Worship

Part 11 - Contemporary Worship

Positively speaking, there is a renewed emphasis in the church on the corporate setting through the medium of contemporary praise and worship. In some respects the issue is one of cultural adaptation. The effort is to reach out to the culture with music and songs that connect with people outside the organized church. Churches experiment with various styles of worship. Drums and synthesizers occupy the platform. Contemporary music is combined with lyrics on Christian themes. Singing choruses is particularly popular. Large churches often have contemporary informal worship services catering to the young and young at heart and traditional services to satisfy the those who are older and perhaps out of touch with the contemporary scene. On the negative side, all of this is but a piece of the so-called worship wars.

Let's take a step back. Contemporary worship emphases attempt connection with the outside world through adaptation. They are similar to the informal worship settings in the Old Testament to which proponents point. These Old Testament informal worship settings are culturally informed. They take their cue from activities found in national or family celebrations. Isaiah 5:8 speaks of banquets with harp and lyre, tambourine and lute. Yet there is no acknowledgement of God. Genesis 31:27 speaks of family celebration. The celebration by the Red Sea looks quite similar. "Miriam the prophetess, Aaron' sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. Miriam answered them, 'Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea'" (Exodus 15:20-21). Even in this circumstance, where thanksgiving to God is evident, the cultural connection appears evident.

Formal worship instituted by God in Israel first in the tabernacle and later in the temple is quite different. The primary connection is with heaven. God Himself orchestrates and directs formal worship. He gives Moses directions in worship He requires the people to scrupulously follow. Moses informs Aaron with regard to details of worship, "This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you" (Leviticus 9:6).

We may state the matter this way. The formal worship of the people of God is informed by heaven. Informal worship settings are informed by the world and the culture. In addition, according to Leviticus 9:6 and other similar texts, it is the presence of the Lord Himself in the midst of our worship that is at issue. Practically speaking, if it is my desire to meet with God in worship, I will approach Him as He directs rather than in the manners I myself determine are appropriate. You can refer to our earlier lessons on worship to help flesh out this idea.

All of this impinges directly upon the standards of worship we maintain in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. A college professor made this telling remark after attending one of our worship services. "Singing the Psalms is fine. But when do I get to sing my songs?" This comment strikes at the heart of the issue. God guides His worship from heaven by giving us explicit directions in His word. Formal worship is informed and guided by heaven not by the world or the culture around us. A student contemplatively asked this related question. "Are we doing God a disservice when our worship services cater to the desires of men rather than bowing to the directions of God?" The question is rhetorical. It anticipates an affirmative answer. We definitely do God disservice. We do ourselves disservice too. More to come.