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The "Passions" of Meadowbrook Church
In the Name of Jesus
Worship Wars Resolved
Worship Wars Resolved
February 4, 2010
“ . . . speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19)
They’re known as “worship wars.” Churches have split over them or have segregated themselves into eight o’clock “traditional” services and ten o’clock “contemporary” services because of them. The presenting issue in such “wars,” is worship “style.” Stereotypically the “traditionalists” (a euphemism for “old people”) want hymns accompanied by the organ while the fans of “contemporary Christian music” want worship bands to play the latest songs they hear on K-Love.
Regardless which “side” you find more congenial, it would be uncharitable to assume that the “other side” lacks sincerity in their worship. In fact it is the depth of sincerity in the hearts of worshipers that seems to make the disagreements about worship so important. Most people find it difficult to be sincere about words they don’t understand while singing music that bores them to distraction.
Although I’d like to think we have the “perfect solution” to these issues, the fact is there is no perfect solution. We have different backgrounds, tastes, abilities, and preferences. Such differences mean that we will naturally gravitate towards worship styles that we find most congenial. This is why the churches that have the eight o’clock traditional service and the ten o’clock contemporary service speak up and say, “See! This is the best solution to the problem. Let people have what they want.”
I’d like to agree with them, were it not for Ephesians 5:18-21. While the fact of natural gravitation is undeniable, being continually filled with the Spirit means that God’s people are not limited by what is “merely natural.” The Holy Spirit lifts us above the limitations of the self—my preferences, my abilities, my needs, my desires, etc.—and brings me the perspective of Another.
This divine perspective reveals that authentic worship, while offered to God, occurs in the context of community. “Speaking to one another” means that what I offer to God as worship must take into consideration the perspectives, desires, needs, and preferences of others. (This is why Paul forbids uninterpreted tongues in public worship—see 1 Corinthians 14.) Speaking in “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” is an encouragement to employ various expressions of praise to God—knowing that different people will be served by the different choices.
Ultimately, I am not really offering worship to God if I’m not serving others through my offering. That is why the “hymn” says, “It’s not about me, Lord.”
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