Contemporary Music??????

[FriendofSpurgeon]

Indeed the church belongs to God, and He builds it.

Who is to say but what it is now is what God built? It helps maintain perspective to think of it this way. If it is a Baptist church, and you a member, how would you feel if an Assembly of God person joined it, then decided it needed to be transitioned to an AoG church?

Many of those in traditional churches have chosen to be there for theological reasons, not personal preference in music. Do they not have the right to worship as the Holy Spirit is leading them?

I don't mean to be crass, but it really does come across as stealing a building sometimes. If someone strongly believes a church must change that much from what it is to survive, why not start another church? Why come in speaking as though unless the church changes it somehow doesn't care about the lost or will just up and die? And if those things are true, why not let it die? And start another church? I've watched this happen, and am watching it literally kill two local churches right now. Yes, they will probably die. The buildings will be for sale for a song. And the newbies will gobble them up for "new starts." In a third case, the newbies came in and instead of starting a new, different style work, joined an established one. With enough new members to overwhelm the one's that built the building, it went elder rule, total change in theology as well as music, and the one's who built it were "disciplined" out the door.

All perfectly legal. Nice building they stole, by the way. Now the one's that built the physical plant either worship at home or other churches.

And the town views the one's currently in the building as having no integrity.

Wow. Very sad.

 

[nodak]

Yes--I'm actually on board with the newbies more reformed theology. But you do not go into a church in the Wesleyan connection and lead it out to be a Calvinist plant by legally stealing the building.

And it makes it very hard for above board reformed folks in the area to make any headway at all. For that matter, it makes it hard for anyone trying to improve anything in any church in the area, as all are now super wary of "change."

 

[Baptist in Richmond]

I have been a member of a large SBC Church (1200+ Sunday Worship) and have been and still happy here especially with my Pastor who is a excellent Pastor and even a greater person. We are a 160 year old downtown church who like many others are experiencing a declining attendance and the average adult age is in excess of 55 years.
I don't know whether to discribe our situation as an opportunity, a dilemma or just an adjustment of movement to the suburbs. Here is what we are faced with. We are doing the same kind music we did in 1970. The remaining young crowd (20 -45 years of age) prefers more contemporary and the older folks traditional. The Pastor and governing body have attempted to compromise by doing traditional songs and hymns to a different rhythm which most people are not satisfiED. I have been under the opinion that blended music pleases very few. I have my preferences but I can live with either one. Have any other of you encountered anything similar?

Isn't it amazing that something as trivial as musical style can lead to such a divided congregation? I have seen and heard of this happening more than once.

IMO, both sides of the argument are guilty of sin when it becomes such an issue that it is damaging to the congregation. The "our music is fresh, your music is old" mentality is sin, as is the "we built this church and our opinion is what counts" argument.

And meanwhile, while the fight over music takes place, there is a lost world out there.

Regards, hope it all works out for your congregation,
BiR