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Craig Borlase
Craig edits Mission Worship magazine
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Does Worship Have A Race Problem? Join in the debate
Craig Borlase
‘There’s one article in the latest issue of Mission Worship magazine that still bugs me,’ writes editor Craig Borlase. 'It's the article that asks questions about race and worship.'
There are times in life when each of us feels as though we are standing on solid ground. We know what we think and we know how the world works. We might not have filled in every blank space on the map, but we’re confident with what we’ve inked in already.
The day I interviewed Noel Robinson was not one of those days.
We were talking about the contrast between his experiences as a black man leading worship and mine as a white man participating in it. Within a few seconds it was obvious that my map of the world of worship was entirely out of date.
As Noel described his experiences I was left struggling for words. From the thinly-veiled hostility he had experienced from a delegate at a major Christian conference to my own fumbling explanation of why race was a minority issue, it was clear that we need to ask ourselves this vital - if awkward - question.
So, let’s ask it again: does worship have a race problem?
What if the answer to the question of a race problem in worship is ‘yes’?
And while you’re here, let’s ask a few follow-ons:
What does it mean if it does?
What if the answer to the question of a race problem in worship is ‘yes’?
Does that mean that we have failed? Does it mean that we ought to pack up and go home? Are we wandering into Amos 5 territory, priding ourselves on the quality of our worship while all the time ignoring the injustice within it? (and, yes, I do think that in this contect race is a justice-related issue).
Or does it matter less than we think? Is the act of acknowledging that we have a problem enough in itself to start the process of change? Is that all it takes to put it right, or are there other steps to be taken?
Or perhaps you think this needs to be taken in context. Is race just another in a long list of things the world of worship struggles with - like gender, age and style?
Or maybe - just maybe - you think the whole thing is getting blown out of proportion?
We’d love to hear your thoughts and read your comments, so - even if you haven’t read the interview yet - get posting below.
And if you've not got a copy of the magazine yet, you can buy yours here. Issue two features Tim Hughes on fear, Darlene Zschech on authenticity, Rend/City Harmonic and John Mark McMillan on fresh sounds and masses more - including a free tab/chord giveaway of Matt Redman's '10,000 Reasons'.
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Comments
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I was in a worship teem at a certain church with a friend and one day a friend tald me that she was tald by a pastor who was incharge of the worship teem that he didn't want any african accent coming out when singing strenge eeh
Posted by Elizabeth Adamson, 16/02/2012 1:02pm (6 days ago)
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I think you need to explain more what you mean by racism in worship.
If you mean because there is a black guy leading worship and some of the white congregation zone out just because he's black then yes, it's a problem. If as Lochman suggests it's a cultural thing then that is not racism, we each express our worship in a way that is familiar and comfortable to us. In the same way an 80 year old woman will express her worship very differently to a teanager who likes the latest Hillsong United.
Someone suggested that most of worship songs are written in English. I'm not sure that is true. We are exposed to the English ones because of our culture and experience. In other countries there are some great worshppers and the African churches are a great example of this. Just because they may not have sound systems and electric guitars doesn't mean there is a racism issue. God enjoys their worship just as much as the best prepared and highly polished worship led by Matt Redman etc. (perhaps even more!).
Worship is an attitude of the heart and racism may be a problem with some but I think the bigger issue is, do we worship with heart, mind, body and soul, with our whole lives as God has called us to do?Posted by Jean, 08/02/2012 12:23pm (14 days ago)
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Dear Craig. Your ref/to race
As far as i am concerned GOD only CREATED 1 RACE. MANY CULTURES BUT ONLY 1 RACE.
JUST 1 OFTHE REASONS HE IS AWESOME..CREATION SO DIVERSE IN BEAUTIFULL COLOURPosted by david todd, 29/01/2012 5:43pm (24 days ago)
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My closest friend is South African and refers to herself as coloured South African. I am British and we worship together closely in our worship team. We are sisters in Christ. My experience is that I love the way my black friends worship because they know how to let God in. God sees our heart not the colour of our skin. He made us all in his own image.
Posted by Debbie, 24/01/2012 9:59pm (29 days ago)
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In GOD there is no racism. He did not create racism, man did. GOD created mixed marriages ie. Male and female. Man has corrupted this, not GOD. Therefore how could there be a raciast problem in Worship unless it involves something other than GOD Almighty. What about worship in GOD,s langiuage, LOVE ( tongues ) a gift of the Holy Spirit ( forget denominations ) There is only one GOD and He hias only one Holy Church in JESUS CHRIST as its centre. No earthly one. JESUS saya, I will build my church. Let us let Him !
Posted by JOHN R, 12/01/2012 1:15pm (1 month ago)
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Free info like this is an apple from the tree of knlowdege. Sinful?
Posted by Carlie, 07/01/2012 5:58am (2 months ago)
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Race may come into it but I think it goes deeper. Worship tends to be steeped in culture, and cultural backgrounds can be different, even amongst people of the same race. I've experienced the act of worshipping with people of many different races, in quite a few different countries and often the biggest variations have been between people of the same racial origin but widely different cultural background.
I believe that God calls us to respond to Him in worship as the people we are, so we should certainly not expect worship to be uniform or consistent throughout the world and human history. We will probably feel more comfortable worshipping in the way that feels closest to our own experience and culture, but I don't think that it's helpful to make value judgments about that. Only we know whether or not we are genuinely worshipping at any given moment and I think that's all we need worry about. We can worship God in the cathedral setting of a royal marriage or in an earthen-walled village home with people who don't even speak our language. We may not feel entirely at ease in either of these settings but heaven is likely to include both of these styles... and more so perhaps we'd better get used to it!Posted by Lochman, 04/01/2012 12:41pm (2 months ago)
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It's always a pleasure to hear from someone with expretsie.
Posted by Cade, 19/12/2011 9:30am (2 months ago)
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Touchdown! That's a really cool way of putitng it!
Posted by Yelhsa, 15/12/2011 5:10am (2 months ago)
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Worship is from the heart to God. It doesn't need a channel - it is in the spirit and in the truth. And yet none of us have the joy of enjoying the full truth. It is to the full extent that the truth has been revealed to us - even if it it means not having heard the name of Jesus.
Posted by Nathan D'Souza, 14/12/2011 1:28pm (2 months ago)
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