Collide Magazine

The Collision Of Sound And Space

Ben Simpson - Originally posted Monday, October 6, 2008 -

 
This emphasis on words is justifiable—the God we worship spoke the world into existence and the Gospel of John heralds Jesus as the Word made flesh. Words are weighty and are used to mold our understanding of reality.

In the gatherings of the church, however, we do not use words exclusively to construct meaning. It is critical for us to take into account the setting in which those words are spoken because our context contributes to the formation of Christ-like character. Every time the Church worships, both sound and space collide, creating a melody that penetrates our inmost being and re-shapes us according to our environment.

Our Spaces Communicate Our Theology
If you were to visit a diverse set of church buildings in your community, what would those spaces communicate apart from the words that were spoken? The architecture of different church buildings varies depending on the denomination and the era in which they were built. Catholic church buildings vary from Lutheran or Congregational church buildings in their general layout and decor. Older buildings may include stained glass that depict different elements of the biblical story, surrounding the gathered saints with visual reminders of narratives that formed and shaped their particular community. Congregations founded in the last 20 to 30 years may feature a minimal number of Christian symbols present in their buildings. The absence of these symbols is rooted in basic assumptions about how the church building can be welcoming to persons interested in, but not yet committed to, Jesus.

Any way you slice it, our worship spaces communicate fundamental truths concerning the way we believe God is active and present in the world. By extension, they reveal and shape our character. Before we open our mouths, engage the liturgy, or hear a spoken message, our bodies gather information from our surroundings about who we are as the people of God.

Advertisements

A few illustrations might be helpful. First, consider the Amish, who gather together for worship in everyday settings such as barns and workshops, reinforcing the community’s values of the redemption of work and simplicity and a cultivated awareness of God’s presence in common tasks. Or take into consideration the construction of John Wesley’s pulpit at Wesley Chapel in London, England. The two-tiered pulpit initially rose 12 feet above the congregation, visually reinforcing the authority of the spoken word within the context of the community. Before anyone rose to preach, the pulpit itself drew the gaze upward and established itself as a place of authority.

In some worship spaces you may find an elevated platform for the reading of Scripture, which reminds the congregation that the church sits under the authority of the written word. Today, in a number of “emerging” churches a pulpit or podium may be visibly absent and the preacher may speak while standing on an equal plane with those gathered. In doing so, the speaker communicates that he or she is not a super-human, ultra-spiritual person with an elevated level of access to the Divine. This is a direct counter-message to elevated pulpits such as Wesley’s. On multiple levels, church leaders today are trying to communicate that God calls all persons to be followers of Jesus Christ, not just the religious professionals.

In many recently built or remodeled worship spaces, the screen has a place of prominence. As the screens display song lyrics, thematic imagery, sermon notes, and illustrative videos, the congregation understands that what is happening on the screen is important to the worship experience and therefore they watch attentively.

Whatever our worship space may look like, discernment is needed to determine exactly what each space communicates about the nature and person of God. Wisdom concerning the positive (and potentially negative) things our spaces communicate will enable us to better understand how to lead and direct our congregations.

Our Words Train Us to Be Truthful
The Bible constantly emphasizes the importance of words. Moses heard God speak and was given the commandments at Mount Sinai followed by the establishment of God’s covenant with Israel. The Old Testament prophets declared “the word of the Lord,” and, as previously mentioned, the New Testament announced Jesus as the “Word made flesh.” God revealed his character through the spoken, written, and incarnate Word, and the Church ordered itself on the basis of this revelation.

Considered broadly, all churches have an order that is followed in their public gatherings to recite and remember the mighty acts of God. This is called liturgy, which is derived from a Greek word meaning “public work.” The word liturgy is commonly associated with high church traditions because of the formal nature of those gatherings.

Liturgy, however, is not unique to high church traditions. Growing up as part of a Baptist congregation, our worship services were simple, yet they still followed a clear progression. Each week, the congregation was welcomed, and we were invited to greet our neighbors. Together the congregation was invited to raise our voice in song, the words of which deeply impacted my theological understanding of God. The preacher invited the congregation to open their Bibles, and then challenged the congregation through a sermon. An offering was collected, a benediction song was sung, and we were sent forth. For years our final corporate benediction was the recitation of Psalm 103:1, which says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Those words would later carry me through some of my darkest valleys.

I would not describe those church gatherings as formal, but the words spoken contributed to the formation of my character. I was trained not only how to say truthful things about the God we worship but was shaped into the type of person who might live more truthfully as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The words we use in our worship gatherings—whether in song, sermon, prayer, or, now, video—have deep relevance for our being the people of God and can make us into unmistakable signposts that point to the reality of God’s Kingdom.

The Intersection of Sound and Space
When I think about the collision of sound and space, one example continually surfaces in my mind. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus ascends a mountain to deliver his most well known discourse—the Sermon on the Mount. The location itself was not without significance. As Moses was given the commandments at Sinai, Jesus reaffirmed old commandments and provided new ones from a mountain. Both his words and surroundings were critical for his hearers.

God has given us a mind and a body and wishes to sanctify them both. The challenge for church leaders today is to thoughtfully consider both the spaces in which we gather and the words which are lifted up. Are we intentional about both aspects, or do we place emphasis on one over the other? By God’s grace, the coordinated collision of space and sound can bring about the formation of persons who more fully resemble Jesus Christ. For his name’s sake, may we be purposeful concerning both.

Ben Simpson is a graduate student and freelance writer living in De Soto, KS. Visit his website at www.benjaminasimpson.com.