Featured Is your church THIS yet?

You realize you are attempting to draw conclusions from preconceptions. Stage effects and lights = selling a show. Someone has a tattoo (the horror). A bumper video. Pressure to tithe (Not exactly exclusive to contemporary churches) I think you taking inconsequential things and trying to demonize them because they aren't your cup of tea. It's all about the heart of worship Gina. It is a personal relationship. I really wish you would not try to assume how others are worshipping.

 

I'd love to put you in contact with my pastor so you can tell him he is running a business and an entertainment center. Not that I would actually put him through that. How insulting and rude. I swear, Christians can't get out of their own way sometimes.

 

Id love to..... just email me his website & I take care of it for you. Trust me, I will.:thumbs:

 

My experience with the more contemporary churches is that they are very much wrapped up in how contemporary they are. They spoke at great length about how they had changed the paradigm of worship. (Remember, this is not a sweeping condemnation, but an accounting of my personal experience.) That set me on edge, as I'm leery of anyone who proclaims a 'new' message or a 'changed' doctrine.

One of the times I attended a contemporary church, while I was in high school, so this was now 17 years ago, I went to a youth service. The church workers gathered all the teenagers into the church gymnasium and proceeded to lock the doors. They had a musical service. When I was 16, I liked the music. It was pop, it had a great beat. Looking at it now, it had no theological depth whatsoever. It was, as my pastor now calls it, a 7-11 song (the same seven lines repeated 11 times). Everyone was told to sit on the gym floor (no chairs) and there was a brief scriptural reading and explanation. Looking back at it now, the Bible study was in no way beneficial to those gathered there. It was a 'feel-good' message. The 'youth pastor' then had everyone stand up and he proceeded to "prophesy" over everyone gathered there. He began walking down each row, laying his hands on the heads of each teenager. I listened as he told one girl she would go into missions work and lead a revival in Africa. He told the guy beside me that he saw him founding a church in South America. When he got to me (a new, non-youth-group member) he touched my head and said "Bless you, brother" and moved on.

Now, why didn't I get a nice feel-good prophesy? Could it be because the guy didn't know me, and didn't know what I sought to do, and so he couldn't twist my own words into a "prophesy" that would make me feel better about me? Yeah, that soured me on contemporary churches.

I have friends who attend them, and listening to them discuss the doctrines taught at these churches frankly scares me. Many times these churches teach eschatology ahead of soteriology. They are more worried with teaching how to read Revelation than teaching God's plan of salvation. That's my experience with contemporary churches...and that doesn't even touch on the snobbishness I've witnessed from some contemporary-church-goers toward those of us who attend more traditional churches.

 

No thanks. Like I said, I wouldn't do that to him. You have absolutely zero knowledge of this church but yet you are willing to go in there and insult my pastor. That's just fantastic. Glad to see you attempting to tear down other churches though. Who needs the worlds influence to get in our way when we do it so much better ourselves. You are obnoxious. How about you stop being a tool of the enemy.

 

Yeah, I have never experienced any of that. My church is a member of the SBC and I have always found it to be in line with every other SBC church I've been a member of.

 

What's wrong with that?

That is tacky, agreed.

Obviously was over-the-top satire for the the video. If someone has tattoos on their arms are they supposed to wear long sleeves if they lead worship?

I think every church does this. Every church is cognizant of who puts in whatever amount of cash.

At my previous church, not a contemporary church, the pastor was a master at dramatic pauses, dynamic range in speaking loudness, hand gestures, etc. He could make a half hour sermon last 45 minutes. My point is, it's not confined to contemporary worship.

Is there something inherently wrong with this? What?

Singing "Just As I Am" or "Almost Persuaded" at invitation time with heads bowed and eyes closed and the organ and/or piano softly playing is similarly heart string pulling.

Yes, E-V-I-L coffee cups. The Millennial generation are issued coffee cups in Kindergarten and they bring them everywhere. It's crazy!

CORRECTION--which can make sincerity more difficult for people that personally don't like this style of worship. If you find tattooed people, overhead projectors showing video clips, and amplified music distracting then, yeah, it's going to interfere with your worship.

 

Snobbishness cuts both ways. How many times do you see trads attacking and ridiculing contemps worship style? (Just look at the video and this thread.) "They use modern music, they're not as holy as I am." or "they have a disconnect from soul worship."

Now, how many times do you see contemps attacking the trad worship service? I don't think I've ever seen it.

 

Never said it didn't, ITL. It certainly does. I was speaking to my personal experience, and not trying to broad brush the entirety of each side's argument. I have seen traditionalists attack contemporary services using the methods you list, and by saying other things. I've never heard the "they're not as holy as I am" argument, though I don't doubt it has been used.

I've seen contemporarians (did I just make up a word?) attack traditionalist services by saying they are out-dated, or boring. These are fairly emotional arguments. Again, just my experience. Never intended it to be a sweeping statement.

 

I like it!

Now that you mention it, I have seen contemporarians mock traditional services for singing songs containing words from the King James era.

 

We are not that church yet. I showed this video to our teenagers several weeks ago. Most of them thought is was funny. A few were not amused. I think they saw it as an attack on the way they wish worship would be. One of our girls said after the video, “I’m just telling you our worship service is boring!” Well, sometimes it is. She wants to do a parody on traditional worship services to show how boring we are.

Most people in our church consider us to be a traditional congregation. But I like to live on the wild side (contemporary) occasionally and sing songs like Cornerstone, Days of Elijah, Shout to the North, Trading My Sorrows, etc.. Our traditional congregation actually sings louder on those songs than most of the hymns. Maybe they're okay with it because:
▪ we only have a piano and organ
▪ we don’t over sing it - repeating chorus over and over….and over
▪ the song leader isn't a hipster wearing skinny jeans and carrying a coffee cup on stage
▪ no pricey stage lights, screaming guitars, drum or guitar solos, vocal runs or dramatic pauses

Our song leader does have tattoos, everywhere. They are covered up with the exception of his wrist tats. He usually wears a watch on one wrist and a bracelet on the other. You can still see them, but not enough to tell what they are. It’s never been an issue here.

1995 was the last time I was last in a “contemporary” worship service at church. I’m sure a lot of things have changed since then. I was in a praise band. Strings, horns, drums, saxophone, backup singers, the works. We practiced long and hard on the “music.” We were kicking out some Don Moen and Maranatha hits back then. There wasn’t much spirituality going on, but man could we jam on Sundays. Eventually we fizzled. Several of us realized that we were playing for the wrong reason - personal edification. I think that reason can happen anywhere - traditional or contemporary.

We should do a BB parody :thumbsup:

 

how about you take a long walk off a short pier....take your Pastor with you.

 

I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen someone torpedo their own alleged high ground quite like this. Hopefully you can dust yourself and get back on your high horse. You definitely come off better than the evil contemporary entertainment seekers.

Are you having a bad day or something? I don't think I've ever seen you like this.

 

I never said they were evil...that's you saying that......I just don't care for it....its kinda goofy, loud and tacky to me. But if that fits your needs, be my guest.:smilewinkgrin:

 

But what Greek Tim said is quite interesting to me. Leaving the contemptuary gathering centers for Roman Catholism or an Orthodox type church....now that's fascinating! Tim, apart from these kids being bored, what reasons do they give? I'm guessing structure....but that's only a guess. Please advise.

 

Not caring for it is fine and I would be fine that. Telling me and my pastor (don't know what he ever did to you) to walk off a short pier is going beyond stating a simple preference and was a pretty horrible thing to say to fellow Christians don't you think.

 

Contemporary. Not contemporary. Whatever.

Band. Piano. Organ. None. Tambourine. Whatever.

Skinny jeans. Suits and ties. Flannel. Blue jeans. Overalls. Whatever.

New songs. Old songs. No songs. All songs. Whatever.

Glasses. Contacts. Tattoos. Long hair. Short hair. No hair. Whatever.

That Jesus be lifted up. That his name be praised. That his sermon be taught. That his word brought forth. Oh yeah. That is forever.

 

Thank you.

 

Yea that was said in Anger.....but you are the one who wanted me to speak to him, so what's that all about? You know what I see, your overreactions to my comments and Ginas as well. Maybe its you that needs to sucked it up and get off your high horse.