Reflections and Fears

The movement of the church toward the contemporary is placing the church on a perilous slope.  It slowly is loosing its footing.  For so long it has been rooted in the traditions and liturgies of the past.  Worship is ceasing to be about commonly shared beliefs for the sake of worship where core values are framed inside the language of individualism.  Ancient creeds and prayers have been replaced with ear appealing statements which may show the work of a creative wordsmith, but still lack theological substance.  Worship that was once centered on symbols such as the cross, or the Table, the baptismal waters and a pulpit for proclamation have been removed in place of open space filled with nothing.   

This is not to say that worship cannot take place in the contemporary worship experience, but that its center is no longer about what God has done for us, but about what the worship leaders can do for us.  Worship which once seemed more centered on God has found a new center:  the band and the worship leader.  Instead of a gathered people doing together the work of God, we are becoming a gathering of people who are more spectators than participants.  In my earlier years of attending church, the church was a preaching centered church affirmed visually by a pulpit in the center of the worship space.  Over the years the same church has been moving away from a preaching centered church to a Table centered church.  The contemporary experience seems to be movement back to person centered worship instead of one that is really Christ centered.

Certainly, these are not thoughts which will be embraced by the large group of people who have found a home in a style of worship which is more contemporary than traditional.  While I respect the commitment many have toward contemporary worship, I do fear that it is moving us away from community to individualism and to a day when the church will gather without being rooted in a strong theological foundation. In such a world, culture will find it easier to direct the church that was once directed by the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.