Posted on 01/11/2014 8:08:33 PM PST by Benito Cereno
It happened again yesterday. I was attending one of those hip, contemporary churches — and almost no one sang. Worshippers stood obediently as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed. Lyrics were projected on the screen, but almost no one sang them. A few women were trying, but I saw only one male (other than the worship leader) making the attempt.
(Excerpt) Read more at patheos.com ...
I went to Christmas mass. People sang. Maybe the rock thing is a turn off.
I totally agree with you.
And flashing lights. No excuse for that but a faulty electrical connection.
I overheard a friend of my sister's once tell someone else she liked X church but "couldn't go there because the lights triggered her epilepsy".
20th (and 21st) century problems.
Most churches I know of have multiple services where the type of worship you prefer is offered. Just choose the one you like, problem solved.
"'Traditional hymns at 8, Pagan revelry at 11! Erisians meet at 23 o'clock."
Far too much of the "contemporary" music consists of "7-11 songs": singing seven times the same eleven words.
Why do you go?
Our family has been with the same church since it was 250 people and everyone literally knew everyone else. All the faces were familiar week after week and the Pastor delivered Christ's message week, after week, after week.
Then our church grew to 500. Then 1,000. We got to the point one year (2003) that we had to rent a large banquet room so all our church members could attend service together. That was Easter Weekend 2003 and we had more than 2,500 people attend services.
Our "old" building built to accommodate about 300 people in our Worship Center could not accommodate our church's growth. So we started a capital campaign and built a new building.
Our new building, designed to hold 600 people per service was outgrown in less than a year. We'd moved to an area that was very "under-churched" and people started coming in droves.
Another capital campaign, an extension onto the church (which was planned for during our move, if growth required it) was constructed. We could now accommodate 1700 people per service. We quickly grew from 2 services (one Saturday evening, 1 Sunday morning) to 3 Services. Then to 4, then to 5.
This past Christmas we had 11 Christmas services starting on the Thursday before Christmas for those who were leaving town to be with families. We had another 4 services at our auxiliary campus two towns away. (We'd acquired that property when the church that occupied it simply "gave up" and handed us the keys to the property along with the deed.)
We had just over 19,000 people come through our services this Christmas. In our wildest dreams did we ever think we'd see that many people. One service alone packed just under 3,000 people in our building between the worship center (1700 seats) our youth center (another 400 seats) and our new chapel built for weddings and funerals, opened a week before Christmas, whch held another 500 people that were very crammed in.
I've been with this church since we started growing. This growth happened over the last decade. There are certainly aspects of a large church that I do not like. I often question how the money is spent for example. One might think our church building is very "opulent" ... it is not. We build to meet the Church's basic needs -- no more, no less.
There are also things about a large church that I do like. When our Pastor puts a call out to fill the local food pantries - it gets done. We make sure they over-flow with food and have to give excess to other food pantries. The weekend before Thanksgiving for example, our church gathered enough food to fill over 15 local food pantries - floor to ceiling. That's turkey's, hams, and everything that goes along with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
Our church has a wonderful hospital ministry which is deeply connected with all the local hospitals. I still don't know how, but when I had my heart attack in April 2012 one of our Pastors was at my bedside within hours. My wife didn't call the church, yet they knew and they were there to help our family during our time of need.
Another person in our church has needed a new heart for 2 years and has been unable to work. Our church helped support that family (financially, emotionally, spiritually and with works) during that time. All the Church's ministries kicked in to help. When that person (named Ray) received his new heart, the church pulled together again to wipe out the hospital bill for his heart transplant -- just over $110,000 dollars. NO collection was taken, no diversion of church funds -- church members freely gave of themselves.
For all the things I genuinely do not like about large churches, there are some things that they can do in the name of Our Lord that smaller churches just can't. That's NOT a knock on smaller churches - which again is my prefernce - it's just a statement of fact. If I had my way, my family would be at a much smaller, much more personal church. My wife and kids however are very happy where we are and are deeply involved in the church.
Speaking of -- it's time for me to go to church!
haha, nice way to put it.
He Who Would Valiant Be - isn’t it just the most wonderful song? I could sing that every Sunday.
You know... I'm not sure this is a good statement. I mean, you can worship God at home every day. In fact, I do. Every morning (especially since I've retired now). Play music, read scripture, pray... genuine worship of the creator of the universe who provides salvation for us.
I think what church provides is a chance to engage with other christians. To be discipled by others or to disciple others. To engage with God's people. To study the word together. To gain insight from others and filter that through the Holy Spirit teaching. If the church service is just to worship God (not to minimize the importance of worship)... but I don't know..... I think that leaves a lot of the purpose of Church out of the mix.
Just my opinion.
True.
Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Wrong tune.
Thank you for this post. While there are a number of people who get into contemporary worship, I’m not one of them.
Listen to most (but not all) of what’s being sung. It’s seeker-centered, not Savior-centered. That’s why the great hymns are great — they place the focus where it belongs, on Almighty God.
Why is that?
Nobody ever agrees with me. See your doctor as soon as you can. ;)
Been 48 years as a Protestant, which means I wouldn’t be comfortable in a Catholic, Orthodox, or liturgical Protestant church. Of the Protestant denominations, many mainline churches are just too liberal for me. It seems that the non-denoms are replete with modern, rock-based worship programs. Our pastor recently retired and we are looking for another home, but it’s not that easy despite the proliferation of churches in our area.
Amen brother.
Or when extra modern choruses are added, because the original "Amazing Grace" just isn't good enough without an 'upgrading'.
***as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed.***
Sounds like a scene from THE BAND WAGON.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.