I Will Worship

Izzy was talking to me about arguments over worship at his church. He would like to see the church grow by switching one of their two services over to a more contemporary style. This has met with the usual resistance from the revered elders who have gone as far as saying things like "do we really want to grow by adopting the music of the World?" The old folks won. Yeah. I think he and his singles group (which is the sole reason he attends this particular residence of the Lord) should look towards migrating to another more flexible establishment. Frankly I don't think the "conforming to the image of the world" comment has much merit as it relates to worship.

This isn't to say that the desire to make worship styles distinct from secular music is unbiblical. It is actually quite biblical. Did you know that the Jewish Tabernacle had a distinct scent? Read the end of Exodus 30. The incense and perfume used to worship the Lord was only made for that purpose. Making and using it for any other reason would result in those people being cut off from the nation of Israel. "Cutting off from the nation of Israel" meaning thrown out of camp and left to starve to death in the desert. Ouch. So there is a biblical basis there, although I more of a "to the Greeks I became as the Greeks" guy myself.

No my real problem is that contemporary Christian worship music can't really be called "of the world." When was the last time you hear a secular album recorded in the Vineyard/Maranatha Praise Band style? I mean really? I suppose there are some folksy groups out there that are similar, but in reality this sort of thing died out of the mainstream by the end of the seventies. This is part of the reason I don't enjoy it and prefer a more traditional service. If I want contemporary I want something that rocks. I don't want a worship style based on Peter, Paul, and Mary unless we're actually talking about the Apostles. Some of the criticisms of folk even carry over, allow me to paraphrase Tom Lehrer:

The large number of verses being a feature expressly designed to please the true devotees of the folkworship song who seem to find singing fifty verses of On Top Of Old SmokeyLight the Fire Again is twice as enjoyableholy as singing twenty-five.

It isn't just the style of music that bothers me, it is the maturity of the music. There is a lot of me me me in modern worship music. Give me this God, make me that God. It just seems so very teenage to me. It honestly remind me of the Hippy Jamfest episode of South Park. In this episode the town is infested with hippies (literally) who start a concert series where they listen to hippy music, smoke weed, talk about the Man and how they're going to change the world, but never actually do anything. It seems to me many worship services are like that, only without the pot. Lord fill me up with your Spirit. Lift me up into your presence. So I can go work tomorrow, act just like everybody else, not do anything spiritually, and then ask for the same thing next Sunday. It is the revival mentality without the tent.

Now compare these to some of the old hymns and their writers which tend to be about God. A Mighty Fortress is Our God was written by Martin Luther. Amazing Grace was written by John Newton. His mother died before he was ten and he spent most of his early years on various sailing vessels. He was whipped after trying to get out of impressment in His Majesties Navy. He was such a pathetic wretch when he fell overboard while captain of a slave ship, his crew pulled back onto the ship by harpooning him. Finally he came back to God after almost being sunk in a horrible storm. This was a man who knew grace. Similarly, It is Well with my Soul was written by Horatio Spafford on the site of where his four daughters had died at sea in an horrible accident. This was after he had lost his son to scarlet fever and much of his money in the Great Chicago Fire. He was a man who knew loss.

For the record, my own church has four services. The same sermon is preached at each and the only difference is worship style. We have a typical Christian contemporary service with a praise band and ensemble at 8:30am, two more traditional services with a organ/piano/hymns/choir at 10 and 11, and an evening service which is artsy fartsy with a more edgy praise band and the occasional interpretive dance at 6pm. This last "bohemian" service is being held at a nearby park for the duration of the summer. I got to the 11 o'clock and am probably one of the few people of my generation who attends it.