Church services are changing. The old songs are replaced with new ones, and preachers tell jokes instead of screaming hellfire. Even the buildings look different.
Does that excite or irritate you? Has it stopped feeling like church? Or, does it finally feel like church?
I was raised in a denomination that was quite restrictive. We sang beautifully, but never expressed the emotions mentioned within those songs. Communion was quiet, solemn, reflective, but it lacked any actual communing. Bible readings remained formal, dramatically monotone, as if the words never mentioned anything sad or funny.
Expressing emotions during worship was disrespectful to God. Yet, the sentiment too often experienced was boredom. If the service ran long, then the “wrist twitch” crossed the room. Would the roast burn or the ball game start? Could we sit fifteen more minutes without falling asleep?
Once the service was over, particularly after leaving the sanctuary, people changed. They greeted each other in friendly laughter. Some quietly fed on “roast preacher,” criticizing what was just said. At social gatherings, members talked about everything, including each other, but only the opening prayer spoke to or about God. Off the church grounds, too many members acted like unbelievers.
Then, I met a group who enjoyed going to church. Instead of gossiping, they talked freely about God and their trials in their walk with God. Their favorite topic was what he did for them that week. Most sermons centered on our relationship with God, and people voiced reluctance to end even a long service. We sang to God, not about God. The words of the songs became our words. Communion with God was a communication of admiration. God loved us during worship. God walked with us outside the building and throughout our week.
Many large traditional churches now provide “progressive” services. They sing current songs, or at least those written after the 1960s. Lyrics are projected on screens eliminating the book fumble. People raise their hands and shout God’s praise. Occasionally, someone will dance in the aisle.
All good, if done for the right reasons. I’ve heard of congregations that accept the change to keep “the youth” from leaving or to entice outsiders. It works for a while since newness replaces boredom. However, novelty ends. Progressive services take much more effort to organize and present. They also require volunteers that are more qualified. Fewer members of the congregation are involved. Even if the leaders began with good intentions, they could burn out.
Those who forged the path of change feel continued besiegement by fellow members for disrespecting tradition or for not going farther away from tradition. Groups vie for control and long-standing quarrels surface. Without congregational cooperation, tension turns to anger, and a church will split or return to traditional worship. That pain will linger.
Such events provide fuel for those who oppose “emotion-filled” services. They claim the emotions were superficial or fake, stirred up because of a song. They proclaim negligence toward leaders who did not teach the people respectful self-control. Yet, those same naysayers ignore the superficial “serenity” of their version of worship. They do not see their structured tradition does not teach intimacy with God.
Style means nothing to God if done for the sake of style. Tradition means nothing to God for the same reason. Such structures build a human community, but they also segregate human community. Styles and traditions can only teach the ways of God superficially. None of them develops a relationship with the Creator.
A relationship requires dedication to more than religion. Our intimate allegiance must be to God. Each of us must deny ourselves. That means realizing our ways might not be the best, or even preferable for another believer. We need to open our heart to instruction. We must search for evidence within our soul that confirms God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. Any culture-based style, tradition, or religious act that distract, overshadow, or replace those attributes are suspect. Only then can we see that the differences are external, and our spirits are the same.
In the calm and the rowdy, we find him. Let our eyes and ears be open.
