Part Three: Pendulum Swings

The first Vintage21 Service as a church plant was at 515 Hargett Street on November 13, 2002. The wonderful people pictured below played in the band during the middle school months, being recruited by the former worship pastor. They helped make the transition to downtown Raleigh with humility and patience, and for that I will always be thankful. It was not easy!

In one week, Vintage21 went from a service in a middle school with a contemporary, Nashville sound to meeting in a warehouse loft with an indie-rock band. Several factors went into this decision- the culture of downtown Raleigh, the space and sound system- but mainly it was because that’s what I knew. My background and interest wasn’t in worship leading for carpeted churches with drum shields, it was playing raw, eclectic rock and roll in bars and venues. Those people were my community, and who I wanted to invite to church. It wasn’t an effort to be exclusive, but to be real, and reflect the downtown scene.

The first song we played in the new space was “Learning to Fly” by Foo Fighters. I like to imagine that on our fiftieth anniversary we’ll gather to celebrate what God has done, and worship with the first song played at the first Vintage21 service! Keep in mind, this was not a grand scheme to woo people into our space by playing music they hear on the radio. In 2000, God awakened me to His presence beyond church buildings and worship songs. It was mainly through the music of artists such as Jeremy Enigk of Sunny Day Real Estate (see: The Rising Tide), David Bazaan of Pedro the Lion, and Daniel Smith of Danielson Famile. These were artists outside the normal categories of “Christian music”. They played music. They were Christians. That’s it. It shocked me to realize that secular audiences were listening to some of the most beautiful worship music while mainstream Christianity was unaware of these artists. Not only that, but it probably would not be considered worship music by the powers-that-be, since it did not come from that section of the Christian bookstore. This blew my white-bread protestant mind, as God broke out of the categories I had so neatly tried to constrict him to, and I began to worship him through all of life. A goal of using secular songs was to worship God using the language and sounds of the culture, an act of redemption in my mind similar to what Paul accomplished in Acts 17 when addressing the Areopagus. It was also beautiful to think that someone could be at work, or in the mall, and hear a song we worship God through in church. Hopefully it challenged people with their concept of worship and God’s presence.

To Be Continued

Next Week, Part Four: Betrayal!