Part of the Solution: The Union Of Worship and Justice

November 10th, 2007, New York City.  Fans crowd into the Hammerstein Ballroom. Some concertgoers find seats on the floor, while others navigate the stairs to the balcony.  From the outset, an average concert seems to be in order. But something is different about this crowd.  Besides the typical cameras and ticket stubs, they have brought something unique with them – bags of towels and socks.

Prior to this tour, the David Crowder*Band called ahead to homeless shelters at every tour stop and asked them what they needed most. The most frequent response? Towels and socks.  So the band used every Internet tool at their disposal (e-mail, blogs, Myspace) to tell fans across the country to bring towels and socks to the shows.

As the lights dim, the crowd screams, and the David Crowder*Band, one of the top-selling, Christian worship music groups in the country appears on stage.  After numerous, well-received songs, lead singer David Crowder takes a moment to address the crowd, explaining the theme behind the band’s new record, “Remedy”: “We just feel like as people of faith, when we get together and do something like this evening, we feel like it ought to make a difference to the people we’re in the middle of…their lives should be better because we love our God.” Crowder then thanks the crowd for their contributions of towels and socks and says, “We believe that if we live like we sing in these moments that this planet would be different.” The band then launches into “Remedy”, a song that proclaims Jesus Christ as the remedy for mankind’s problems.

“I came to realize that preachers were telling me to lay my life at the foot of the cross and weren’t giving me anything to pick up.” – Shane Claiborne

 “Poverty was created not by God but by you and me, because we have not learned to love our neighbors as ourselves,” writes Christian activist Shane Claiborne, in his book The Irresistible Revolution, echoing the command of Christ in Matthew 22:37-39: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…Love your neighbor as yourself (New International Version).” While undoubtedly many American Christians can quote this scripture, Claiborne’s statement brings up an intriguing question: Do Christians really live out what they believe?

If the life of Jesus Christ, as told in the four gospels, we see a man who healed the leprous (Matthew 8), the lame, blind, mute, and maimed (Matthew 15), a man who stopped the religious authorities of the day from stoning an adulterous woman (John 8), a man who told his followers that any act of kindness towards the “least of these” counted as an act towards Christ, a man who was “moved with compassion” when he encountered the sick and suffering (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; Mark 1:41; Mark 6:34, New King James translation), and lived a life so devoted to helping the hurting people around him that he endured death on a cross to absolve mankind of sin.

Yet the devotion and example of Christ often remain absent from modern evangelical Christianity. Claiborne writes, “Global initiatives like Live 8 and the ONE Campaign have gathered eclectic groups of celebrities and pop stars under slogans like ‘Make poverty history.’ But most Christian artists and preachers have remained strangely distant from human suffering, offering the world eternal assurance over prophetic imagination.”  Claiborne relates that when he was growing up, “People had taught me what Christians believe, but no one had told me how Christians live.”

Claiborne speaks of a widespread American problem: a Christian church with isolationist tendencies. For every major media type, there is a Christian alternative – Christian music, Christian books, Christian bookstores, Christian movies, Christian news, etc.  As a result, Christians find themselves, as described by Claiborne, “gorged…on all the products of the Christian industrial complex.” Meanwhile, the local church can remain seemingly complacent towards poverty and social justice. According to Claiborne, approximately 85% of the average church’s offering goes toward internal needs, such as church staff, buildings, etc., with the leftovers going towards charity. Claiborne opposes the mindset behind this statistic, “Giving to the poor should not make its way into the budget; it is the budget.” For churches to make a difference, an intense inward focus will have to be replaced with a new outward focus.

Fortunately, change is in the air.  A different kind of movement is growing, one that focuses on social justice and compassion.  According to Michael Luo and Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times, a new generation of evangelical leaders, such as Rick Warren (author of The Purpose Driven Life and pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County) and Bill Hybels (pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago) are far more likely to speak out about “AIDS, Darfur, and poverty” than the older generation of evangelical flag-bearers, such as Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and the late Jerry Falwell, a group intensely focused on fighting abortion and homosexuality, but not on pursuing social justice.  This shift is indicative of a larger change within evangelical Christianity. In a recent study by the Barna Research Group, 72% of evangelical voters polled identified themselves as concerned about social justice issues and poverty.  Clearly, many American Christians are no longer satisfied to simply know what they are against. They want to be for something.

“But the time is coming – indeed it’s here now – when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” – Jesus (John 4:23, New Living Translation)

In the midst of this developing consciousness within evangelical Christianity, a number of prominent Christian musicians, specifically worship artists, are using their influence to play a significant role. Christian/Gospel music reaches nearly $700 million in sales annually. In 2006, over 54.2 million units of Christian/Gospel CDs, cassettes, digital albums, and digital tracks were sold, and sales in the genre surpassed Latin, Soundtracks, Classical, Jazz, and New Age music.  Within this hugely popular business lies the sub-genre of Praise and Worship music, songs that can be sung, often in churches, as a form of honor and worship to God.

Yet many of today’s prominent worship artists desire more than to see the faithful sing their songs in church on Sunday mornings. They have taken up the cause of social justice as a central goal of their music and faith. The David Crowder*Band, with their socks-and-towels strategy, are not alone. Consider the British rock n’roll/worship band, delirious? (yes, the question mark is a part of the band name), known the world-over for songs like “I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever” and “My Glorious.” Earlier this year they released their album “Kingdom of Comfort,” featuring songs that explore the reality of poverty, suffering, and the urgency to contribute to the solution. The band announced that a portion of all royalties from this album will be donated to charity. Lead singer Martin Smith and his wife Anna recently founded a charity: CompassionArt.  Joining forces with other well-known Christian artists, including Stephen Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech, Chris Tomlin, and fellow delirious? member Stu Garrard, Smith has created a CompassionArt album.  Set for release in January, all proceeds from the album will benefit sixteen different charities in locations like Rwanda, Brazil, and Cambodia.

Then there’s Hillsong United.  Born out of Hillsong Church, a 20,000 strong mega-church in Sydney, Australia, the group produces some of today’s most popular worship music for youth (their most recent album, “The I-Heart Revolution: With Hearts As One,” shot to the top of the iTunes download charts for Christian music).  Joel Houston, son of Hillsong pastor Brian Houston and leader of Hillsong United, recently began a three-part project called the I-Heart Revolution, aimed at inspiring youth to embody the compassion and love of Christ. The project includes the previously mentioned album, a forthcoming documentary concerning worship and suffering around the globe, and an I-Heart website which will serve as a networking hub for Christians to communicate with one another, sharing how they are pursuing social justice in their communities and abroad, while swapping ideas and strategies.

“I believe the heart of God is everyone… Every single one is so important to God.”  – Joel Houston

From August 22-23, I had the opportunity to attend a conference held by Hillsong United in Houston, Texas.  It was clear from the beginning that the conference would be about more than exciting music. As thousands crammed into Grace Community Church on the first night, an introductory video playing on the screen opened with the following words: “Whatever separates man from God, also separates man from man.” Instantly a montage of poverty, destitution, and oppression from third-world, war-torn areas filled the screen. Images of starving children and the homeless appeared next to the words of Jesus and a quote from Helen Keller: “I am only one, but I am one. And because I can’t do everything I won’t refuse to do the something that I can do.”

The next morning brought one of the central events of the conference: a message by Joel Houston. Describing his experiences traveling all over the world, Houston discussed the purpose behind the I-Heart Revolution : “I couldn’t help but see this contrast between these amazing services we had and at the very same time contrast that with these streets, and these people, and these cultures, and life, this world…If what we do is just about coming together and having a great time as the people of God… but it’s not having any affect on those very streets that we pass by, then we’re missing the point.”

Houston encouraged the crowd to realize that God loves everyone, and that when we realize how much he loves us, we have a responsibility to show that love to others.  According to Houston, our focus should simply be on others and valuing everyone, regardless of labels, categorizations, or judgments. “Place value on everybody…no matter how they treat you…that’s being the church, that’s being the love of God, that’s being the hands and feet of Jesus. As much as I read about Jesus, I see a man who gave everything for others. His whole life was a lesson in being selfless.”

“If we can understand that our value, our acceptance, our significance was nailed to a cross, then we in turn would live lives that find value in the broken and in the unlovable…the least. That’s what God wants.” – Joel Houston

The purpose of the I-Heart Revolution project is clearly stated at www.i-heart.org: to illustrate “the inseparable union of worship and justice – aimed at inspiring people to see injustice, think creatively and act in response.”  It’s working.

Pastor David Moore, a worship pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, is among the thousands who have been inspired by Hillsong United. David leads worship for adults and youth, all while writing songs for the church’s worship recordings, which are sold the world over through Integrity Music. When asked about his recent push towards the “inseparable union of worship and justice,” David responds, “It’s not a fad, it’s a revelation. Once you get it, you act, and it never leaves you.” Citing Hillsong and the I-Heart Revolution, delirious?, and Bono as inspirational catalysts, he continues, “Whenever you see that injustice happening, you act on it, and that’s living out your worship. That’s why what you do in church can’t be separated from the cause that you live your life for.”

Bold words, but for David Moore and others at Gateway Church, they are more than just words. In the past few weeks, members of Gateway’s youth worship team, along with other young people from the church, have taken part in numerous outreaches, including a “fun night” at a homeless shelter (a night of games, food, fun, and conversation with the homeless) and a weekend trip to Bridge City, Texas, to aid in the Hurricane Ike relief effort. More outreaches are forthcoming, including adopting a room at a homeless shelter, which involves supplying and decorating it in order to make it feel like a real home for anyone who stays there; the money for the project will be donated by the students themselves.

“When you know God, you know love. God is love. God is hope. God is justice. God made us to be that as well. Whenever we love and give hope and speak out for justice we’re becoming more and more who we were meant to be.” – David Moore

It’s clear that individuals like David Crowder, Martin Smith, and Joel Houston are not alone.  When artists like these marry the message of their songs with public acts for compassionate social justice, countless individuals, like David Moore, who listen to these artists, gain inspiration and the will to act themselves. Worship becomes more than singing songs, but instead becomes a realization and a belief that Jesus Christ gave everything for and loves everyone, regardless of their background, and that he desires his followers to act accordingly.  To quote the song “Solution” by Hillsong United:

“It is not a human right to stare not fight
While broken nations dream
Open up our eyes so blind that we might find
The mercy for the need.”

This mindset is becoming the prayer of Christians the world over, as they find the means within themselves to be a part of the “solution.” Jesus would be proud.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these…you did for me.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:40, New International Version)