Stupid Scholar

Image Credit: Sheba_Also

A few weeks ago, I wrote about worship. What I wanted to accomplish with the first two posts was to show that the motivations underlying both sides of the issue (contemporary and traditional) are solid and commendable.

Today, I want to look at some of the negatives of both sides. Neither side is perfect, and by pointing out the flaws, we can start to deal with them. I admit that these critiques won’t apply across the board, and some churches will be immune. Nor is this meant to be an exhaustive critique.  These are just some of my general observations, and I look forward to your comments in the combox.

Common Problems

First, let’s look at problems common to both camps:

1. Out of Touch with Church History. This is more obvious in the contemporary side. By removing ancient hymns, architecture, order of service, etc., many modern, contemporary churches have forgotten where they came from, and they are disconnected from the church of yesteryear.

However, this is also a problem for the traditional camp. By only focusing on ancient hymns, etc., many modern, traditional churches have forgotten where they are now. They are disconnected from the church of today.

2. A Tendency Towards Exclusion. This is probably more obvious in traditional churches. Younger generations often don’t feel accepted in churches where slow hymns are the norm, and dressing up is the code. They often feel ignored and not ministered to.

However, this is also a problem for contemporary churches. Older generations often don’t feel accepted where fast-paced praise songs are the norm and suits are out of place. Indeed, they too often feel ignored and miss out on the benefits of ministry.

3. Imbalance of Milk and Meat. By focusing mainly on seekers and young believers, the contemporary side tends to feed its congregation only milk. This is great early on, but as believers mature, they starve.

Likewise, by focusing mainly on believers and those mature in the faith, the traditional side tends to feed only meat. Hence, as non-Christians or new believers come to worship, they choke.

4. Think, Feel, Do. The contemporary side often gets blasted for being overly emotional. They appeal only to emotions and forget about doctrine and holy living. Unfortunately, the traditional side often forgets about emotions altogether, and focuses either only on doctrine or only on holy living. Thus, whereas the contemporary side can become happy-clappy and superficial, the traditional side can become intellectually snobbish or legalistic. The Gospel affects the mind, will, and emotions. We shouldn’t emphasize one to the exclusion of others.

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Contemporary Worship Problems

Now, let’s look at problems more common to the contemporary side:

1. Wrong Focus. As admirable as evangelization is, worship is not about that. Worship is about God. The focus should be on loving, honoring, and glorifying Him. If we order our services around evangelism, then we have ordered the worship of God around the standards of people, but God is the one who needs to accept our worship, not the seeker.

2. Over Identification with the Culture. The worship of God is distinctly different from the rest of our lives. What we do on Sunday mornings, we don’t do any other time of the week. Thus, it makes sense, for worship to be different. In fact, this is a good thing. Being in the presence of God shouldn’t look just like our jobs, hobbies, or times with friends. Contemporary worship, however, often attempts to make things so that everyone feels right at home.

3. Forgetting Some Essentials. Public confessions of sin, the offering, and the sacraments are crucial aspects of Christian worship. They shouldn’t be removed, neglected, or pushed to the margins, even in the interests of reaching out. God has commanded them, and we should obey.

Image Credit: Fusion-of-Horizons

Traditional Worship Problems

Finally, let’s look at the problems of traditional worship:

1. No Connection with the Culture. We need to communicate the Gospel in ways that people understand. A missionary in China wouldn’t speak in English. Likewise, a minister here shouldn’t only communicate in old, archaic, irrelevant ways. The Internet, iPods, and affluence have influenced the way people think. It is very important to understand and connect with today’s culture so that the Gospel becomes understandable to people who live in the 21st Century.

2. Ritualism. Because things are often done the same way week in and week out, parts of the service can lose their meaning and vigor, regardless of how well chosen they are. Thus, worship can become rote, and people can easily fall into the, “This is the way we’ve always done it” routine. The worship of God should never be hum-drum.

3. Bad Definition of Reverence. The concept of reverence, as important as it truly is, usually is not well defined. What is inherent about reverence that excludes the joyful, fast, and innovative? This is rarely explained. Too often it seems that reverence is equated with tradition, but reverence is not past tense. There is a lot in modern culture that shows honor and respect, and there is no reason to exclude appropriate, modern reverence.

Conclusion

So what’s the solution? A blended service? Perhaps, but blended services are usually either contemporary services with a hymn or two thrown in OR traditional services with a guitar and drums. It is rare to see a truly blended service. Plus, adherents to both sides are normally turned off by blended services. It’s not reverent enough for the traditionalists and its not relevant enough for the contemporary worshipists. How easy it can become a lose-lose situation.

I think the problem is that the whole argument is focused on style, not on substance. Next time, I want to look at some biblical passages that should be considered when planning a service. I want to try to present substantial principles that should guide our thinking.

Until then, feel free to leave some comments. If you have other critiques of one side or the other, or both, then please let me know. Likewise, if you want to critique me, you’re free to do so. Regardless, may the blessings of God be with you, as you seek to worship and honor Him with your lives.