The New "Worship?"

 

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”!