, as proclaimed by middle class white suburban churches, was largely rejected. Experience was in. God was out.

Into this massive cultural shift came a torrent of young preachers who would become the vanguard of a new type of minister -- the "Youth pastor." Progressive churches reached out to the flower children, at first in California and later across the US. Jaded, bored, and open to new experiences, these hippies were easily persuaded to wander into a church hall in their sandals and tie-dyed shirts. They sat on the floor strumming guitars and heard about Jesus as the latest drug of choice. Thousands came to faith in Christ. They "got high on Jesus," "main-lined God" and "took a trip with Jesus." Presto! The "Jesus movement" was born.

What would their worship look like? A lot like their own coffee house music. The guitar, of course, would be dominant along with Bongos and (as the worship moved from people to stage) eventually a full drum set. What would they sing? They certainly wouldn't use hymnals. And they'd reject any sort of mechanical projection on the wall. So, how would they sing?

They sang simple choruses -- songs they could remember without reading the words or music. They sang the melody together in unison. New hippies attending "caught" the music from the group. Anyone was welcome to strum along with their own guitar. Any beatnik-turned-hippie was welcome to help carry along the beat with their bring-your-own-bongos.

And what was the content of their songs? Along with simple Scripture songs, they sang simple creeds. Simple phrases of faith repeated over and over, until they were mesmerizingly memorized. The choruses were hypnotic and sometimes resulted in a collective trance-like atmosphere. Simple phrases repeated a dozen times, often with a hauntingly simple tune. The Jesus people did not recite the Apostle's creed but sang their creeds. Take one of the favorites: "He is Lord…" which older people criticized as shallow and repetitive. These adults didn't know that "Jesus is Lord" was probably the very first creed of the New Testament church. (And this simple chorus, besides emphasizing the Lordship of Jesus Christ, looked back to the historical event of his resurrection then forward eschatologicaly to the ultimate consummation of every knee bowing to Christ.)

Which brings us to today. The millennial students with whom I work are totally fixated on choruses. For them, the preaching is largely an afterglow. Why? Why are choruses so important to them. I don't think it is just about experience, mood and music. I think they are absorbed in creed. Perhaps chorus-singing is today's primary medium for the recitation of creeds. Millennials sing as a means of reciting what they believe. They sing creed-choruses to remind themselves of the belief they cling to in a hostile world. They sing their creeds to build up their faith and remind themselves of truth. They sing creed-chorus as a joint testimony to others of that truth. Could this be what's really going on with the "praise chorus movement?

Today's young Christians, like the 1960's Jesus People, have a religion under siege. The decision is no longer God or nothing. Buddhism is promoted on film and at school as a kinder-gentler religious choice. New Age syncretism is marketed in direct competition with Jesus in today's world. So millennials sing their creeds, stubbornly clinging to their faith in a hostile world. The creed-chorus is their way of pledging allegiance to God.

To contribute to the thinking on this issue e-mail your response to Tuesday@indwes.edu