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Over a year ago, church musician and millennial Jonathan Aigner listed seven ways so called contemporary worship is starving the church. I fully agree with four of his seven reasons. It is overly commercial, it creates its own superstars instead of promoting group singing (congregational and choir alike), and it is mass appeal entertainment. I also agree with him that the term “contemporary” is a misnomer. All worship is contemporary because it’s worship in the here and now. However, I somewhat disagree with his later three reasons and would call him out on his use of certain terms. Let me point those out to you.
5. Contemporary worship has ruined preaching: I say Yes AND No. I can’t speak for every church, but having attended Calvary Chapel affiliated churches, these churches still make up the ‘No’ part. There is still some accountability in the movement, and one of those requirements to have fellowship with CC is to teach the full account of the word of God. One of their daily services of the week must be devoted to ‘Thru The Bible’ teaching. Granted historical worship could complement such teaching in the church, but instead, the teaching has to carry the meat and potatoes of the Christian walk these days. Too much of the worship music is focused on feelings more than Biblical truths or if there is Biblical truth it is packed in a mediocre form with just milk but no meat.
It is good to rely on the church calendar and lectionary readings, but it should not limit the pastor’s sermons if they are indeed grounded in God’s Word. If the so-called ‘fancies’ are not in Biblical teaching then yes, maybe it is better to focus on lectionary readings. Self-Help (I think that, too, is a misnomer) and being responsible with money as topical sermons must have a strong Biblical component. Same thing if you are going to do a sermon on social ills of the world like abortion. Use chapter and verse and bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ upfront. It is good to have lessons from the Old Testament, the epistles of the New Testament (including Acts), and a reading of one of the four Gospels. If a pastor is good at teaching the full account of the Word of God, he should not be limited to the bounds of the lectionary reading year after year.
6. Contemporary worship is pornographic, instead of symbolic: I would agree with Aigner’s reasoning but the term pornographic is too strong and not appropriate. I would agree that contemporary worship is way too focused on the person’s feelings while historical worship requires much more thinking. Worship should complement the overall Christian story. Yes Jonathan, I agree with the statement; “The symbols of liturgical worship are markers for us, representing the sublime and transcendent beauty of God and what is ours through the mighty acts of Jesus the Christ.” I hate the current worship music as much you do Johnny, but don’t compare it to having sex. Not everyone sees it that way, and that will only hurt your cause. A statement like that can embolden a Passion, Hillsong, Bethel/Jesus Culture without giving them a single dime for their worship industry to prosper in. Believe me Jonathan, I want to kill it as bad as you do. Just be a little more discrete. Not even I thought of comparing contemporary worship to coupling.
7. Contemporary worship has no need for the Table: As with five, Yes AND No. Aigner believes that fans of contemporary worship and Christian music have a made this music a sacrament. There is truth to this, and if your church has done this, they are so wrong. In most Protestant churches there are only two and both are Biblical. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Aigner believes that the Lord’s Supper should be practiced every week in a church service. I have been to churches in which the Supper is done once a month, others do it two or three times a year and others weekly regardless of worship music. While I agree that worship music can replace the Lord’s Supper it would be a foolish mistake and a sin to do so. The table is a reminder of his symbolic giving of himself before it happened physically (we can debate about Jesus himself being bread and wine until the cows come home but that is not the point I want to make). We practice the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of Jesus and we must continue to practice Holy Communion until he returns to reign. That is a Biblical command. It should never, ever, be replaced with worship music, hymns, or whatever.
We need to give the church what it needs instead of what it wants, but Aigner’s passion and dislike of church culture shows. I don’t blame him, but he also needs to get off things that are irrelevant that will also hurt his cause (including the push for women pastors, deacons, and elders). I am all for worship that makes people think critically, but putting down those who don’t understand historical worship can be big time setback.
Reference
7 Ways Contemporary Worship is Starving the Church
Bad worship leads to bad theology. Bad theology leads to an unhealthy church. It’s that simple. Here are seven ways in which contemporary worship is starving the church from the nourishment and sustenance it needs.
Church, it’s time to do better. Instead of giving worshipers what they need, we’re merely giving them what they want, in the hopes that they will park their butts in our pews. Instead of offering them the well-balanced meal of liturgy, we’ve discovered that empty fast-food carbs are cheaper, easier, and addictive. But that sort of thing can only sustain for a little while. How long, church, until we figure this out? When we finally do, will there even be anything of value left in place?
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