Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – Both involve playing music and singing, so what is the difference between a worship service and a concert?
Both have sound, lights, instruments and lyrics, but worship vs concert differ at the core: who is at the center. This article shares key differences that help the church keep its gatherings true worship. Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
John Piper once recalled asking his church what the true sound of worship at Bethlehem was, apart from the preaching of the Word: the organ, piano, guitars, drums, worship team or choir? His answer was simply the sound of the people singing. That answer doesn’t settle which instruments are allowed, but it points to what those moments are really about. If the church stops “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19), he said, it might as well close its doors.
An article by James K. A. Smith made a similar point. With a few small exceptions, I think he is exactly right about the essentials of worshiping God.
3 Differences Between Worship and a Concert
1. If we, the congregation, can’t hear ourselves sing, it isn’t worship.
Christian worship is not a concert. At a concert (a form of “performance”), we often expect to be overwhelmed by sound, especially in some genres. At a concert we can easily be thrilled when the bass and other sounds kick in. There’s nothing wrong with that at a concert! But Christian worship is not a concert. Worship is communal, collective and sacred, and the united sound and melody of the congregation singing together is an essential part of it. It “enacts” the truth that in Christ we are one body. But that requires us to actually hear ourselves sing, and hear our brothers and sisters singing too. When the worship band’s volume drowns out the congregation, we can’t hear what we are singing, and we lose the communal dimension of worship, easily becoming passive, “private” worshipers.
2. If we, the congregation, can’t sing along, it isn’t worship.
In various kinds of performance, artists and bands want to improvise and be “creative,” creating new arrangements and showing off their skill with riffs and variations on familiar melodies. Again, that can be an exciting and distinctive part of a concert. But in worship, if only the band and the worship leaders are singing while the congregation can’t follow, it isn’t worship. Your virtuosity invites our passivity; your creativity just encourages our silence. And while you may be worshiping through your creativity, that same creativity shuts down the congregation’s praise.
3. If you, the band, are the center of attention, it isn’t worship.
I know it isn’t your fault that we put you up front. And I know you want to model worship for us to follow. But because we allowed concert performance practices into the sanctuary, we have unintentionally encouraged you to become the center of attention. When your performance becomes a showcase for your talent, even with good intentions, it is very hard for us to focus on anything but the band. When the band plays long instrumental interludes as an “offering to God,” the congregation becomes passive, and because we are used to the way songs are performed at the Grammys and at concerts, we unintentionally make you the focus. I wonder whether there are other ways to position the band (to the side, or behind the congregation?) and other ways of performing that would help us break the habits we have formed in worship.
Keeping Our Gatherings Worship
At a concert, the audience comes to enjoy the performers. In worship, the whole church offers itself to God, and He is the only “audience.” When we understand the difference between worship and a concert, both leaders and participants change their attitudes.
Ask yourself after every service: do I remember more about the band or about God? The answer helps each of us see whether we are worshiping or watching a show.
You may also like: True Worship and The Goals of Worship.
Prayer
Lord, keep the worship of Your church always turned toward You, not toward people. May every song be an offering to You from a sincere heart. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Article: Vĩnh An
Adapted from: The Gospel Coalition
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