Why Would We Call It Worship?

“Don’t let them stop, Lord. Don’t let them stop.” I prayed those words under my breath over and over again. I had signed the paperwork. I had given the permission for the procedure, which stopped my husband’s heart, in an attempt to shock it back into rhythm. As a result, I sat alone, on the wrong side of a door, listening. Just feet away doctors feverishly struggled to revive my husband again and again and again. Three, four, five, six, seven times…They continued. I heard the jolts. I listened to the frenzy. I prayed. When I finally saw my husband again, he smelled like smoke and his flesh was charred from the volts of electricity which repeatedly shot through his body to revive him.

How did we end up there? My husband’s heart had been knocked out of rhythm by the volume of a worship service. Before rolling your eyes and dismissing my concerns with, “OK, Karen, we get it old people don’t like music,”; understand, we were in our early 40’s, at the time.  I worked in the music industry. In addition, generations of my family, including myself, have all been on staff at churches. This is about far more than preferences, methods, or music. It is time to seriously consider how we treat one another, and the bodies God has given us.

My husband’s physician was stunned both by the volume of a church service, and the fact that people didn’t understand the danger. Because sound waves are used to nudge hearts back into rhythm, the doctor wondered how people could fail to realize the same force was capable of jolting hearts out of rhythm.

In fact, a simple Google search reveals the danger of exposure to high volume not just to those with cardiac issues, but, individuals with connective and autoimmune disorders, people with sensory issues, and the exploding tsunami of children on the spectrum. Growing numbers feel unwelcome or unable or to attend church because of medical issues impacting themselves or their family, like a child with autism a spouse with heart arrythmia. After 70 years of ministry, I remember my grandfather’s sad reluctance to enter the sanctuary because the volume of the music and sometimes the message was painful. Increasingly, our methods cast out those most desperate for the Great Physician. Does this sound like the Lord who said, “Let the little children come unto me?”

Perhaps, even worse than the potential physical harm, is the fact that those in real pain and danger are frequently expected to get inline, get on board, and ironically, get quiet. This cannot please the Lord. Scripture compels us to reason together considering what is best for the voiceless, Isaiah 1:17-18. Unfortunately, even well-meaning pastors sometimes behave as if some conversations are off limits. As uncomfortable as it is, the love of Jesus requires us to acknowledge the truth about the world and the bodies He created.

Prolonged exposure to sounds over 85 decibels is harmful. A 30-decibel increase equals a rise in sound intensity of 1,000 times. Just days ago, the service I visited registered nearly 115 db, when I checked it with my phone. It had been even louder. Unfortunately, my initial reaction to the reading was sadness, thinking we could not return, and understanding if I said anything I would be perceived as the problem. No one needed to tell me; I knew. I’ve spent decades watching church staff roll their eyes and belittle any, especially seniors,  who question the latest trends.   

That church is not alone. The widespread distribution of earplugs in churches is a tacit acknowledgement that volume is an issue. Doesn’t it also convey a belief that feeling the bass is more important than clearly understanding the message? Could those earplugs be evidence in a lawsuit one day? Why not?

Often, the same churches distributing hearing protection encourage an escalation in volume with a call for a “sacrifice of praise”.  Ironically, there is a close relationship between biblical sacrifice and the word korban, meaning that which draws near. How can something draw near if it literally causes hurting people to pull back? If the blessings of the Lord are without sorrow, Proverbs 10:22, why is there so much wounding in our methods?  

In many cases, there is so much noise, if the Lord chose to miraculously speak to His children or through His children as he has done in the past, could His voice even be heard? If the methods taught at worship conferences and church growth seminars, are an obstacle to our theology, why do we literally abandon what we claim to believe about God in favor of a products being sold by men?

Placing His church in a fallen world, Jesus left clear instructions; tell the world and make disciples. Certainly, building disciples requires demonstrating fruits of the Spirit, like love. Undeterred, many would argue the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20, is exactly why they have the lights, the fog, and the loud music. Unfortunately, effectiveness is not a justification. In 1 Corinthians 13, we are instructed even if supernatural manifestations occur, even if faith to do the impossible is present, and even if the poor and suffering are blessed, if we are not acting in love, it is all just noise.

Would love damage hearts and hearing because it could be useful to draw a crowd? Would love mumble without listening or mock generations who built our churches because they voice concern about the direction of the institutions where they poured out their lives? Would love tell the elderly and autistic, there is no place for you if our plans cause you pain? Would love choose methods, which entertain young people, but leave increasing numbers completely biblically illiterate?  If this is not how love would behave, why would we call it worship?