Part Four: Betrayal!

Vintage21 Church was off and running in late 2002 as an independent church plant. Actually, we were off and limping. Several people ended up leaving, including the associate pastor. Two band members went back to the large church in Cary, and one evening, two minutes before the service began, the volunteer kid’s minister said this would be her last service. We were just getting by, with barely enough money to cover rent. Recalling the lean years begs the question: Why, oh why, has church planting become popular?!?

During this time several things were being sorted out: the reasons behind worshiping God, what freedoms and limitations of worship were found in scripture, and how to work with volunteer musicians. Also, what would the voice of Vintage21 Church sound like? In my mind, we needed “good” music, authentic lyrics that centered on Christ and mirrored the Psalms, and a service that wasn’t contrived or lacking in foundation.
Worshiping God through hymns, Christian rock music (bands like Switchfoot, Plankeye, Bleach) and secular songs became a regular part of the Vintage21 service. Due to the lack of songs, time, and ability as a songwriter, we used a good deal of contemporary worship music as well. Oh, how I longed for the day when we could retire “Here I am To Worship”! In my mind, these type of songs represented a generic expression of worship, found mainly in the consumer-based Christianity of mega-churches. The refusal to new music and complaints of those in the church who wanted the ease and simplicity of contemporary Christian music reinforced my belief. One Sunday, on the “Connect Card” portion of the program, which is designed for people to pass along their name and email address in order to receive more information about Vintage21, someone wrote this:

“Can you please play more traditional contemporary worship music?”

Traditional Contemporary? What does that even mean? I can only imagine this person meant contemporary worship songs from the mid-nineties. It’s a common desire to sing songs we know, that we want to sing. All songs were new at some point, though, and the songs introduced at V21 were more musically diverse, unique, and contained rich lyrics. Looking back, I’ll admit they weren’t the easiest to sing. While studying the book of Hosea, we introduced “Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives” by Pedro the Lion- amazing lyrics, awkward melody. But it seemed like we were on the right path- forging new ground, challenging tradition in order to be specific in our time and place, all the while set on bringing glory to God. And, while many came against me in this effort, there was a small contingency of supporters…

The first time I attended a V21 service at the middle school, a group of friends stood out. Well, one guy in particular stood out, because he looked exactly like Dave Grohl! It was the highlight of every subsequent Sunday to spot Mr. Grohl’s look-a-like. Over time we met Dave (“Joe”) and his friends Scott, Sarah, Bliss, and Thurston- and found similar tastes in music, culture, and Christianity. In the first year of Vintage21, they were a support system for me. Everything we were doing was fairly new to us- we were not basing it off of another church, but sincerely trying to be original and unique to Raleigh. At times, this was frustrating. New songs were not always well received, services were awkward, even the Jesus Videos were met with silence the first two weeks they were shown. But it seemed as if this group got what we were trying to do, and went with us. Which is what made it extra hard the day Scott approached me and said,

“I was talking to Joe and the others, and we like the songs, but it would also be good to have songs we can worship easily to”

Scott, Joe and their friends were not coming against me, but it came as a shock. Here they were- the group that “got it”- telling me it wasn’t working. This hit home, and made me realize the pendulum had swung too far. In an effort to be sincere and original, I had established absolutes that excluded anything associated with the cheesy, shallow Vintage21 services in the middle school. Our service was becoming defined by what we were not instead of what we should be. Over time we slowly brought in contemporary worship music, making sure it was centered on Christ and fit with who Vintage21 was as a church. This was a great lesson that still rings true today, and continually causes me to ask:

“Am I leading out of what is best for the church and honors God, or from my own preferences?”

To Be Continued

Tomorrow, Part Five: Call Me In Two Hundred Years