Last week I began a 3 part interview with Kip Long, the worship minister at Sycamore View Church of Christ in Memphis, TN. In 2015 Kip and the Sycamore View Praise Team produced an album titled Without Borders that broke from their usual repertoire of contemporary Christian music.

One of the great challenges for multi-ethnic churches is designing ways for each culture to express themselves in worship. So I was curious to learn from Kip what motivated the production of this album and the process of reflecting cultural diversity through music.

You can read Part 1 of the interview HERE:

How are the song choices on this album different from previous compilations?

            The song choices were different than previous compilations primarily because their sources and style were different. I spent time searching for songs suggested by my Hope Works class members and a few brothers and sisters who were familiar with urban contemporary gospel music and it opened a whole new appreciation for other artists. These songs were a stylistic departure from the previous songs because we had never recorded much gospel music before. We touched on a few songs on our Hymns CD which featured Jerome Williams, but never to this extent.

I understand that you took a sabbatical and did some research in preparing not only for the album but to adjust the worship style at Sycamore View. Can you describe that process?

            After 7 years of ministry, each minister at Sycamore View gets a sabbatical to not only unplug from ministry, but to make deeper connections with God. During my time with God, I needed Him to help me discover ways to be the worship leader for a congregation that continues to grow in diversity. I am a 46 year-old white male who leads worship for a multi-generational, economically diverse, and multi-ethnic congregation. I knew we were planning to make a few stylistic changes to the next CD, but beyond that I wasn’t sure how much change was needed in our worship gatherings.

            So I attended predominantly African-American congregations across the city to experience first-hand the similarities and differences in worship styles. I observed and learned a lot.  I met with black worship leader friends and though I don’t have the same past experiences with Gospel music that they have, I was willing to learn and they were willing to teach. I met with many of my black brothers and sisters at Sycamore View who could help me gain new insight in this area and I was pleasantly surprised to find that most held a great appreciation for our music ministry and had discovered many new and wonderful songs that they had never heard before coming to Sycamore View.  By the end of my sabbatical I felt:

1. No wholesale changes in worship style were needed, but our music style would need to reflect the congregation as it grows in diversity.
2. This CD would help many members and guests gain a greater appreciation for Gospel music. Without Borders would be a good first step.
3. God was training our hearts and ears to hear his voice among different styles of music and culture.
4. Peace in knowing that God is shaping us into the church he needs us to be on his time table.

 What’s the racial makeup of your church? Have you received criticism for introducing songs from a different culture than many members are accustomed?

            Our church is about 77% White, 20% Black with a few other ethnic groups among us. The bride of Christ at Sycamore View is truly beautiful. After the CD release, I received a few comments from people who do not prefer this style of music, because it was a little “too busy” for their ears. But most of our members fell in love with new music they might have never heard had we not chosen these specific songs.

            As we move forward, I intend to seek out more congregational-friendly songs (for CD’s and for worship) that have roots in the African-American community. I am praying that God will continue making our praise team even more diverse and as we grow together so we can lead with credibility and integrity. I keep asking God to guide this process and open the doors that need to be opened. My prayer is Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God started this journey and he will guide our church to a place where we can all experience worship gatherings with the style of worship that is right for us.

Many of the resources I know on the topic of multi-ethnic churches emphasize the importance of expressing the cultural diversity of the membership in our worship services. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a worship leader in a larger church?

            As we prepare worship each week, we pray that the leadership on the stage reflects the diversity in the pews, but not every Sunday will be as diverse as our congregation. We lead with those who are available to lead and celebrate when it happens to be a diverse group. Our prayer is that God will continually help us open doors of leadership to all people in our family so that various generations, genders, ethnicities, and socioeconomic levels would be represented.

Continue to the final part HERE.

Without Borders is available for streaming HERE. You can also order a CD of the album by contacting Kip: klong@sycamoreview.org.

I met Kip Long during my first year  in the United States (1999/2000). A small church in rural Mississippi had asked me to work with their teens a few hours each week. This is how I found myself at a youth rally in Senatobia, MS. Kip was a youth minister from Memphis and worship leader for the weekend. He could also throw the football further than any of the other teens in the parking lot that weekend.

Today, Kip serves as the worship minister for the Sycamore View Church of Christ located in Bartlett, Tennessee, just outside the city limits of Memphis. As a worship minister he leads the church’s primary worship gathering each Sunday, coordinates the praise team, plans musical events and produces worship CDs. In the bigger picture he seeks to help people live a life of worship that will attract others to the Lord.

One of the great challenges for multi-ethnic churches is designing ways for each culture to express themselves in worship. In early 2015 I stumbled across a new worship CD recorded by the Sycamore View Praise Team titled “Without Borders” that attempted to address this challenge. I recently had the opportunity to interview Kip about the motivation and process of producing this album.  I’ll be sharing this interview with you in three parts over the the next three weeks.

How long have you been the Worship Leader at Sycamore View Church of Christ?

            I’ve have the privilege of leading the Sycamore View Church in worship for 13 years.

 How many albums has your worship team produced over the years?

            We just released our 9^th album, Seasons of Worship Volume 3 in November 2015

 What prompted you to start recording these albums?

            When I began work at Sycamore View in 2003, there were several new songs that the church had not learned and I needed a way to teach them. We were also searching for ways that each ministry could share the Good News of the Kingdom.  A few months later, Seasons of Worship Vol. 1 was born and we were able to share music with members and guests.

You recently released an album named “Without Borders.” Can you explain that name?

            When churches sing about God’s power, the Spirit’s guidance, the Savior’s sacrifice or any of the major themes in worship, we are formed, informed and transformed as we worship. Although we find ourselves in agreement over the content of our worship songs, we discover some disagreement when it comes to the style of songs. On all popular secular radio stations, you will hear the same basic content: I love you, I hate you, Go away, and Come back (Over-simplistic…but close, right?) So why do we choose one station over another? It is because the style of music is what we prefer.

            In my car, you will find my pre-set radio stations are Christian, Gospel, Rock, Pop, Classic Rock and Oldies because these reflect my preferred style of music.  When my 14 year old daughter gets in my car, she hits a button that takes the radio to FM2 pre-sets, where 4 of the 6 stations are Country. Because I love her, I am willing to listen to her music even though Country music isn’t my preferred style. But over time I have discovered a few songs that I truly like-songs I would have never heard otherwise.

            Do you have a pre-set style of worship music?  Does your church? What if our love for brothers and sisters caused us to expand our perspective and discover different styles of music? This project was an attempt to invite our church across a few stylistic borders to discover new ways to praise God.

What motivated you to move in this direction?

            I have the opportunity to teach a Bible class at Hope Works (www.whyhopeworks.org). It is a joy to share scripture with under-resourced individuals in the Memphis area who need skills to break out of the poverty cycle. I need to let you know that this class was mostly African American. As a part of my class I usually play songs that help deepen their connection with God and many times I use our praise team CDs. One Thursday I was preparing to share another one of our songs with the class, so I was letting our CD play as students entered. The only other person in the room at the time was an older African-American woman who was looking over her notes from the previous class. As I walked by her she said, “Excuse me Kip. I like your music, but I was wondering if you have…(long pause)…any music that WE like?”

            I didn’t really know how to respond. I had every opportunity to find offense. After all this wasn’t just any music, this was MY music. I was thinking, “What’s wrong with my music?” Thanks to the Spirit’s guidance, he helped me close the door of offense and open the door of understanding. I simply asked, “Hmm….well… I’m not sure. What kind music do you like?” Her face lit up as she started naming all these artists whose music blessed her life. I can honestly say that of the dozen names she mentioned, Kirk Franklin was the only name I recognized. And so when the class began I asked everyone, “What Christian artists draw your heart to God?” And for 20 minutes we discussed Christian artists that I had never heard before. They played songs from their phones and most began singing along. It was a holy moment…and I felt like an outsider.

            After class, I got in my car and sat for a few minutes in silence. I prayed, “God, thank you for opening my eyes today. Thank you for my brothers and sisters who love you and for the Christian artists who bless them. But what does this mean for me? Why have I never heard of these Christian artists before?” Then I envisioned my congregation and thought of my black brothers and sisters at Sycamore View. “God, do my S.V. brothers and sisters feel this way? What do I do now? Do I change everything? Do I change anything?” As I started my car, I found Hallelujah FM (a Gospel Station) and locked in a new pre-set.

CONTINUE READING PART 2 OF THIS INTERVIEW HERE AND PART 3 HERE.

Without Borders is available for streaming HERE. You can also order a CD of the album by contacting Kip: klong@sycamoreview.org.