Probably the most detrimental, and easy, trap to fall in when talking about worship within the corporate setting is to come into a service armed with righteous indignation that is predicated on the easily justified notion that worship should reflect that which we are comfortable with. The elder generation, unfortunately, springs to mind for most of us as the hymns and organ have lost much of their appeal because of the emerging contemporary styles that began in the 90’s. As persons such as Carmen, Jars of Clay, Point of Grace, Amy Grant, and others began to rise in popularity, so too did this notion that worship doesn’t have to be metered, measured, and always lacking a third verse (ok, that last one was a pot shot, I admit). The syncopated rhythm, along with the emotional swells of the songs as they progressed, seemed to touch us on a level that the older hymns, with the exception of a few, could not. Throw in musical instruments that were familiar to us and provided that secular feel, and the 30 something’s on down were off and running as fast as they could to buy up the latest DC Talk album. Back when they were rapping. Yes, they rapped. Even the honks. We, as a generation taught to be “one with our feelings,” began to feel the worship. That word, feel, is important, we’ll get to that later.
Mom’s everywhere couldn’t buy the stuff fast enough. You mean there are bands out there that are rapping about JESUS? Kid tested, mother approved worship. Like how we think about most things in life: success = good. It wasn’t long before churches everywhere started throwing in classics such as “Big House,” “Every Move I Make,” and “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.” Man, the congregation sure seemed to come alive. Surely we’re on the right track! So it began like most things, driven by pop culture, driven by a desire to stay current, driven by a desire to find any medium that would engage the lost. Now, I’m not saying that this music is bad, not by any means, nor am I saying that it ruined worship, because, let’s face it, worship wasn’t what it should’ve been a long time before Carmen started proclaiming “The Champion!”
Still, as we began to pull away from previous generational standards as a church, we gave little to no thought of the impact it would have on that generation, and on the generations to come. We simply left our heritage in the same place they left every third verse to every hymn…ever (ok, that joke’s played out, I agree)! Along with this error, inevitably so, came the widening gap that is still getting broader every single Sunday. The more and more we “progress” with our worship styles, the more and more the great generation is left behind, labeled as stick-in-the-muds, or, as one blogger put it, curmudgeons. Tragic. So where does that leave us? Great question. Here’s a better one: How can we redefine the term “us?” Already, as you’ve been reading, you’ve been thinking I was going to offer advice on how to minister to others that don’t have the same tastes as we do, all the while extolling, if even by simply NOT condemning, our present worship style. Sadly, this is where most people intent on church togetherness begin to veer off a path of unity, and steer right back onto a path of trying to mold others to their own self made standards.
That’s the trap.
So for as much contemporary background as I’ve provided here, the message of this blog is really small, old, and so on-the-nose, you’re going to feel cheated. We haven’t discovered a better way to worship. We’ve discovered a different one. We haven’t progressed our worship closer to the truth, we’ve distanced it by putting ourselves in its way. Essentially, we’ve done what we condemn our grandparents for doing, just in our own acceptable way. We’ve made worship form fitting, and when the newness wears off, when the styles change, then we’ll be the stick-in-the-muds, the curmudgeons, walking into a service proclaiming that we won’t worship if there’s no Tomlin, Crowder, or Redman on the song list that day. We must stop asking the wrong question of “How can we (the contemporaries) make them(the traditionalists) see our(the contemporaries) ‘hearts’?” and begin asking the right question, “How can we(the body) find unity in our(the body) worship so that all(everyone) can see our(the body) heart’s desire to obey Christ and edify one another?”
We’ll begin breaking down these questions, and grow leaner and meaner as we progress. For now, I think it’s important to harp on this foundation: True worship has no other motive than to bring us closer to the Father, and through that common relationship, closer to one another…
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