In today's Chinese church, the topic of sacred music ministry may conjure up various impressions among different age groups. Older believers tend to associate it with the solemn and magnificent singing of choirs, while younger members are more likely to think of Spirit-filled, passionate worship and praise. Over the past two decades, choirs and worship teams have flourished in churches across the country, and some urban churches have even begun to move towards unionization, institutionalization, and internationalization in choir development.
In spite of that, does sacred music ministry in churches merely equate to choirs or worship ministry? What more valuable significance does sacred music ministry hold for the long-term development of churches? What aspects of sacred music ministry in current Chinese churches need to be corrected and updated? Pastor Zhu, a full-time minister of sacred music at a church in East China, has been observing and pondering over these issues for many years.
Recently, the Gospel Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, spoke with Pastor Zhu about the current state and future of sacred music ministry and education in Chinese churches. Drawing on his years of experience visiting grassroots churches across the country and his background in sacred music education, he expressed his concerns and reflections on the ministry and shared his aspiration for the integration of sacred rituals, music, and teachings.
“To change the current state starts with a shift in mindset.”
On the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pastor Zhu, who had been teaching in the sacred music department of a seminary for over a decade, applied to leave his teaching position and return to grassroots churches to engage in frontline sacred music ministry establishment. Speaking about recent trends in sacred music education in China, Pastor Zhu expressed frustration. “The overall number of students studying theology is decreasing, and even fewer choose sacred music. The teaching staff and quality of sacred music departments are also affected.”
Regarding the causes, he noted that in addition to objective and universal factors such as rigid professional thresholds, the remuneration of grassroots preachers, tensions between older and younger generations, changes in the broader church environment, and the impact of the pandemic, the limited or even biased understanding of sacred music ministry among a considerable number of grassroots churches in China is an inescapable subjective and profound reason.
Over the years, Pastor Zhu has conducted sacred music lectures in grassroots churches in the country as an invited expert lecturer. However, according to his observations, the development of sacred music ministry at the grassroots level is not optimistic.
“Sacred music ministry is seen by many churches as a 'secondary matter’ next to the pulpit ministry, and some even believe that it is unimportant, thinking that having it is better but not essential. Therefore, very few grassroots churches in China are willing to invest dedicated effort in selecting and cultivating sacred music talents.”
“Studying theology, becoming a minister, and being ordained as a pastor is a prevalent concept among many pastors and fellow workers, including theology students, for serving in churches. Pursuing a major in sacred music is considered a relatively unpopular and niche path,” said the pastor. On the other hand, when it comes to organizing or training choirs and other sacred music-related ministries, many churches struggle to find qualified professionals within their full-time staff and have to rely on lay believers with a music background or even non-believers for assistance. “This is the contradictory and awkward reality of sacred music ministry in churches.”
According to Pastor Zhu, sacred music education in China’s theological education system is a relatively late starter and has developed slowly. Many provincial seminaries have only begun exploring the establishment of sacred music majors in the past 15 years. However, some of these institutions have reluctantly discontinued their sacred music departments shortly after establishment, resulting in domestic sacred music education remaining at a relatively constrained level. The scarcity of student resources and the slow improvement in the quality of sacred music teaching has gradually formed a vicious cycle.
“In reality, it is not that there is a lack of talented individuals for sacred music in grassroots churches; rather, there is a lack of vision to discover and the burden to educate them,” said Pastor Zhu, who has seen numerous promising candidates for sacred music. “To alter the current situation regarding sacred music talent, education, and ministry, church leaders must undergo a transformation in their attitudes and perspectives towards sacred music.”
Apart from misconceptions in talent education, Pastor Zhu also observed certain deviations in the understanding of worship and praise among grassroots churches, specifically the confusion between congregational hymns and personal devotional songs.
He explained that traditional congregational hymns are primarily used during the worship segment of Sunday services, characterized by their solemnity and dignity. Elements such as harmonies, major triads, triplets, and cadences in their melodies embody the serious Trinitarian theological perspective, aiming to unite the entire congregation in offering holy and reverent praise to the Triune God.
In contrast, personal devotional songs primarily express an individual’s spiritual communion with God and articulate the beautiful relationship between man and God. They are more versatile and accessible in their singing styles but have a relatively narrower theological scope, making it difficult to represent the collective sentiments and emotions of all believers or evoke a spiritual resonance among the congregation.
“Many grassroots churches today often overlook this aspect when selecting hymns for Sunday services, leading to a certain degree of impropriety in worship rituals,” Pastor Zhu recalled. In some cases, churches even disregard the compatibility between hymns and biblical teachings, choosing songs arbitrarily without considering the theme.
He elaborated, “Sacred music has different usage scenarios based on themes. Fellowship activities might favor lively and joyful praises, while evangelism might utilize concise and catchy short songs. Sunday worship, however, requires a reverent and solemn attitude, necessitating the use of timeless, classic hymns to offer praise to God.”
Furthermore, he stressed that for churches to provide more comprehensive nurturing and pastoral care through sacred music, pastors themselves must possess a sound theological and ecclesiological perspective, along with a certain level of understanding of liturgy. They should not blindly cater to the preferences of believers while compromising the foundation of the gospel truth, ensuring that sacred music becomes a powerful aid in deepening the lives of believers.
“There is still a long way to go for the development of sacred music in China. Both professional sacred music talents and the sacred music literacy of pastors and ministry colleagues are indispensable. However, all efforts will be futile without a change in perspective,” Pastor Zhu concluded.
From a transcendent and macro perspective
Pastor Zhu analyzes that the relatively limited understanding of worship rituals and sacred music ministry among Chinese grassroots churches is intimately tied to the unique historical trajectory of Christianity in modern China. From the early arrival of missionaries to the post-denominational era today, Chinese churches have consistently placed a higher emphasis on the word of God than on sacred rituals and music. Particularly during periods when churches could not openly gather, the word of God became the most fundamental expression of faith for Chinese Christians, a consensus that has been passed down through generations and continues to influence today.
“While the word is indeed the core of our faith, sacred music, and rituals, as vehicles for expressing the teaching, should not be overlooked,” he added.
Explaining to the Gospel Times, Pastor Zhu notes that, from the perspective of the relationship between humanity and God, sound and music, as gifts bestowed upon humanity by God, serve as tangible channels for conveying intangible spiritual grace. Through music, humans can use breath, and tone as aesthetics to express gratitude, reverence, and praise for God, a form of expression that transcends mere words.
Furthermore, at a theological level, Christology stands at the center of Christian doctrine, and Christ’s redemption is the focal point and sole path of Christian theology. Sacred music, often referred to as “music under the cross,” serves as a means of singing praises instead of prayers, expressing recognition and celebration of Christ’s salvation, and conveying the essence of the gospel message. Hence, Pastor Zhu believes that when rituals and music are combined, Christian theology and the word of God can be more perfectly articulated.
Moreover, Pastor Zhu recognizes the unique value of sacred music ministry in both internal pastoral care and external church buildings. He states that since ancient times, humanity has recognized music’s healing effects on the mind and spirit. Even today, music is used in medical fields as a form of anesthesia. However, he emphasizes that these developments are centered on humanism. In contrast, sacred music, centered on God, helps redirect people’s focus from themselves to God during spiritual exercises, aligning their bodies, minds, and spirits with God’s will.
“When we sing or listen to sacred music in church, the sound of praise nourishes our souls like raindrops, inspiring fragile hearts to enter a state of piety. If we are ships, then sacred music is the wind that carries us before God.”
Earlier in his career, Pastor Zhu served as the instructor for the course “Church Music Administration” at a seminary. He explains that based on the current operations of grassroots churches, sacred music ministry plays a vital role in every function, including worship, pastoral care, preaching, and service. However, to maximize the effectiveness of sacred music in each function, churches must establish dedicated sacred music departments for management and regulation.
“Establishing a sacred music department is indeed a significant test of a church leader’s leadership capabilities,” the pastor notes. First, church leaders must recognize the importance of sacred music ministry for the church’s operation and development, find solid biblical and theological foundations, and clearly communicate the value of the sacred music department to the entire congregation. Second, leaders must set a vision and benchmark for what the sacred music department aims to achieve within the church, fostering unity and clarity among members as they collaborate with other church ministries. Third, leaders must have a clear understanding of the specific tasks of the sacred music department and delegate them to specific colleagues for gradual achievement according to plans. Finally, they must mobilize colleagues and congregation members to participate actively, enabling sacred music ministry to better support the church’s operations through orderly participation.
“If a church possesses a well-established sacred music ministry, including a director, choir leaders, church leaders, and elders’ committee members, and is able to actively collaborate with other departments under orderly and effective coordination, as well as establish an overall work plan chart, evaluating and formulating the development direction of music ministry and talent cultivation plans in conjunction with the church’s cyclical development outline, then this church is bound to grow even more rapidly,” said the pastor.
However, he also candidly admits that the music ministerial aspect in domestic grassroots churches is still relatively lagging behind, or even non-existent. Currently, few churches have been able to establish a relatively robust system, and this is an urgent task for Chinese churches to undertake.
“Behind the planning issues of sacred music ministry lies a reflection of the planning issues of the entire church in terms of its macro vision, mission, direction, and future prospects. I also hope that Chinese churches can update their concepts as soon as possible, not only to revitalize the ministry but also to truly usher in a revival of Chinese churches,” he added.
During the pandemic, Pastor Zhu launched a personal sacred music column on WeChat, updating continuously knowledge and techniques related to sacred music as well as analysis of outstanding such music through articles and video courses. Although the hits mostly are hundreds and thousands, he still enjoys sharing the content on his social media and forwarding it to his friends, hoping that more colleagues can learn more about sacred music. He stated that regardless of the current reality, someone needs to advocate for the importance of holy music ministry, and he firmly believes that God will work at the right time to bring such music truly into the heart of Chinese churches and become a nurturing force for more souls yearning for spirituality.
- Translated by Charlie Li
