WORTHY WORSHIP

One of the results of our recent church member survey was a confirmation of what I knew to be true--there is a diversity of opinion about worship style at Pole Creek--and many of these opinions are strongly held. About an equal number of people wanted more Southern Gospel and more contemporary music, with some wanting more hymns. Most wanted the blended style of music that we are currently trying to do. So what can we do? Basically, the best thing is to keep doing what is working--a middle of the road mix that appeals to the broadest range of worshippers. Yet in saying this, we recognize the impossibility of pleasing everyone. The survey and the opinions expressed are still important to us, even if we can't accommodate everyone's wishes. It was important for you to state your desire and important for us to hear it. One of the things it does is to give your leaders an opportunity to discuss these issues with you. I want to share the following article I came across recently. It deals with so called worship wars. I am so thankful that the people of Pole Creek love the Lord and love the church enough that they have not started a war over worship (what a contradiction that is anyway). There has been a little sniping from time to time, however. I guess I'm an idealist, but I happen to think that as long as music is sound in theology and honors God, I should listen, learn and join in offering praise to God--traditional, contemporary, classical, blue grass--and I do. Do I have a style I prefer over others? Yes. Should I force everyone to have that same preference? No. In the opening statement of this article Ken Johnson deals with the reality that in some places it would be better for members to leave rather than create strife in the church. Again, I am grateful that so far as I know we have none who have caused such contention and do not stand in need of such radical surgery. As previously mentioned, I am an idealist. One day we will all offer worship together in heaven and so I think we ought to begin tuning up on earth today. That means we would accommodate others musical tastes out of love for our family and would participate regardless of our preferred style out of love for our Father. So ponder this:

Worship wars – are they still around?
by Ken Johnson, consultant 16 May 2006
Picky worshippers
This may sound harsh, but church members who don’t like the worship style, need to find another church that uses the style they prefer. It doesn’t matter whether they have gone to a church their whole life; if the congregation has approved a pastor and his or her leadership, then members need to either go along or leave. There is nothing wrong with finding another church, but there is something wrong with starting a fight over worship style.
Great expectations for worship
Here is what I expect when I go to worship: A joyous celebration that includes laughter, quiet time, teaching, getting to know other people, participation—mine and others—affirmation, challenge, something new and creative every time, … the list could go on and on.
What do you expect in worship?
Paul said to the church he started in Philippians when he was trying to get them to move forward "... But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3: 13-14 NIV).
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
I love that sentence because it has so much meaning. Why is it that some Christians are always behind the rest of the world? Why do we have to worship the same way that people did 30, 40, or 50 years ago? Why can’t we realize that when God created the heavens and the earth he continued and created man and woman and gave them brains so they could be creative and produce new things?
When the first wheel was created God didn’t say, "That’s good, now don’t build anything better." He allowed us freedom; he even encouraged us to continue in our inventive ways. Yes, I know, sometimes we go a little too far in some of our creations, but God also gave us a brain and a conscience to know when to stop. Yes, sometimes we don’t listen to our conscience and we go overboard, but that is the reason he allows us freedom to make our own choices and to hopefully learn from our mistakes.
Our purpose as Christians is to win people for Christ. Are we doing that when we are fighting over worship styles?
Why do some churches say, "We are not going to change our worship style even if the church dies. If people want to come to this church they will have to accept what we do. If they don’t then they need to go to another church." Our culture has changed just like the cultures before us. There is nothing wrong with that; in fact it is important that we transform what we do as our culture changes or the church will die.
In the middle to late ‘60s we began using choruses in worship and the contemporary Christian music phenomenon began, which for the "worship purists" was a difficult pill to swallow. In the ‘70s we began developing many different products like models and colors of cars, literally thousands of different kinds of light bulbs, a wide variety of magazines, and at the same time an amazing evolution in worship began. We became creative in our worship, much to the chagrin of the mainline church.
Worship service length is an area of contention. I haven’t found anywhere in the Bible or in any historical writings where it gives the length of the service. So how long should the service be? Is there a magical time limit of 60 minutes?
Bobby Sanderson, minister of music at the First Baptist Church, Columbus, Miss., listed these questions in the church newsletter:
1. Is worship about God or is it about what I like?
2. Do I seek God’s presence or the comfort of being with friends and doing what is familiar?
3. When is the last time God "blind-sided" me and spoke in a way I did not expect?
4. Am I so contemporary I lose the transcendence of God?
5. Am I so traditional that I forget God’s relevance?
6. Do I see myself as part of an audience giving approval/disapproval to worship leaders?
7. Can God use what I don’t like?
8. Am I more into music than the spoken word?
9. Do I ignore the command to sing just to get to the "message?"
10. Do I leave worship with a clear sense of what I’m supposed to do?
11. Is the style of worship more important to me than the object of worship?
12. Do I love God’s presence as much as the songs I sing and play?
13. Can I worship God when it’s hard work and my joy is running low?
Do any of these apply to you?
If we are worshiping God, and Jesus is the center of our lives, then we should unite, not fight. A church needs to hire the pastor that they feel is right for it and trust that person to lead them in the right direction. This simple strategy would preclude fighting.
Worship, especially corporate worship, is a main ingredient of the Christian faith. Worship time usually includes many different people, each one as important as the other, so the church needs to find ways to minister to all of them. We need to minister to all of the people some of the time, because we won’t be able to minister to all of the people all of the time. This calls for variety in our worship.
Why are there different denominations and styles of worship? Are they there so people can choose how they want to worship? The variety makes that choice simple.
I believe that every time Christians worship, God speaks to those people he wants to hear. So you need to provide a wide variety of music and worship experiences to meet as many needs as possible. Go to worship this week with an open mind, looking for God to speak to you and you will go home wanting to go to church again next Sunday.

Ken Johnson is a graduate of Church Central Consultant Training. He heads the Ken Johnson Group, consulting small to medium-sized churches that are struggling to stay alive.
Reprinted with permission © 2005, Ken Johnson, President and CEO of The Ken Johnson Group, LLC. To contact Ken, or for permission to reprint this article, send an e-mail to: ken@thekenjohnsongroup.com. Or click here for FREE issues of Newsletter Tips for the 20th Century Church and The Phantom Pew Sitter or a FREE lifetime subscription.

I appreciate Ken giving me permission to share this with you. My prayer is that all of us will move forward together in love. Let me close by sharing an experience. Several years ago I had the privilege of going on mission trips to Brazil and India. As I met with my fellow believers I experienced a worship style that was little like mine. I did not know the language. I did not know the ritual. The music was strange to me. BUT I WORSHIPPED! It was powerful to encounter God even in a strange culture--to find the warmth of love and passion for God that I could join with despite the differences--for you see worship is essentially not a form or musical style--it is a matter of the heart. Jesus said that the only acceptable worship is in spirit and truth.

Some of you think at times you are in a foreign country, I suppose. Things have changed too much so that the church of your past is no longer the same or things have not changed enough to suit some of you. But, if you will open your heart--I believe you can encounter God--AND THAT'S WORTHY WORSHIP!