(For a great primer about the Passion 2013 conference, check out this article from Worship Leader Magazine's website.)
The "freedom light," symbolizing the fight against modern slavery, in front of the Georgia Dome during Passion 2013.
As with most worship leaders over the past 15 years, I have been heavily impacted by the Passion movement, its events, and its leaders. I personally have had the privilege of attending four of the Passion conferences (the 2005 and 2006 conferences in Nashville, TN, and the 2012 and 2013 conferences in Atlanta, GA). Each conference had its own distinct impact on me, and each conference offered me the opportunity to watch this movement change and grow as it strives to make Christ’s renown the center of the lives of 18-25 year olds.
2013 was no different. Passion decided to make the focus of the conference about glorifying the name of Christ through the fight against modern slavery, continuing the work started during the 2012 conference. The movement also attempted to unite 80,000+ college students in the Georgia Dome, fueled by this sole desire to bring glory to God. The 2013 conference didn’t quite meet the attendance goals set for the Georgia Dome, but around 60,000 college students did raise over $3.1 million to shine a light on the issue of modern slavery.
I can’t say enough about the leadership of the Passion movement; no matter one's opinion on their method, one can't deny that their hearts are after the will of God, and they do a lot of things “the right way.” Still, after about a month of reflection over what was likely my last Passion conference, I wanted to share some humble observations and conclusions gained through witnessing the conference unfold. These thoughts are not intended to be overtly harsh or hostile to Passion, or its leaders. This is just my honest and unfiltered reflections of the good and the not-so-good of my week at the conference. I want to simply provoke thought and discussion about modern Christian culture, and how events like this fit into the larger picture of the Christian life.
So, here we go...
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Chris Tomlin, Spider-Man, and the Mantle of Worship Leadership
It’s hard to argue Chris Tomlin’s impact as a worship leader. In fact, any such discussion is pointless, because he is simply the worship leader of this generation of believers. Set aside his standing as a Christian pop star. Set aside the criticisms of his musicianship. Today, he is arguably the most prolific modern psalmist of the corporate worship experience. Aside from his radio success, Tomlin has clearly risen to the forefront of Passion’s musical worship expression. More so than Crowder, Redman, or Hall, Tomlin is the face of Passion’s musical worship.
This high praise is well-earned by Tomlin, but as Peter Parker learned before donning red and blue spandex, with great power comes great responsibility. I can’t fathom the position Tomlin is in at this point in his life. He has achieved capturing the attention of the hearts of the modern church, while still maintaining the focus on the true object of our worship, the Triune God. With that power, almost certainly, comes the responsibility and (more to my point) the expectation of continuing to write amazing songs of worship for the church. Tomlin doesn't seem to have a problem with this, as he continually releases music on a frequent basis. This is certainly not a bad thing, but some unintended harm could develop from this good fruit. If left unchecked, this feeds into the dominant mindset of Western culture today, one that the church is sadly not immune to.
We love the “new,” and we want more of it. Now.
The view from the top of the Georgia Dome, during Chris Tomlin's "Crown Him (Majesty)."
Case and point: even less than a year after Passion released the White Flag album, and seeing the release of his latest album Burning Lights at the conference, Tomlin still had new songs to introduce. One cannot help but be impressed by this, but this also gives me reason for pause. Aside from one partial performance of the song “White Flag” during the conference, none of the “older” songs were performed. This begs the question (to me, at least)... why?
New songs are not bad, but do the songs from last year’s conference have that short of a shelf life? What about the songs from Tomlin’s studio albums? I certainly don’t mind Tomlin collaborating on, and ultimately introducing, new songs to the modern church. But, his 2010 release of And If Our God Was For Us... was, in my opinion, terrible. It may have contained a gem or two, but the album lacked creativity and felt... stale. The Passion 2011 live album didn't even contain a single song from the record; this is quite the statement to the observant mind. Yes, our song of worship never changes, so the song will always "sound the same." That's not what I'm referring to here. I am afraid that some in Christian music are (perhaps) unknowingly producing watered-down offerings of worship to God, just so they can hit a "sweet spot" that will sell records. Many of these hearts may be in the right place, but I fear that the secular mindset of “consumerism” is taking over the spiritual goal of Christian music.
Are we giving our best to God? Even in the songs we write?
To be fair, Tomlin is certainly not the only one “guilty” of this. Almost any artist, after a while, will begin to produce the same sound, again and again. (Hillsong Live and Casting Crowns are also particularly guilty of this, in my opinion.) That should not be an excuse, however. Worshippers should, of course, sing to their Lord a new song as often as they can, because His mercy and love are new every morning. We are also, however, called to bring a sacrifice of praise unto the Lord... something that should cost us something, even if that something is time, popularity, or money.
Is this an unfair expectation to hold? Perhaps. As great as Chris Tomlin is, I'm sure he would be the first to point out that he is as flawed and imperfect as every other person. Of course, countless Christian artists would leap to join him in that declaration; ultimately, their creativity comes from God through the Holy Spirit, and they have very little to do with that. I just hope that the pursuit of the "new" does not negate the presentation of the excellent.
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Bigger Isn't Always Better
As you stood in the Georgia Dome for the duration of the conference, one thought would continue to cross your mind: there were a LOT of people there. Being in one room with roughly 60,000 college students worshipping God certainly has its own appeal... but, is such a gathering really necessary? Of course, the answer is no, and Passion’s leaders would be the first to admit that. Yet, the gathering still takes place, and there is a clear sense of going “bigger, better, stronger, faster.”
That isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Passion has (almost) always operated under the rule of three: three years of events, and then, break to sense where God is moving next. This is probably more of a guideline than a hard rule, and I love the heart behind it. It’s a clear check against letting the movement spin out of control, or losing focus on lifting up the name of Christ alone. You leave the students in the movement wanting more of the “surface-level” stuff (i.e., music), while hopefully pushing them to consider the greater spiritual implications of the movement in the first place.
So, after having conferences from 2010 to 2012, imagine my surprise when Giglio announced that there would be a 2013 conference. Not only would there be a return to the Georgia Dome, and a breaking from the rule of three, but they wanted to fill the place to the brim with college students. Again, an electrifying thought... but, is it really necessary? It’s what gave me pause about going to Passion 2013 at all. Our God is bigger than any arena event, and you can engage with Him anywhere your heart is humble and ready.
Giglio mentioned during the 2013 conference that the vision of Passion was an arena full of college students, lifting up the name of Christ. Perhaps the planting of Passion City Church helped change his mind a little, or maybe he feels that the realization of this God-given vision is finally within reach. Still, does “going bigger” always mean getting better? I would imagine that there would be quite the uproar if there was no plans for a Passion 2014 (and yes, while Passion 2014 did eventually happen, it broke from the four-day conference model, instead opting for a condensed schedule and spreading to two different locations).
This is, essentially, a super-charged version of the argument against the “mega-church.” The edification of large numbers of believers through gatherings and events is a good thing, for sure... but, it is not an accurate picture of what the body of Christ should be. Not at all. Christ-followers are expected to be a part of a local gathering of believers on a regular basis. As a part of this local church body, we are to be engaged in ministry that brings in new believers and disciples them to live as Christ.
Mega-churches, or even large events like Passion, can certainly be a benefit to the lives of believers. Sometimes, however, these constructs in Christian culture unknowingly allow believers to become lost in the masses. The work of Christ is not done by simply sitting in a chair, listening to singers and speakers. Standing in a large room of believers, or attending an event once a year, does not fulfill our requirement as followers of Christ. These kinds of events, or the mega-churches that model themselves after these events, offer a lot, but they should ultimately point every believer towards fulfilling Christ’s call to spread His teachings and to make disciples.
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Too Many Chefs
Chris Tomlin. David Crowder. Matt Redman. Charlie Hall.
Not enough? Okay... Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and newcomer Brett Younker.
Still not enough? Fine... Jesus Culture, Kari Jobe, Lecrae, and even a brief appearance from Colton Dixon.
All of these names, crammed into a four-day conference... all with new songs. It’s very exciting to see the Passion movement add new faces, and there’s even an attempt to diversify the sound of the movement’s worship. Still, there is also a great deal of fatigue that comes with this cavalcade of Christian music stars.
Simply put: there are too many chefs in the kitchen.
Bringing diversity is one thing, but the organization and execution of this diversity often felt confused and without direction. As mentioned earlier, Chris Tomlin is the leader of the movement’s corporate worship expression; naturally, this means that he will be prominently featured. Kristian Stanfill has risen to be the “number two” guy in the pecking order of leaders, followed closely by Matt Redman. This isn’t surprising, either, because these three names carry a lot of weight and power, in both songwriting and worship-leading abilities.
However, you should notice something right away with this “core” group of leaders: the lack of female leadership. Oh, for certain, Christy Nockels is next in the pecking order... and she is on-stage with this group of leaders more than any other... but, she is vitally underutilized. The issue of women in ministry leadership can be an issue for some, I suppose, but one certainly senses that Passion has no such issue. Still, Christy Nockels (and, this year, Kari Jobe) always seem to get one “token female song.” The song is normally new, and it almost always makes the live album that Passion releases a few months after the event.
Now, an explanation might be that Passion simply does not have enough time during the conference to give everyone “equal time.” While true, this is also the problem. It is, in my humble opinion, a squandering of resources, especially time.
This doesn’t end with Nockels, Jobe, and female leadership. Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae has been at the last several Passion events. This makes sense, because both Passion and Lecrae (who is also a pastor) are based out of Atlanta, GA. Passion probably invited Lecrae to come to encourage a sense of “multi-cultural” worship. While Lecrae makes a strong showing, one can’t help but notice that he is the only one that fulfills this attempt at multi-cultural worship.
Why stop with just him?
Gospel music star Israel Houghton was featured at a Passion event in 2007, but to my knowledge, this was his only appearance. Hillsong UNITED has also appeared at a number of recent Passion events, but their music is considered by many to be a staple in Western Christian music. If the leadership of Passion truly wants to be multi-cultural and multi-faceted, then they should dive in completely.
Now, this could mean that some of the familiar and popular faces of the Passion movement may not show up at some events. This could make some upset, and could even give the appearance of a sort of “favoritism,” but I think this could be explained away with strong, clear leadership. This could mean that Charlie Hall or David Crowder could be the “odd men out.” That, almost certainly, would be a controversial move. Indeed, I certainly thought that this was happening in 2012 when David Crowder*Band played their last time at Passion 2012 (that whole situation is still odd to me, by the way).
Certainly, this group of leaders are friends, and they probably thoroughly enjoy doing ministry together. Ministry, however, should always be their primary focus. Everyone gathered in that arena should know one thing: we are gathered together to lift up the name of Jesus alone. We are not here to see our favorite Christian celebrities, or simply hear the latest music. The Passion leadership does state this outright, from time to time, but their actions and appearances sometimes... distorts their message. The leadership of Passion tries to do multiple things at once. Some of their ideas are very good, but more caution needs to be given to the execution of these ideas, so the corporate focus on Christ is not lost.