These days, we’re all creators of content. We script and share our stories, frame and shoot the sights before our eyes, twit and tweet about whatever’s new and whatever’s now. And if we have nothing new to say or to share, then - digitally, at least - it’s almost as if we cease to exist.
We can see the ripples of this reaching out and impacting the world of worship. New sounds, new songs, new ways of doing things are emerging all the time. Songs have a far shorter shelf life on worship set lists than they used to.
Surely creativity is good, right? It’s the first thing thing we are told about God, and it’s right at the very heart of sung worship.
But are we here to lead people say from the old, or are we here to lead people closer to God? Can we do both at the same time?
What’s the right balance between creative innovation and heritage?
Should the church be trying to encourage people to be still and search for God, resisting the speed of change in social media, or should we be jumping right in and embrace innovation and creativity with the best of them?
What limits - if any - do you put on the number of new songs and sounds that you introduce to your church? Why?