My Two Cents

Something I have been thinking about for awhile came to my attention again recently and I've decided to throw my two-cents in.

I hear a lot of descriptions used to describe churches nowadays: Traditional, Contemporary, Cutting-edge, Mainstream, etc. Throw in buzzwords like "relevant", "seeker", "fundamental" and others and the conversation get even more bizarre. Depending upon who you talk to, the style of worship is either the problem with, or the solution to, the condition of the modern church. It's either, "The messages in these new types of services are watered down", or "People don't respond to the old style anymore".

What a bunch of crap. All of it.

Look, I know that's crass, and I probably have some repenting to do, but I don't think that style is nearly as important as genuineness and focus. I think a lack of those things will kill more churches than whether you sing along to a guitar or an organ. As individuals we need to be genuine, and our churches should be too. Should a healthy church be growing? Sure. But it is by no means a sole indicator of health. When cells divide and grow to form a persons' body (and yes, life begins at conception) that growth is awesome. When a small group of cells grow into a massive tumor, it sucks.

I have friends at churches that would be considered pretty traditional, with some modern praise songs thrown in. At least two of these churches are thriving despite not being "cutting edge". The preachers are...well, preachers, with pretty much everything that you picture when you hear that word. Jacket and tie. Three points and a poem. Guess what? People still come. Why? well, in my opinion it's because they (those churches) are focused on spreading the Gospel message everywhere they can, and they genuinely care about people—especially lost people. I also have friends that are going to great contemporary-style churches that are doing the same thing. The pastors dress however they want and their sermons are anything but traditional. However, in both cases the style of worship is largely irrelevant to the success of the church. When people come in, they are attracted to the mission, purpose, vision, and focus of the church

You know what? Chis Tomlin is a genius. Turns out, so was Fanny Crosby. In my opinion, if you miss either, you have lost a lot.

Please don't get me wrong here. If you can't stand hymns, maybe you should find a church that doesn't sing them. If you don't like modern praise songs, same thing—go somewhere else. Be true to who you are, but allow those churches to do the same, and don't think worse of them for it. By the way, one of my friends at one of those thriving traditional churches said when he first started going there, there were some things size and style-wise that he didn't care for. However, he saw the heart of the church, how "real" they are and how focused they are, and he found an unexpected church home.

God is big enough to have more than one style of church, and one is not better than the other. One of them might just be better for you, and that's ok. The guy reading his King James Bible isn't necessarily any less genuine than the guy that reads The Message.

Sometimes I think we are just focusing on the wrong things. Again, if you want to go to a church where the pastor only stands behind a podium, or one where the pastor rushes around at a frenetic pace, I don't care. Both are fine. But when we think about churches, are we thinking most often of what we like, or what they are doing for God? There is nothing wrong with hymns or praise choruses, electric guitars or pipe organs. Neither is better than the other. But you know, I'm willing to bet that if you find a church that genuinely cares about it's members and it's community, understands that the world desperately needs Jesus and is trying to get the message out that Jesus is the only way to be saved, is actively trying to meet people's needs, and has a vision for what God has called them to do and how they should do it—if you find that church, you will find a healthy, thriving, growing church. And as for the questions of contemporary, traditional, etc.?

You'll probably find it doesn't matter.