A response to seeker sensitivity

Periodically there are aticles that pop up on social media critisizing modern worship songs or styles of ministry. One such article suggested that this is the reason no one sings in the morning worship services any longer. The congregations is unfamiliar with the shallow new worship songs. The not so subtle hint of this article is that many churches have become shallow graves for a pop worship culture. 

Every time these articles are reposted my news feed blows up with a chorus of "Amens"  from the upset saints. I have been around a while so I have seen this kind or religious outrage before. We, and I include myself here, struggle with change in general, but as it involves our personal conversion and early memories of what church and worship is all about, we can develop preferences towards how we will respond to the call of worship and the order of a church service we attend. We also develop preferences for preachers and teachers that we prefer to listen too.

Based on now over 35 years in full time ministry and a lifetime in church I have had to battle various bias about worship styles and preaching styles in my own life. I want to be open to what God has to say to me even when the messenger is packaged in a way that does not fit my preferences. When it comes to modern worship music, not all of it is God ordained, just as not every message preached in pulpits is from the council of God. As a surrendered follower of Jesus Christ, I think it is easy to know the difference. My encouragement is that we do not allow our preferences or bias to keep us from hearing from God. More importantly, let’s not allow the enemy to push us away from church with the excuse that we don’t like the modern packaging.

Keep in mind hymns some of us learned to love early in our faith, were sometimes adapted musically and even lyrically from the contemporary music of the day in which they were living. This Hymn written in 1910 by Ed McConnell and here sung by a guy I went to Bible School with years ago a really great man and gifted Muscian "Gary Chapman". 

This beautiful inspirational hymns tune shows up interstingly in modern culture in a TV show many of may remember...

Listen to this great song from a favorite musical...

Listen to the similarity with this faithful hymn I grew up singing in my Grandpas church...

I think it is good for us to first note there is nothing new under the sun. I am not sure which came first the chicken or the egg. But the point is this: culture has an affect on church styles, music and even locations. The church also has, through out history made a huge impact on culture. This video about the woodlawn "Jesus Movement" gives a bit of the history of a great spiritual movement that swept the united states in the early 70's. 

Our culture changes but the message of the Bible does not. That said our style in reaching our culture needs to change. We need to GO where the people are and share our faith. We need to share it in a way they can understand. If I were to go to India to a remote villiage that only spoke the local language and I tried to tell them about Jesus in English they would not understand me.  It is important that every generation hear the good news of the gospel in a way they can understand. 

I suspect that much of the outrage among current church goers is the result of one of two things: A religious bias or in some instances, Justification of mission disobedience.

Sometimes our religious bias are supported by bad teachings Many have been taught by spiritual leaders that attempts to reach out to culture through skits, modern worship music, non-church locations (ie a bar, a cafe, a business office building etc.. are Biblically wrong and even harmful to the advancement of the gospel. These teachers see attempts to change styles of ministry as watering down the gospel or trying to gather crowds by not challenging them to surrender to Christ. 

Styles of ministry can change, it is the gospel message that stays the same. The Hymns are awesome to me and I love to sing them. But I also recognize that God has raised up Psalmist for this generation and I enjoy what many of them are composing today for our worship settings.

Additionally, such beliefs set us up for pride that separates us from other believers in an unhealthy way. We easily forget what condition we were in when we found Christ and opened to His forgiveness. We can also forget how much we need JESUS everyday just to help us, heal us, fill us with Hope. 

JUSTIFICATION OF MISSION DISOBEDIENCE

It is so much easier to say they are doing it wrong than to admit I am not doing it at all. Doing what? The Mission God gave to us. 

 John 17:18 MSG

“In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world”

Acts 20:24 NCV

“The most important thing is that I complete my mission the work that the Lord Jesus gave me.”

WHAT IS THIS MISSION?

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." (Mark 16:15) 

Participating in the mission is scary. it is much easier to judge the church down the street than to admit I am part of the reason my church is not effectively reaching our community. There is a difference between changing ministry outreach styles to reach the unreached and becoming culturally popular. Recognizing how culture has changed and making an attempt to reach out to them in a meaningful and thoughtful way with the good news of the Cross of Jesus is in line with our “mission focus”. To try to be culturally popular would require one to altar scripture to adapt it to what culture wants to hear. There is no room for the later in worship music or in the preaching and teaching of the church.

I am not an advocate for the popular gospel but I am an advocate for a style in church ministry that reaches the audience to which they are assigned with the gospel message. Jesus did not say open the doors of the church so they can come in, He told us to "GO into all the world"...

Many years ago in a conference at Church on the Way, I heard Rick Warren say these words to pastors “People who attend your church will either help you row the boat in mission or they will rock the boat.” He went on to tell us that our job as pastors was to try and get everyone rowing the boat toward the mission we have been given by Christ Jesus. Let me invite you to get engaged in the mission God has given to us. We do it best when we are working together. Church styles may very but so long as the mission of Jesus is that mission of that church we should be able to serve together.