Joseph E. Rolison

When Christians divide among themselves, doctrine often is to blame. Doctrinal differences have caused rancor for centuries, and they still prompt Christians to separate today. Yet within the church's life, another issue -- worship -- also sets believers against one another. If mortals -- (and the church's) chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, then worship clearly plays a vital role in the church's activities. Given that worship holds such prominence in the visible church, one easily can understand how differing opinions about worship might split Christian camps. Although believers across and beyond space and time are called to glorify God, they have taken divergent paths and adopted widely different views on what is -- and is not -- permissible in worshipping Him.

This paper will grapple with a most perplexing and sensitive issue in the modern church: the matter of contemporary worship. The very term "contemporary worship" almost eludes definition, yet it has come into increasing prominence in recent years. Despite its slippery nature, this essay will attempt to define and describe "contemporary worship," chiefly by investigating its prominent traits. The paper then will explore some problems with contemporary worship, which often blends with the culture, reduces God from a state of transcendence, offers little theological meat, can mask the Word of God, and hides the gospel. In light of these problems arising from contemporary worship styles, this paper contends that such worship in fact is dangerous and ought not be practiced by God's church.

Defining the Term

One of the most challenging aspects of studying worship is enumerating the relevant terms. "Liturgical" and "charismatic" stand out as generally easy to define; but labels such as "traditional" and "contemporary" often prove elusive. Still, the student has recourse, for he or she can define the word first and then describe typical elements in such services. In terms of contemporary worship, one initially notes that the word "contemporary" literally means "with the (current) time." And in describing contemporary services, the inquirer observes that such worship takes an innovative (as distinguished from positive) approach to Word, prayer and song. Moreover, contemporary worship might introduce elements such as drama in lieu of preaching or Scripture reading. Even though no standard definition of "contemporary worship" exists in common parlance, this approach -- offering a basic definition of "contemporary" and a description of the services -- goes far in describing this phenomenon.

In the first place, "contemporary" worshippers seek to honor God in a way that is "with the times" or "at the same time" with the culture. This assertion, while seemingly obvious, flows from the definition of the word "contemporary." Worship tends not to differ widely from the culture's understanding of social propriety; therefore one could walk into a contemporary worship service off the streets and not feel as though he or she has entered a new enclave. As opposed to "traditional" services, whose rigidity, formality, architecture and non-contemporary music stand apart from cultural norms, contemporary services seek to minimize "culture shock" for the attendee. Granted, "traditional" worship differs from denomination to denomination: Anglicans and Presbyterians, for instance, have differing opinions of precisely how to order and conduct preaching, prayer and song. Yet the music, architecture and general demeanor of traditional worship services hearkens back decades and even centuries. Contemporary worship, as its name suggests, eschews those prayers, hymns, musical styles, modes of interaction between clergy and parishioners, and orders of service that might stun the 21st-century person. It seeks to be with the times, primarily through innovation and a rejection of the church's long-held worship standards.

Christian thinkers have not agreed on what elements must appear in worship to make it true worship, but some general points tend to resurface. Generally, churches have included proclamation of the written Word, prayer, song and remembrance of historical and present truths (i.e. the sacraments). Contemporary and traditional worshippers have separated on each of these issues, especially on hymnody. But first, and perhaps most important, contemporary worshippers have taken a new approach to the reading of God's Word and to preaching. They have jettisoned pronounced pulpits and preaching vestments in favor of "casual" attire and Plexiglas podiums. Whereas traditionalists wear robes, cassocks and surplices, or some form of segregating clothing, contemporary ministers shun such accoutrements. Expository sermons or messages expounding some aspect of biblical theology do not (or rarely) occur in contemporary services, for such theology-laden sermons might not reach the lost as effectively as "inspirational talks." The Word might be read, but the minister does not base his discourse on the text as such. As contemporary ministers seek to add to their church rolls, they contend that theologically or biblically based sermons -- as with the other aspects of historic worship -- are not necessary. The issue is not how God's Word is proclaimed; rather, one must focus on gaining members and let adiaphora matters, such as preaching, lie. Rather than launch into an examination of the text and its theological ramifications, contemporary ministers often give long, exhortative speeches encouraging the listeners to commit to Christ or see how modern events fit with Bible passages.

A second -- and hotly contested -- issue is that of music in worship. On the one hand, the Psalter and the Old Testament corpus contain songs of praise to God; and most churches have utilized some form of music in their services. But on the other hand, denominations have not always agreed on the use of outside hymns (as opposed to strict Psalmody). Many, though, have included music as a way of glorifying God in a stately, dignified and melodious manner. Herein lies the tension between traditional and contemporary worship: in today's world, many Christians argue that contemporary worship music adopts too many secular patterns and sounds almost indistinguishable from popular rock music. Drummers, guitarists and other instrumentalists play melodies that resemble some current popular songs and often evoke applause. These "praise songs'" lyrics, moreover, rarely contain much theological meat. Some have derided them as "seven-eleven" songs, containing seven words repeated eleven times -- effectively transforming the "song" into a mantra that effects a "spiritual mood." True contemporary worship, while not uniform across the board, generally spurns older and more staid hymns in favor of shorter, snappier and peppier praise songs. (Incidentally, these songs sometimes are displayed on overhead projectors, further rejecting the solemn, orderly and purposeful nature of historic church architecture). What contemporary worshippers might not recognize, however, is that in so doing they also reject hundreds of years of theologically rich hymnody, a point to be discussed later. Still, older or traditional hymns fall by the wayside in contemporary churches because they simply do not follow the pattern of modern popular music.

A third element of worship that contemporary worshippers have redefined is prayer and, related to prayer, worship order. In traditional worship, even in highly liturgical churches (e.g. the Protestant Episcopal Church), worship is divided between prayer, song and proclamation of the Word/preaching. And those items usually follow in a logical sequence, fixing the worshippers' eyes on God, then on themselves, then on His Word and His provision in Christ. Indeed, extempore prayer and dignified hymnody have places in these sections of the service, but ordered worship and structured prayer sometimes go hand-in-hand. The service might find its divisions in repetitive praise songs, reading of the Word, exhortative talk and "decision time." Prayer, interestingly, slides off the plane as though it matters only in the person's private devotional time. The minister assumes that non-Christians or those believers living in today's "have-it-now" culture cannot tolerate long, involved, theologically bountiful prayers but only can swallow quick, shallow prayers. Services, then, can devolve into chaotic events that fail to focus the worshipper and engage in little "I-Thou" interaction with God. Thus prayer, which Jesus engaged in and commanded His disciples to continue in, has little standing in an unordered system of worship.

In addition to changing patterns of worship, formal prayer, preaching mores and song in services, contemporary-worship leaders have introduced items such as drama into worship in lieu of preaching, the sacraments, or both. They contend that the Jews dramatically recounted the story of the Passover in that feast, and that drama can serve similar purposes today. In some way, they hold, art and acting can help convey the timeless gospel message to modern folk in a manner that the antiquated practice of Scripture-based preaching cannot. Rather than have a man in a robe stand aloft in a pulpit and drone on to a short-attention-span audience, contemporary-worship leaders promote an occasional dramatic reenactment of a Bible story. This view contradicts the Puritan Regulative Principle (which holds that whatever is not commanded and whatever is banned by Scripture is not permissible in worship) and aspires to the same "liberty" that allows some historic churches to boast pipe organs and stained-glass windows. Yet it has replaced the sermon, an integral aspect of historic Christian and Jewish worship, with theater and has removed the proclamation of God's Word from the venue. Such a destructive liberty strikes one as plainly unbiblical and out of line with traditional Anglican and Reformed thinking on the matter of liberty in worship, primarily because those traditions never removed the proclamation and preaching of the Word.

From the preceding discussion, the reader observes that contemporary worship lacks any one, true definition, and -- true to its maxims -- has no universal characteristics that all contemporary churches must possess. It changes the patterns of proclamation of the Word, architecture of the church, approach to formality and gravity, hymnody, prayer and service order so prevalent in the historic churches and replaces them with an ameba-like service that conforms to the cultural ethos. In all its aspects, contemporary worship tries to avoid shocking the attendee or turning him off to the gospel. It introduces what it feels necessary and in defense claims that all services and hymns were at one time contemporary. As its parting shot at historic and more-staid worshippers, the contemporary circle claims that no service is more biblical than another, and that the main goal is church growth. Such claims, far from being innocent or a matter of liberty, merit examination by Christians, for their ramifications can be immense. This paper now turns to the propriety of contemporary worship given its presuppositions and effects.

Modern -- but Acceptable?

Some Christians have argued that if one interprets Eph 5:19 as referring to more than Psalmody, then he or she must allow for "praise songs." They have also contended that such songs draw in "Generation Xers" and allow for great praise of God. In many ways, this thesis comprises the entirety of their argument for contemporary worship. Yet contemporary worship portends serious problems, such as blending the spiritual with the secular, reducing the apprehension of God's transcendence, winnowing away theological meat for Christians, and minimizing Scripture. Plainly, these hazardous by-products have no place in God's church.

A primary difficulty with contemporary worship is that some praise songs utilize instruments and beats that sound remarkably similar to secular music. While this paper's focus is not on the propriety or impropriety of secular music outside Sunday-morning worship, one must recall that Sunday worship is a time when God's people gather in from the world. To be sure, they bring aspects of the world with them; but God's people are called to be a peculiar people -- mortals not conformed to the world (Rom 12:2). In worship, Christians and unbelievers are to note the differences between the saved and the unsaved. Music that blends with the culture and offers no vista onto the difference between God's people and pagans is unacceptable. As a related point, "praise songs" -- often a handful of simple words repeated ad nauseam -- rarely offer the theological treasure so common to older hymns (e.g., "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). One eventually might achieve an emotional state conducive to experiential worship, but she or he will gain little from the lyrics. If personal edification is a secondary goal of worship (cf. Eph 5:19), then these songs will not suffice.

Another difficulty with contemporary worship is the way in which it seeks to reduce God's transcendence. When preachers glide across the stage, a Styrofoam cup of water in one hand and a folded Bible in the other, the aura of ease says to an outsider, "Maybe this God isn't so serious. Maybe he's laid-back like me -- a God I can handle." Clearly, this is the intent of casually dressed ministers sauntering about the stage. While God might seem more inviting to inquirers in such services, this method paints a false portrait of God. He simply is not malleable. He demands the respect of every creature in the universe to the point that our knees quiver in His holy presence. Formality, unlike the casual approach of contemporary worship, draws mortals to the true God, one who -- like it or not -- is utterly serious and demanding (cf. the First Commandment as well as the entire Decalogue). Intimately related to this point, note that contemporary-worship preachers' disregard for the pulpit and for formal dress also reduces the thrust of gospel proclamation. Proclaiming the Word from a central pulpit draws feeble men's eyes to a central, elevated point, implying authority and respect. The Word also demands close attention, and it brings honor to God, who gracefully has spoken to mortals. When Scripture-based preaching and pulpits go, such action necessarily has a negative effect on mortals' apprehension of the Word of God.

When contemporary worshippers downplay historic hymns and the place of Word and sacrament in the church, they unwittingly reject some means of grace in the church. Word and sacrament go far in communicating God's multifaceted grace to mortals, and rich hymnody edifies the church immensely. In this line of thinking, apparently, God cannot communicate effectively through the properly proclaimed Word and rightly administered sacraments. Such an assumption flies in the face of historic Christianity, and it opens the door for items such as drama that can carry little power and even mask the gospel.

Finally, when churches institute contemporary worship, they might do so for questionable reasons and have the unintended effect of masking the gospel, as John Calvin has written. Writers such as John Piper have attempted to demonstrate that holy pleasure is an acceptable consequence of worship, but they occasionally have intimated that human pleasure in worship is on par with glorifying God. "Christian hedonism," as Piper has termed his viewpoint, can mislead Christians badly if not monitored. Moreover, in their effort to enjoy God and to present the gospel in 21st-century terms, contemporary-worship leaders actually might mask the gospel. Why rely on ill-planned drama skits when the Word of God sits before the congregation, ready for proclamation? Is not the true, awesome nature of God and His demand for a sober, peculiar people masked in a "laid-back" service? Are contemporary worship services presenting the true gospel as contained in God's Word written, or are they appeasing their own desire for casual worship? As stated earlier, man cannot alter God at his whim, and he has a duty to worship God as He is. Christians, furthermore, must live and preach the true gospel and let our lights shine. By blending with the culture, "toning-down" God and failing to edify the saints, it appears that contemporary worship has clouded the gospel and dealt improperly with the Lord.

Conclusion

The concept of contemporary worship contains some noble intentions, and it must be allowed a voice in the discussion of how to worship God. If one seeks a via media between the strict Regulative Principle and Luther's broad adiaphora approach, he or she must consider all legitimate options and arguments. Indeed, contemporary worship merits examination, for it seeks to reach out to lost persons in the modern world and to point them to Christ. At the least, one must concede that this type of worship can have an evangelistic vein. Just as Jesus met people where they were, so too must his church -- a point contemporary-worship proponents well observe.

But while we must allow contemporary worship and its accoutrements (e.g. praise songs) a voice at the table, that does not imply that they merit implementation. There is a difference between meeting sinners where they are (not judging people, for example) and dumbing-down God to make Him more accessible. In the end, those whom God has chosen for salvation will thank us for presenting God as He truly is: serious, mighty, sovereign and worthy to be honored. They will thank us for showing them the preeminence of Christ and the necessity of glorifying God above all else, including our pleasure. They will appreciate rich songs and respect for the Word of God, for they will want to grow in grace. They will appreciate the tremendous grace available in the preached Word and in the sacraments. Before closing our minds, we must ask: What sort of believer does God want? Does He want us to mislead others as we seek to lead them to Him? The answer is, of course, "No." God desires penitential sinners who worship Him in the beauty of holiness. In our worship and our example, then, Christians must take care always to glorify God with the respect and dignity His Excellence demands. In all its aspects, contemporary worship fails to achieve these utterly reasonable standards.

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