Re: Contemporary worship services
Contemporary services focus seems to be to peak the interest
of youth by offering music with instrumentation at elevated decibel levels,
use of abbreviated verse in songs repeated numerous times, extended periods…
Re: Contemporary worship services
Contemporary services focus seems to be to peak the interest
of youth by offering music with instrumentation at elevated decibel levels,
use of abbreviated verse in songs repeated numerous times, extended periods
of standing that enables more freedom of body movement and, often, casual dress.
The pastor frequently omits suit and tie, perhaps in an attempt to become one
of them. Employment of psychological manipulation seems evident.
The contemporary service is frequently employed by churches
that offer two or more worship services and, on occasion, more than one Sunday
School session. Sometimes, one Sunday School is set aside for the youth, leaving
the others primarily for senior adults, since the younger adults usually follow
their children. Even with one Sunday School, the young adults usually gravitate
to the contemporary service.
Seldom has a church opted for only a contemporary service.
The traditional service, more sedate and considered outdated by some, continues
to focus more on the preached word, with the 30-minute music program relegated
to only a secondary adjunct to the sermon. However, I have attended hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of this service type and found they can be stimulating and
uplifting.
The following are a few of the pitfalls that church leaders
should be cognizant of when entering the contemporary service:
1. It can become a divisive tool. The church family becomes
fragmented.
2. The youth are deprived of the adult role model.
3. Senior adults miss the energizing provided by youth.
We may awaken many years from now to discover that the problem
was remedied not 10 years ago but 2,000 years ago on a cross. The words of Jesus
will save the churches, not a music program.
John Foster
Folsom