The old time honored, spiritually
blessed hymns are seldom heard within the walls of the “worship centers” that are
popping up across our country’s landscape. The hymnals in which these beautiful
doxologies reside have now become passé and have long been recycled for other
uses. They have become too old fashioned for this modern electronic church of
today. These precious psalms of the past are much too depressing. Singing about
the blood, death and or the suffering of our savior is no longer suitable for
the “lively”, “positive thinking” church of today.
The “praise songs” that have replaced these
wells of poetic worship are nothing more than repetitive mantras whose words
are viewed on an oversized, overhead projector screen. The “minister of music”
has taken the place of the song leader. His only direction is, “just watch and follow
me”, and he is easy to follow since he is wired with his own personal
microphone with which he all but drowns out any other voices. When the choir is
called on to sing, it is only a backdrop for his continued “performance” with
the congregation serving as the audience.
When or if the congregation is actually allowed to participate in a
song, they have no option but to watch the screen and listen to the minister of
music as they are still being led by the same overbearing voice blaring over
the sound system. There is no time limit for these incantations. This is his
service for which he was hired to do. They will go on until he finally calls it all to a halt in order for the pastor to have time for
his “message” This is called the “praise” portion of the service. Except for His name being mentioned only a few
times in this musical cabaret, Jesus Christ has been all but been omitted from
this type of so-called worship.
Oh and by the way, for all that
should desire them, donuts and coffee are served in the lobby. Feel free to
bring both into the sanctuary. And don’t worry about how you are dressed. Come
as you are. There are no dress codes. No one is to be made feel uncomfortable
by any unwanted reverent code of conduct that might upset this leisurely setting.
After the “praise” portion of the
“service”, the pastor finally takes his place on the stage. He is usually wearing
a t-shirt, or maybe a collarless pull over sweater, jeans and flip-flops or
sandals. Almost everything he says and does is cute or funny, which is
deliberately directed toward a younger generation. He knows the best way to acquire
and retain power is to gain the confidence of the youth. He does this by
becoming one of them; dressing like them; talking their language; hanging out
with them. The older congregation has no recourse but to sit quietly, as the adolescents
and the younger adults embrace and endorse all that is taking place.
Much like the praise portion of
this service, the pastor’s message seldom mentions the shed blood of Jesus
Christ or the accomplishments of the cross, but is usually some type of
motivational speech geared toward individual self esteem or personal gain. He
takes the liberty to speak on any topic…literally. However, biblical instruction
is seldom on his agenda. Nothing is off limits for him. Some topics might even
include (as sick as it may sound) how to improve the sex life of a husband and
his wife. It seems that nowadays, sex is a topic that has made its way into the
pulpit. The pastor seems to enjoy speaking on the subject and it is evident that
it stays on his mind…a lot. Not only is it the pastor who is reveling in this
subject; the congregation is receiving his words with a very warm welcome, and
in many cases with excitement.
How to achieve happiness through
prosperity is another popular topic he may use. It seems, according to the
pastor, that there can be no real contentment without some type of worldly influence,
whether it is monetary or worldly wisdom. He tells us very plainly that Jesus came
to this world and gave his life so we could be happy and comfortable. Simply
put, most of his messages are rooted in secular humanism; it is all about us
and nothing about Jesus Christ.
So…welcome to the neo-modernistic
church of today! Welcome to the new age worship center!
Welcome to the “Church of the here and now”!
