I was recently at a conference of a large Christian organization. There were thousands of people there over the two days and there were talks, interviews, and lots of music. Conferences of large organizations are part community, part celebration, part rally, part sales, and this conference was all of that. It was enjoyable and informative. Being that it was a Christian conference of a para-church organization, it is not unusual that the sessions usually started with worship music. Most of the music was quite big. Multiple singers, lots of instruments, amazing sound, and some special lighting and video effects. Most of the songs were quite declarative, quite hopeful, making positive statements about God and faith and inviting participation.
In terms of Christian faith, most of the music and the lyrics were what can be characterized as kataphatic. Kataphatic means a positive kind of statement. Things like, “God IS strong,” “God IS able,” “God IS with us,” “God has never lost a battle”, that kind of thing. When I say positive I don’t mean to put a value judgment on that, I simply mean that the songs said what God is more than they said what God is not. In terms of how this relates to the lives of the people singing in the crowd, there was an emphasis on how God will lift you up, or grant you blessing or hope or healing.
This kind of music can be quite stirring and it was evident that most people at the conference were moved by it. It was well done, powerful and engaging.
What I found most curious and, in a way, most edifying was one of the music teams that led in a very different way. This was a musical collective called The Porter’s Gate and they were at the conference as partner with a mental health organization called Sanctuary that is working to remove stigma around struggles with mental health in church settings. Sanctuary and The Porter’s Gate have teamed up to produce an album of songs that seek to acknowledge the reality of mental illness, the need for conversations about mental health and the awareness that the spiritual life does not mean absence of mental health challenges.
The extreme aspects of kataphatic understanding tend towards what is called triumphalism. This is something that is often present in religious circles and in the evangelicalism with which I am familiar. Triumphalism, on a cultural or political scale, is marked by the idea that faith means victory over others. It is evident where you hear stories about battles in culture and in faith. Triumphalism on a personal level is marked by elevation of stories of victory over illness or struggle.
When The Porter’s Gate played their set at the conference I was amazed. The songs were not kataphatic, but rather apophatic. That is, they acknowledged that we can say over and over and over again what God is like, but when we do, we will still be missing most of who God is. God is like a rock. That is true, but God is mostly not like a rock. The songs also were an invitation to be on the earth as compared with in the skies. What I mean is, kataphatic or triumphalist songs transport us up and away. This is, at times, necessary in the spiritual life. It is the reminder about the reality of the transcendent and an invitation to be lifted up beyond that which can so often hold us down. The Porter’s Gates songs invited us to “be where our feet are.” That lyric was part of a song that drew out the truth that most of our life, including most of our spiritual life, is lived not in the clouds, but on the ground, in the day to day, in the mundane. God is with us there, not only in the high above.
The set closed with an astounding song. The album has yet to be released so I don’t want to give too much away, but the song is called “Christ Was Lower Still.” It was introduced with a description of a statue off of the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The statue is underwater, at the bottom of the sea. The song is informed by the larger truth of a statue like that, the truth that the identity and character of Jesus is as much in the descent as the ascent, that Jesus is with us not merely in celebration and victory, but in the depths of our lives. Theologically, this is a movement of incarnation.
Here is the chorus of the song;
Let the king descend
Living Word made flesh
Lift this heavy heart
to your throne, O God
In His wounds I find
room for all of mine
When from grace I fell,
Christ was lower still.
Amazing. I felt a kind of courage on the part of the band for singing such lyrics in a setting that often does better with kataphatic, declarative, traditionally victorious statements of God and faith.
God is with us in the depths.
This is, at times, much more hopeful a reminder than those of elevation, of battles won and enemies defeated.
However low we feel, Christ was lower still.
There is redemption in this.
Christ of the Abyss.
Thanks Todd. Liked your thoughts on the movements of worship and the Christian life. For me, Philippians 2 and John 13 define the movements of the “great parabola.” Up and out, down and in. God transcendent / God imminent, God resurrected / God crucified. Both seem connected and necessary. Lovely to hear about Sanctuary and The Porter’s Gate in juxtaposition of exuberance and declaration. Though I have always loved to participate in triumphalistic worship, I have never been able to live in it. Love both movements though.
Great piece Todd. Thank you.