What we can learn about worship from Hemant Mehta’s book, “I Sold My Soul on Ebay”

January 18, 2008

Hemant Mehta’s I Sold My Soul on Ebay truly is unique– I’ve read books on ministry, and books by atheists (God is Not Great, The God Delusion, Letter to a Christian Nation, etc.), but never a book by an atheist on how to do ministry better. The story of how the book came to be written is fully covered in the text so I won’t repeat it here– but the essence of the book is a “friendly atheist” sharing his observations of various churches as a nonreligious young adult. Sold My Soul is based on a very practical idea: “If your church is interested in reaching out to non-Christians, you can discover workable solutions by listening closely to your target audience. (p. 7)” The book is a well-written discussion that lacks the caustic vibe of so many books on both sides of the religious divide.

I can’t think of an area of ministry this book wouldn’t inform, but of course since my current role is primarily in the area of worship and arts, I read it through that filter. I was eager to see what an atheist would say about musical worship- and was at first surprised and disappointed Mehta doesn’t say much about Church music in the book. The church reports generally dedicate pages to the message/sermons but only sentences to singing and music (it seems as a nonreligious person he was more interested in what he would be challenged to believe). In reality, the comments he makes say volumes, and his omissions say even more. Here’s a few questions the book triggered in my mind:

1. Are we teaching enough about worship?

It seems throughout Mehta’s experience that none of the churches really defined what corporate singing is all about. In a section titled “Too Much Time Devoted to Singing (p. 150),” he says, “I have the impression that churches begin their services with music to serve as sort of a buffer so that even if churchgoers arrive late, they won’t miss the “important” part (that is, the sermon).” On the same page, he mentions that “a few songs are more than enough to get anyone in the proper mood for church.” That is, of course, not the way we within church leadership perceive our gatherings, but in any of the fifteen churches Mehta visited, was the true value of musical worship ever taught?

2. Is our corporate worship meaningful?

It’s easy to see how the musical sections of our experiences could be taken as “buffer”–Mehta observed people coming in late and leaving early after the message (it seems that universally, the message ends up in the center or second half of our worship gatherings– I wonder if people would be more timely if we kicked off the service with the sermon)? He asks the question (p. 71), “was the music so unimportant to them…” I hate to say it, but people missing the musical worship is a chronic problem in our churches. Sure, I’m overwhelmingly biased, but I find great meaning in those moments, as we sing truth to powerful melodies and God makes his presence known in a very specific way; this is not an expectation shared by many in our church families. What is missing– something they bring with them on Sundays, or something in how our musical worship is facilitated?

3. Are our songs accessible to the unchurched?

I had to laugh when Mehta mentioned (p. 85) how a song with the line “One day every tongue will confess you are God” bothered him… it bothers me, too! In all likelihood, of course, the song is Come, Now is the Time to Worship, by Brian Doerksen, which bizarrely still sits at the #6 spot on CCLI’s top 25 used songs in churches. Now, I’m not questioning the theology- yes, someday each human being who ever lived will know God is real, and it is certainly better to get to know him sooner rather than later. But man, isn’t that a heavy sentiment for a corporate song, one usually sung at the front end of the gathering time? When we use songs with this kind of weight (or with Biblical jargon like “tabernacle,” “holy,” etc) and don’t “unpack” them for newcomers to the worship experience, we’re just asking for trouble.

But Mehta certainly doesn’t think the answer is dumbed-down lyrics; in one report he shares, “The majority of the service was (now) typical. The music was nice to listen to, though the lyrics are still repetitious. I’m pretty sure that any 4-year-old can write “God is strong,” “God is Good,” etc. which is probably why the music isn’t as captivating to me.” Certainly something to consider- while I Could Sing of Your Love Forever has dropped out of rotation, I do still notice a lot of repetition in modern worship songs; and songwriters, can we get more than one verse?

4. How much does physical image influence our leadership?

One last thought on a comment Mehta makes on page 99: “Singers took the stage and began their songs with the help of the band. It was apparent that the younger, more attractive singers took front and center. This was a technique more suited for an advertising campaign than a place of worship, I felt. And it wasn’t the first time I had seen this tendency in the larger churches I’d visited. Certainly the other singers had talent as well, but they weren’t positioned in front. Are good looking people really much better singers?”

What a honest observation. I can imagine churches putting the most young, attractive people up front to well, attract people from outside church culture– after all, the singers who sell top 40 records aren’t exactly ugly. But here’s a non-religious person calling us out on whether we really think its what inside that counts. A good challenge to us all as we build teams of artists.

Of course, the question in my mind is, would I get to lead worship if I wasn’t so darn good looking?

Posted in Worship Leadership, Resources