Tag Archives: Builder Generation

You’ve Made me Learn to Love Contemporary Music

January 30, 2020Tagsbaptist, Bible, Biblical, Biblical Foundations, blended worship, body of christ, Boomers, Builder Generation, Builders, choir, choirs in worship, choral, church choir, church leadership, church music, church music styles, church orchestra, churches, communication, community, congregation, congregational, contemporary hymns, contemporary worship, diversity, Gen-X, generational, generations, hymnody, intergenerational, intergenerational relationships, intergenerational worship, invest, investing in next generations, leadership, mentoring, Millennials, modern worship, multi-generational, multigen, multigenerational, music, music ministry, next gen, next generations, participation in church choir, praise team, praise teams, prayer, purpose, reachingnextgen, spiritual formation, The Bible, training, unity, value, vocal worship, vocal worship teams, vocals in worship, worship, worship spaces, worship style, Xennials, younger generationsDr. Will Whittaker

Last night I was approached by an octogenarian woman during our family night meal. She looked me dead in the face and said something to the effect of, “Will, you’ve made me learn to love contemporary music.” As I’ve thought about this over the last day, I’m starting to wonder how I’ve made her learn to love contemporary music? I didn’t realize I had that power! Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to continue our conversation because I needed to get to my first rehearsal. Of course the next time I see her I’m going to ask her, but for now, I can only guess why she said that to me—and 80-something year old woman whose church music heart-language likely does not include the latest Passion tune. However, something in the way we present contemporary music resonates with someone from our Builder generation.

While I don’t have an exact answer to why she felt compelled to stop me at the coffee bar yet, I have some guesses:

Utilize contemporary songs that are biblically-rich. I refuse to put on the lips of our people songs that aren’t clear in theology and Christ-glorifying.
Utilize contemporary songs where the music and text complement each other. Much has been said about this, but effective text/word painting is crucial to cementing the truth in the minds and hearts of the worshipers.
Utilize contemporary songs with a hook. You all know what I’m talking about—songs with the indelible earworm. Songs that have sections that contain melodic (or even harmonic) sections that you can’t get out of your head. My current earworms are Way Maker and I Belong to Jesus (O Hallelujah). If you don’t know them, be prepared to invest lots of time hearing the song in your head. But you know what? These songs reinforce the TRUTH of who God is and my relationship and response to Him. If you listen any pop music at all, the most popular songs have hooks–and rightly so, we humans respond to them. No matter your age, a fantastic hook transcends generations!
Instrumentation. I don’t think we can overestimate the importance of how the music is played and sung. A rock band is going to sound different on most contemporary songs than a full orchestra (even if you have the same rhythm section in your orchestra). We use orchestra every week and my guess is our chosen method of presentation is more intergenerational friendly.
Volume. I CANNOT stress how important volume and decibel level is in a worship service. I talk at length about this in my article here: The Noise is Deafening and It’s Not My Fault! Basically, as we get older, we get more sensitive to sound. If you want to ostracize older people, disregard decibel levels. We make very sure that we set volume levels appropriately for our worship space.
Relationships. I care about the people I serve. I care about the content that God has given me the responsibility to feed them musically. My octogenarian friend probably has learned to love contemporary music because I do not lay aside our historically-rich hymns of the faith either. In fact I try to find creative ways to use textual similarities between new and old and put them together in worship services. I want all generations in my church to know that no music is off-limits based on it’s copyright date alone. By this I’m able to bridge gaps and build relationships across generational lines. It’s kind of an inter-musical approach for the intergenerational church!

What might you add to my list here?

Generation X: Tolerant of All Types of Church Music?

January 2, 2020TagsBuilder Generation, church music, church music styles, community, Gen-X, generational, generations, intergenerational, intergenerational relationships, intergenerational worship, invest, investing in next generations, modern worship, multi-generational, multigen, multigenerational, music, music ministry, musical style, next gen, next generations, older generations, popular music, reachingnextgen, relationships, Silent Generation, value, worship, worship music, worship style, young adults, younger generationsDr. Will Whittaker

I was recently reading a dialogue in a Facebook group I’m a part of that basically said that folks under 35 only want to sing worship music in church like Passion/Bethel/Hillsong, to name a few, while folks over 65 only wanted to sing traditional hymnody in a traditional four-part way—forget any creativity in hymn arrangements. The folks in the conversation then agreed that if all church members were of Generation X age, there wouldn’t be this polarizing disparity in congregational song. Obviously, these comments are not scientific and exceptions abound, but it sounded like something I would agree with. This conversation got me to thinking, “are folks in Generation X more tolerant of varying types of music for musical worship? If they are, why is that?”

I can personally speak to my own experience as someone who falls on the lower end of the 38-62 year old range. I remember as a teen in the late 80s and early 90s, the incorporation of new praise songs in corporate worship joined together with familiar hymnody. Back then, I don’t remember knowing any churches that had multiple services that were altogether different musically. But, by the mid 90s and early 2000s, I knew of many. Could this worship service polarization shift be a major reason why those older as well as those younger than those of us in Generation X feel so passionately about specific types of music for worship? Let’s explore further…

My church musical experiences up to the late 90s, and many of my generational cohort, was more than likely one of musical fluidity in church worship services—all types of music were used in each service (however lame or overly repetitive they might’ve been). Those of us in Generation X who’ve grown up in the church can remember when churches were unified in their music approach yet had different musical styles. Sure, during this time there were churches that used more traditional or contemporary music (and instrumentation), but by and large, each church had a similar hymnody and basically one style of service.

Why is it that it seems those of us in Generation X are more tolerant of varying kinds of music? Do you believe this to be true as well?

Worship services, during the formative years of many Gen Xers, included lots of musical styles. So, when churches (in the late 1990s and 2000s) decided to segregate into music-specific worship services, many from Generation X were comfortable in any worship scenario. I believe we of Generation X are not as firmly stuck in our “old ways,” as the over 65 crowd. Remember, most Boomers were at least 40 years old during this shift. Being over 40 myself, I can tell you–change its much harder at this age! Likewise, I believe many of our younger Millennials and Generation Z (especially those born since the advent of segregated services) have yet to see passed their own limited experience, which may include internet-based or concert-based worship services. So, much more could be said here, but I think you get the idea.

Without proper research, these questions will remain. What I do believe to be true is people resonant with familiarity. Given to our own devices, all humans default to their comfort zone. Without exposure to multiple types of musical worship, we humans will always resort to the familiar or our preferences. That being the case, I hope that people under my care as worship leader will sing truth with as many available musical types of worship with strong texts. The key is exposure!

I’d love to hear your opinions on why Generation X seems to be more tolerant with music in the church?

Ways to Demonstrate Value to the Builder Generation

October 8, 2018Tagsbaptist, Bible, Biblical, Builder Generation, Builders, choir, community, diversity, friendship, generations, grace, hymns, intergenerational, intergenerational choir, intergenerational relationships, intergenerational worship, invest, investing in next generations, leadership, mentoring, multigenerational, music, music ministry, next gen, prayer, purpose, quiet, relationships, spiritual formation, training, unity, value, Value others, worshipDr. Will Whittaker

In my last post, Finding Value and Purpose for the “Builder” Generation in Your Music Ministry, I discussed the impact being in an intergenerational choir had on a choir member from the Builder generation. Because the post was getting a little long due to the narrative from the daughter of this choir member, I decided to wait to write about some practical ways leaders can demonstrate value to Builders in our choirs. Here are a few ideas, although there are doubtless many more:

Encourage them to be a part of the choir. While this may seem axiomatic, you’d be surprised how many Builders simply don’t feel wanted in the church choir. I’m not sure who has made them feel inferior, but several Builders I’ve been in contact with recount a similar story—they simply felt no longer valued. Just making them feel welcome, inviting them to participate, etc. will go a long way Builders (or any generation for that matter).
Find a seat that allows them to sit if they need to. Many Builders have health issues that prevent them from standing for long periods of time. Make it easier for them to participate by allowing them to sit when they need to, providing a stool if needed, or anything to make them feel less “inferior” to other members. These members don’t want to feel awkward about needing physical concessions, so be sure to not draw attention to that need with the other choir members. Side note: these concessions don’t only apply to Builders, there are others who need help or assistance with physical limitations and you should aim to make it as easy for them as well. Getting in and out of the loft (if you have one) or risers may be challenge. Figure out a way to make it easier for those needing assistance. Perhaps have them come to the platform earlier than the rest.
Sit Builders next to helpful choir members. I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating, where people sit in your choir is important. Yes vocal timbre and height are important, but strategically mixing generations may prove to be even more important. I almost never put Builders by other Builders. More often than not, I make sure there are helpful choir members on either side of our Builders for various reasons, which include things such as:
*helping them find their place in the score- mobility and dexterity are certainly not what they used to be even if they’re good music readers.
*Be their ears– hearing in a large choir may be problematic at that age; others can tell them what they missed.
*Help them physically– getting up and down out of their seat, helping pick up dropped folders, etc.
I depend on these helpful choir members more than they know. I want them to tell me when there are concerns with our older adults. Usually there are issues that I can resolve once I know.
Consider the tessitura/range of the musical literature. Let’s be real; as we age, our voices just ain’t what they used to be! Most older adults have weakening of breath control, loss of range, and if not careful–that widening vibrato that can lead to a wobble. While the purpose of this post is not to diagnose and correct vocal faults, it is something that should be considered. An EASY way to make concessions for literature that has extreme ranges is to re-work/re-voice parts so those unable to sing the parts as written have alternatives. Be careful when mentioning the changes—don’t imply that only older adults have these issues with their range, just simply say, “these notes are alternatives for those uncomfortable with how high this part is.” This gives everyone who can’t an “out.” Do mention that all those who CAN should sing as written.
Start a Senior Adult Choir. While this might seem counterintuitive to being intergenerational, I think that age-stratified groups are helpful as long as they exist in intergenerational ministry-settings. What better way to show value to your Builders than to give them a mission-minded, ministry group that allows them to have some ownership of their own in worship leadership. This group doesn’t have to be just your church members, it can be open to the community, which really create in-roads into being a light in your community. This group usually has more free time (when not headed to doctor’s appointments) so get them out and singing in the community- sharing the gospel and building the Kingdom.

Builders who can still WANT to be involved in the life and ministry of your church. Make it as easy as possible for them to participate…just as you would anyone else.