Contemporary. Blended. Traditional. What do these words mean? If a church offers three different “styles” of services on Sunday morning, a question quickly surfaces. Is God different during each worship hour? Is He contemporary early? Blended during the midmorning hours and traditional at the high holy hour of 11 o’clock?
Worship has become man-centered. Services are tailored to impress, please and retain the people in the pew. Music and sermons are carefully selected to impact the “target” group. Our churches are quickly becoming a spiritual buffet where we can pick and choose what we like. Large churches often grow at the expense of smaller churches that will not “compete.”
It really doesn’t matter what we like. What matters is what God demands in His Word — holiness and reverence.
How much of this really goes on in the sanctuaries on the Lord’s Day. God is supposed to be our “target,” not the crowds we are trying to attract, amuse and entertain.
Whatever we are doing to attract people will likely have to be continued and approved for us to keep people. To “amuse” means “not to think.”
Worship leaders, including pastors, must cease their amusement with the gimmicks of our church age and return to the Holy One.
How many leaders even know the Greek word that is translated “worship?” Therein lies the problem. We are defining worship culturally and not biblically. This is why the “anything goes as long as it works” philosophy is fostered.
There is nothing wrong with having an invitation, but exaltation, not evangelism, is the purpose of worship. Are we worshiping decisions or deity? Our focus is wrong, and frankly, most of our leaders are wrong.
Many of the popular seminar and workshop leaders talk about tailoring the services for the people who will gather. This is not biblical. Issues like styles of sermons, music and even the way we dress are symptoms of a serious illness — biblical illiteracy.
Jim Fisher
Mobile, Ala.
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