Contemporary Worship? Um, no...
This was recently posted on a message board in regards to a discussion on contemporary worship in the Lutheran church:
I like classical music, too. I like organ, handbells, Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, too. I don't have a need to rid the church of these things or people. But a church that refuses to understand that people of this generation have different ears than those of a previous generation will be a church that will connect less and less to the people of this generation.
It is mindsets like this one that is part of the cause of the continual draining away of liturgical tradition. Yes, maybe people of my generation listen to different popular music, but that doesn't mean we want to carry that over into the church. Speaking from experience in my parish, at least, the majority of the people in the campus group would love to have more "traditional" hymnody and liturgy. It is more often the older, baby boomer generation that wants to have more modern stuff.
Let's at least be honest. If a church wants to have contemporary services, don't pretend you're doing it for the younger generation. Call it what it is: a desire to abandon the traditional, time-tested forms in order to feel good and "connected".
This doesn't mean that all hymns written in recent times are bad; quite the opposite. It does mean that a better criteria has to be used in choosing hymns than whether they have a nice beat.
posted by Maria at 9:19 PM
4 Comments:
Nicely written indeed. You took the words out of my mouth. How about this: On Good Friday, I decided to go to a service at my former church ( a student ministry in Madison Wi). It was a good service to begin with. Very contemplative, somber, Words of Christ being read, hymns being projected and read ( I prefer not to crane my neck upwards, especially in a service like this, but to be bowed in a worshipful and humble pose. I mean this is Christ's death we are talking about here). And then as if this were not simply good enough they had to, well here goes, play a cd of Johnny Cash singing a gospel hymn. Yes! You heard me right, Mr. "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," himself. Now if this didn't make me want to barf, I am not sure what would. It totally ruined the mood and the reverence that was in place and replaced it with a countryfied version of this hymn. I can't even remember the name of the hymn off hand. At a time like this, the last thing I want to hear is bending notes and an accoustic guitar waltz.
Why was this done? Is there really a perceived need that Lutherans need to somehow be hipper and appeal to more folks? If so, then who? Come on you are not going to jive the student population like this.
I think WELS is really pushing the envelope of what is tasteful, worshipful and God pleasing.
You are quite right about the "need" to seem relevent. It's not for the kids, it's for the bored adults that have been born and bred in what they call "dead orthodoxy." There is a spirit of rebellion, boredom and distain that I have sensed with some clergy and laity and it has alarmed me for more that a decade. It seems to be growing.
Johnny Cash may have been a Christian and even sang good gospel hymns with no real falt with them in and of themselves. I like all kinds of music, but not all kinds in church. There is a time and place for everything. I put my feet up at home and will even have a beer while relaxing, but I don't do that in church.
I sometimes wonder with all that language study in Greek and Hebrew our fine pastors study in seminary, they have only remembered one...adiaphora. Can you hear it now? "Well the Bible doesn't say we can't worship using Johnny Cash. It's neither commanded or forbidden, so................"
I just don't know what it's all coming to. It seems while trying to be more relevent to others, they are disenfranchising and offending our own people.
God help us all.
I wonder how much of it all is a result of the disconnect between american Christianity and historical Christianity. Except for some Lutherans, Episcopal/Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox, I don't think anyone really gives a hoot about the first 1500 or more years of Christianity. I don't get the impression that most people consider themselves a part of "the Church", but maybe just "their church". I think the authority of God's Word vs. the authority of one's own preference, opinion, thoughts, feelings, and desires is a big factor as well. For me, I find myself submitting to the Word of God in some areas. I'm not sure I like all the things God has to say about certain things, but I am convicted by the Word of God, not by my own ideas or wants. The amazing thing to me is how American Christianity can quickly dismiss historical Christianity, considering themselves more genuine, real, applicable, and best. They're the new kids on the block though... we've been doing Christianity since the man himself: pushing 2000 years now.
Good comments. Worship is never about what 'we' want. Unfortunately, much of contemporary music (religious and secular) is about what "we want".
Don't think that you are all alone. There are many good, former Southern Baptists who have "left the fold" because of contemporary worship practice and moved toward the liturgical. And there are still some good Baptist churches that practice good church music, but they are few and far between. The modern "praise and worship" has done more to destroy true worship than it has ever done to enhance it. But we Baptists have been able to run toward good worship in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) where we have found a home in both church music and theology. The battle for good church music continues.
From a former SBC Minister of Music
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