Kyria's Gifted for Leadership

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Point 3 is the most poignant question for me and I think it is especially pertinent for Gen Xers. A vast majority of Christian peers I've encountered would name "good worship" as the reason they choose a church. The intentions behind this response are mostly good ones: they enjoy worshiping God through music and other forms of creative expression. Often, though, there are also ego-issues hidden behind that description. Choosing a church for its "good worship" can speaks more to the issue of "cool"-ness than to the issues brought up by Marshall's question #3. It's like the music played and sung at a church has to reach a certain level of postmodern hipness in order for it to be "good worship." And for many of my peers, the type of music played at their church ends up getting wrapped up with their own identity and the image of coolness they desire to project to others.

This is an issue I struggled with a great deal when I attended a small, country church a few years back. The music was almost entirely 1970's praise choruses every single Sunday. It grated on me. It REALLY grated on me. I felt almost embarrassed by it -- as if it didn't reflect well on _me_ and the image I wanted to project to the world of a young, hip, 20-something.

But shame on me for those attitudes. I really missed out on something on those Sundays when inside I felt superior to the others singing around me.

Regardless of the type of music, our worship experiences shouldn't serve as ego-strokes. We should be changed by them: seeking to be LESS (our ego minimized!) and desiring Christ to be greater in our lives. Thanks, Marshall, for your thought-provoking words.

Posted By: Kelli Trujillo | December 21, 2007 1:45 PM

It seems that many people have missed the point about attendance at services. We are not there "to get something out of the service". We are there to WORSHIP YHVH.

One thing I noticed years ago that I have never heard addressed was the practice of singing verses 1, 2, and 4 of hymns but leaving out verse 3 left a gap in the story told by the hymn! One of my sons-in-law makes the point that in most of these new praise choruses or songs, one could substitute a human being's name and the songs would serve for secular music just fine. Not so hymns. Hymns as opposed to much of the modern worship is G-D CENTERED rather than "I" or "Me" centered. If you don't believe me, listen to a lot of the new worship songs.

The old hymns lifted Jesus and told the story of salvation from various angles. While I am not opposed to using some of the more modern worship music, Jesus said "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me."

Posted By: Suzanne Utts | December 27, 2007 12:20 PM

We created a film in response to the difficult questions Mr. Shelley is asking. If you like, please take a look.

http://floodgateproductions.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=271

I am, in no way, trying to generate sales for this. If you'd like a free copy, please email me directly: gary@floodgateproductions.com.

Posted By: Gary Molander | January 5, 2008 11:41 PM

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