Worship Like U2
Casey Corum
Category: WORSHIP
PURCHASE THIS CLIP: Individual Clip
ABOUT THE INTERVIEWEE:Casey Corum is the Chief Creative Officer and Executive Producer at Vineyard Music and is a Worship Pastor at Sugar Land Vineyard.
DISCUSSION TOPIC:
What role do you think excellence should play in worship?
i can appreciate casey having to wrestle with the dilemma of excellence, but in my opinion mediocrity should be the hallmark of the church experience.
what i mean by that is U2 is excellent, i would not pay to see a mediocre band, but excellent narrows the potential participants to very few. in the church, it feels like we should let anyone who wants to try to have a platform, knowing that it wont be as good as U2 if we do. participation is a higher value than how good it comes off, in my mind at least.
Karl- I love that you and Kathy Escobar have a value for mediocrity (i’m a part of their faith community, The Refuge), but I’d love to hear how that affects your teaching style. You are one of the most gifted speakers I know. If I’m only seeing your “mediocre” version, your a-game must be scary good! Do you dummy down your style? Prepare less? What makes your a-game different from your mediocre game?
Hey Karl,
Maybe this is my personal reaction to the word “mediocre” But in my experience of both your ministry and that of the Refuge. I think you spent a lot of time thinking about how to communicate a unique perspective. Of course that perspective is about tearing down a lot of the traditions and “customer” thinking that has infiltrated the church and replacing it with a space for messy complicated and (in my opinion) a very compelling vision of The Church. Even though, your message is “anti-excellence” I think it is far from mediocre and it holds to what I believe is a truer definition of excellence. A definition that involves responding to God’s stimuli intentionally, honestly and humbly regardless of the medium.
Paul
Mmm. well, I don’t really recognise this as ‘worship’ for a start. At best it is praise.
And I wonder if there is a discussion to be had about simplicity rather than excellence in music.
I’m sorry I’m not sure WHAT Casey is wrestling with. I love u2. And they are about the show, with emotion and connection. and “worship” and “glory” can be that.. I like Refuge style of any participant though too. Thing is a guy/gal can pick up a guitar when they want and can just pick a few strings and sing a basic melody and if from the heart it touches. They could even do acapella and as long as they can carry a tune, or not.. something resonates.. if it’s from somewhere deep.. there’s an aspiration maybe too.. When you format though.. and I thing there is genuinely a place for that.. then it needs to be up to a certain caliber.. because that’s well the venue.. I thought the seattle cathartic music emphasis has a place.. but it’s like when U2 retooled themselves and said “hey, we’re spiritual.. shouldn’t we be hilighting hope” So the spectrum for me, and like Casey said this may just be taste, is from the sweet “Once” type resonation in Acapella or single instrument.. to the hilighting hope in God and community.. With maybe a dabble in the cathartic.. but sorry I don’t feel that really is worship.. that’s more along the lines of healing.. and getting on the divine surgical table