After Stevie at Glastonbury

I've watched very little of the TV coverage of Glastonbury (and even less of the World Cup!), but last night's 93 minute final main stage concert by Stevie Wonder had to be the exception. He was in fine voice and performed 20 of his most popular songs, from his 47 year singing career, backed by a thirteen piece band, seven other assorted percussionists and a Gospel choir. Although his songs have been part of my listening down the years, what caught my ear was the superb re-working of all the backing musical arrangements. It meant that everything familiar was delivered with great freshness.

Stevie Wonder has the same kind of serenity and warmth on stage as the Dali Lama, although his dialogue with the 70-100,000 audience is more energetic. I guess most of the audience knew the words and music, judging by the vigour of the singalong. On several occasions, he had the crowd singing together melodiously in two parts, accompanied by himself and the band - an extraordinary unrehearsed feat and a powerful expression of unifying leadership. 

What I love best about Stevie Wonder is his unashamed expression of joy in the gift of life, and confidence in love for God. He is passionate in advocating the unity of people every race, culture and ability, working together for peace and equality, expressed most fully in the complete inclusion of all categories of disabled people. He gives voice to the spiritual aspirations of the late twentieth century in a heartwarming way - truly the 'blind seer' of our era. He puts across messages many preachers would love to convey, in both words and music. Thank heavens. Christian leaders may on occasions be able to attract equally large if not larger crowds, but what of that moving, unifying experience that connects people with each other, not only in the moment, but in the everyday stream of life, to which the popular song is often the sound-track?

Across the millennia, faith has found expression through 'people's music' in many different settings, not only the Christian - music that's popular to listen to, as well as music for singing along to. There is a vigorous contemporary Christian pop music scene today, but I don't think it has the mass audience appeal that Stevie Wonder's music has. Is it merely a matter of Motown's global marketing success in getting the music out there to consumers?

Christians may well find they can sing together the same hymns, whether traditional or contemporary popular, but division remains. The experiences faithful people seek to give them a sense of common purpose and good-will differ significantly. In Europe spiritual seekers are less inclined than ever to look to churches for inspiration. North America too seems gradually to be heading in the same direction. Does Christianity have anything to learn from contemporary creative culture, and its ability to make consumers into participants?

Again, what struck me about Stevie Wonder's performance was the originality and freshness with which his old songs were offered. This represented a huge amount of hard work by the musicians, and their leaders. At best, any artistic leader has to enthuse, inspire, and motivate others to share in their creativity. There is a measure of that in what churches seek to do in worship, although we're far from regarding everyday liturgy as a form of creative art. The ways in which worship is meant to be inspirational are constrained by the conventions of performance (written or unwritten), by the demands 'orthodoxy' makes on content, and by the time and energy given over to experiment and innovation. I look back and wonder - could I have done more? Could I have done better? When worship is authentic and done well, it nurtures worshippers and commends itself to newcomers, even if it lacks much originality or creativity. But that's due in part to the kind of expectations people have towards it.

When I say that I would like worship to be more inspirational, it's not that I'm after a huge emotional uplift. I want beauty, space, silence, choice words, music and imagery that convey fresh insight, and challenge, or which feed my desire for greater intimacy with God. Am I let down by experiences I have, or by my expectations? Perhaps now I'm not tied to the regular liturgical production line, I have a new opportunity to explore what really does work, for me and for others.