Over the past couple of days, I’ve been processing my thoughts from Passion 2020. I gave a general introduction, and then a bit of backstory that explains how I think conferences, retreats, and camps fit into a continual pattern of Christian growth. You don’t need to read either to make sense of what follows but you’ll enjoy it more if you do.
In previous posts, I talked about Sessions 1-3 and Sessions 4-6. My main focus there was on the content of the Passion Conference. The other element that plays a rather significant role is the context in which the content is delivered.
At the intersection of content and context are the worship sets that came before and after pretty much every session. In some ways, the worship songs are part of the content of the conference in that they are instructive. Lyrics, especially theological lyrics, teach and convey truth about God, about ourselves, and about the world we find ourselves in.
In other ways, the songs are preparatory for the main event which is the message the speaker brings. And afterward, they are used to help underscore or drive the message home. In that sense, they are part of the stage, setting, and spectacle of the conference as a whole.
The jazz great Thelonious Monk said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture and he’s not wrong. But I can “well, actually” anyone, and so let’s do that here. I’m comfortable analyzing the songs in terms of composition, musicianship, performance, and even the mix. I don’t feel the need to go in depth on either of the first two because frankly the compositions are lackluster, mostly by design, and the musicianship is obscured by the mix, which strangely, is not in service of making feel like less of a performance but more.
The performance aspect is driven by the fact that many of the songs lacked depth and seemed more inclined to self expression than actually focuses on God and praising him. Now, as I consider the Psalms, I realize there is a time and place of self-expression in worship (probably more than once a year in Atlanta), but it is merely one mode of praise, and not the only one or perhaps even the most important one.
Worship music gives us an opportunity to worship God. Mind blowing, I know. But, I feel I have to mention that in worship, God is both subject and object of worship. You shouldn’t necessarily leave a worship set talking about how great it was or how it made you feel. You should leave with heart kindled afresh at how great God is and how despite what you may or may not feel, he loves you and you’re reminded of that every time you look to the cross.
To be fair, there was a good amount of songs at Passion that did just that. I suppose some of my critique is not at the content of the songs, but at the presentation or performance of them. And make no mistake, the set lists at Passion are first and foremost worship performances.
Everything is very earnest and in major keys and mostly upbeat. There were some valleys dynamically, but they don’t last long and they’re just a lead up a chorus more passionate than the last three. If you’ve played in a worship conference for students before, you know what’s coming because it all works off the same script. It’s designed to make an impact and that often means primarily an emotional one in the moment.
The singers who are leading (and they are many) are spread out across the u-shaped front stage area that enclosed a choir (most people probably didn’t know it was an actual choir) who was mic’d to make the crowd singing seem louder (and to sound better on the live recording we were making). The singers are are getting into it in a way that the drummer, bass player, electric guitarist, and keys player clearly are not. If true worship is measured by emoting, the bulk of the actual bands were failing.
Now lest you think I’m too much of an old man, my main criticism of the music itself is that it didn’t rock enough. Passion has gone soft since my day. Also, whoever invented the over-produced Nashville worship mix needs to be shot. Not killed, but punished for inflicting this cookie-cutter influence on the way songs are mixed. You could barely hear the electric guitar and drums, which is disappointing when you could legitimately be experiencing arena rock for Jesus.
Without getting too technical, I’m criticizing the way of mixing the sound such that the vocals overwhelm the mix and every other instrument is mostly part of a wall of nondescript sound. In some ways, it helps mask the generic and banal chord selection these bands (Elevation, Hillsong United, etc.) use in their compositions. The songs are boring musically, but at least let me hear all the instruments distinctly so I can try to appreciate some of the musicianship (if there’s any to be found).
You may sense now why I prefer to be in the worship band rather than in the crowd. But, as I was listening to the songs—because to be honest, it felt like a concert not a church service (which is fine), and I don’t sing along to bands I see in concert—I had an epiphany, and now we’re going to take a different nerdy track.
On the Enneagram, I’m a 9. I used to think I was 1, but long story short, I’m a 9 and it has helped me make so much sense of my tendencies and experiences. You can make fun of the Enneagram all you want, but I’ll just use it to psychoanalyze you behind your back (or to your face).
One thing 9’s are not found of is someone asking or pushing them to feel some type of way or to be emotive. So, at conferences like this, the worship set often strikes me as a bunch of 4’s (because the lead singers are definitely either 4’s or in the heart triad) trying to get people like me to worship (read: be emotional) and I’m not really having it. I’ll ascend and descend at my own pace thank you.
This was a helpful realization because I was able to recognize where my own personal tendencies come into play without universalizing my experience. By that I mean, if it’s not my cup of tea, that doesn’t mean no one else should drink it.
While I didn’t really like most of the songs or singing them over and over again, I genuinely marveled at the creative energy that went into the stage design and lightning. Only Muse had a better audio/visual setup for a stadium show. I kind of wish I took more pictures and videos, because it was a really stunning spectacle at times (and I’m trying to be more present in the moment instead of on my phone). I wish they had played music that actually sounded good and songs that actually packed a theological punch. That would have been dope as the kids say.
Now had that been the case, I might have gotten drawn up into the experience like many of those around me. There is a word for that feeling of being drawn up though, and it has more to do with psychological effects than worship necessarily. That word is “transcendence.”
Many students there genuinely experienced a feeling of transcendence. They may not have language to describe it, but you can tell that’s what it was. It is the feeling of losing yourself into something greater and beyond your own existence. Set in the context of Passion, that feeling is interpreted spiritually, and more specifically as a connection and experience of God.
While no doubt many students did actually experience God, I’m going to be controversial and say many probably did not. There are several ways to experience transcendence in a non-supernatural way. The main ones are drugs/alcohol, sex, and large crowds you find at sporting events or concerts. For good Christian kids, the latter is the only acceptable option, and Passion provides it like very few other opportunities. When you and 64,999 of your closest friends are all sharing the same experience, you’re bound to feel some of the transcendence going around.
Now does that mean that students at Passion worshiping and feeling some type of way aren’t coming into the presence of God? Not necessarily. But, in essence what I’m saying is that the worship songs and audio/visual stage setup are specifically designed to facilitate the experience of transcendence. Whether one actually experiences God is hard to say, but the feeling of transcendence will emerge for anyone who is willing to let go and lose themselves in the 15th chorus of Way Maker.
This is why in large measure, it is possible for many of the same students you see worshiping so earnestly at these conferences to be sleeping with their boyfriend the first night back on campus. There is a significant disconnect in how we understand worship itself. These students, like you and I, are idolaters. But not understanding how worship actually works, they don’t realize the idols that rule their actual life because when the opportunity to worship God (i.e. sing songs) is presented they are all into it. They can worship the idol of self Monday through Saturday without realizing it, but think going to church on Sunday counts as worshiping God.
The solution is to confront and unmask the actual idols in our hearts so that we know who we truly worship with our day to day lives. This is far more significant than how emotional you get singing worship songs. And while I don’t think any of the worship leaders said it in so many words, the implication at things like Passion is that more passion equals more worship.
My hope, even as I’ve been fairly critical, is that most of the students at Passion actually could step back and think about what they were actually singing. For some, the lyrics don’t reflect a reality in their lives, and singing them passionately for a couple of days doesn’t really change anything. My ultimate concern is that conferences like Passion can confuse students about the actual nature of worship. In many ways, some of what the worship leaders convey in their stage chatter undermines what speakers said. This is unfortunate. But, because it is packaged in a much more emotionally charged setting, it is more likely to leave an impact.
I hope that even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the music that it had a significant impact and it is part of a life of worship for many of the students. I think at the end of the day, we probably have our work cut out for us when it comes to teaching what worship is (hint: most of the biblical words are about service not singing). And we can only do that by confronting the idols of our age, and that is thankfully something Passion aims to do. I just hope the message isn’t lost in the medium.