Am I the Only One to See a Problem With This?

[Ugly]

Is it really causing division? Or does the division already exist and churches are seeing the needs and meeting them? Personally i am not a fan of singing old hymns in church, nor am i a fan of the modern version of praise and worship. Most of what i see and hear in churches causes me to want to show up late and miss the music all together, which i have considered doing.

 

[Nautilus]

Yeah come to think of it, you might be the only one with this issue Santuzza. Every church I have gone to in probably the past 15 years has had split services with traditional and then contemporary You know how many of them split? None.

 

[Lynx]

This whole thread still puzzles me because I've never been to a church that has split services, modern and old fashioned. Maybe it's a regional thing? Every church I've ever been to, baptist, methodist, pentecostal... they always use old hymns and modern songs in the same service.

Or maybe split services is the coming thing and we're just behind the times where I live.

 

[santuzza]

This whole thread still puzzles me because I've never been to a church that has split services, modern and old fashioned. Maybe it's a regional thing? Every church I've ever been to, baptist, methodist, pentecostal... they always use old hymns and modern songs in the same service.

Or maybe split services is the coming thing and we're just behind the times where I live.

Actually, Lynx, I think the churches in your area are AHEAD of the times. They've already seen the damage that splitting the church does and have decided to not succumb to the pressure to split themselves up over worship styles.

I have seen NUMEROUS churches split over this issue. The church I was married in had a senior pastor who insisted on having a separate contemporary worship service (even though the worship was already blended), and the church went through a horrible split.

I can't understand how people are happy about the split church situation. Don't you ache for unity in the body of Christ? If you can unify behind a sermon, can't you unify behind worship styles? I'm surprised so few of you see a problem with this, really.

 

[santuzza]

Is it really causing division? Or does the division already exist and churches are seeing the needs and meeting them? Personally i am not a fan of singing old hymns in church, nor am i a fan of the modern version of praise and worship. Most of what i see and hear in churches causes me to want to show up late and miss the music all together, which i have considered doing.

So what kind of music do you like to praise the Lord with, Ugly? Just curious.

 

[pwrnJC]

What you are seeing is how our modern CHURCHES deal with society. They cater to draw in the younger crowd, while still pleasing the saints of OLD. I left a church recently because it 'went modern' as far as technology. Sunday morning had become a huge video screen above the altar and also at the rear door wall. You spoke politely as you were seated and then the screen started showing recent past events, thoughtful poems and a few songs played in the background. Then, the upcoming events were posted for your own planning. The pastor stepped forward and announced it was time to pray. The Screen showed the preplanned prayer, complete with pictures and soft music. Then, no hymn books were needed because the words to the song were posted to follow, complete with a bouncing ball above all sentences. The screen told you to be seated and then the pastor would say "You've already seen the announcements, now it's time to take up the offering. As the offering plates were being passed around, the screen entertained you with more "CHRISTIAN" videos. When the ushers came back to the altar, the screen led the congregation into singing the Doxology. The pastor stepped forward and pointed to the screen which gave the crowd the sermon topic, complete with the various verses taken from the BIBLE. Your personal bible was not needed in order to read the scriptures. THEN, as the pastor proceeded to 'preach'..the screen showed the emotions, pictures and various exponents associated with the sermon. A concluding song with lyrics was posted to end the service and a hearty picture of a waving hand dismissed the worshippers. All that was missing was a huge bag of popcorn and a soda, but that was supplied in the Entertainment hall next door, which also provided coffee, pastries, donuts and gave the parishners time to mingle and discuss the events of the worship service. THIS is the honest truth...I felt like a robot!

 

[Lynx]

Err... pwrnJC, while I agree that sounds like a rather dry church service, that is not really on the topic of this thread.

But yeah, I would fall asleep in a service like that. I'm a pentecostal though, I'm accustomed to more action. ^.^

 

[melita916]

the church i go to, we do both modern and traditional in one service. sometimes the music team (i'm a member of it) kinda stops using hymns but then we bring them back.

i go to a spanish pentecostal church, so spanish traditional songs are sometimes way different from english traditional but in the end, it's about exalting God

 

[Ugly]

So what kind of music do you like to praise the Lord with, Ugly? Just curious.

At a church i'd be happy with a guy with an acoustic guitar. As a teen growing up i remember one guy who would play local show, mostly by himself, and when he could find someone, he would have someone on bongo or congo drums as a support. Though he would often open up for full bands, he was able to still move people. Some his songs, though on acoustic, he would play so powerfully he always had 1-2 backup guitars because he would always snap strings.
There was something way more powerful about a man with a guitar and true passion than a group of musicians playing a gig with a lighting show, or an organ and hymnals.
Though there are songs by bands that are worshipful that i enjoy, these are not bands claiming the moniker of worship bands. When i'm home any of these songs can be powerful to me as they feel more genuine.

One band i have enjoyed at home that was a worship band is The Glorious Unseen.
[video=youtube;s4lLjTj5jro]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4lLjTj5jro[/video]

 

[santuzza]

Thanks for the response, Ugly.

Although I like acoustic guitar and the intimate feel of that, I also really enjoy a romping organ belching out an amazing old hymn! And I enjoy a lot of the modern worship stuff, too, if it's done well!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ugly]

Thanks for the response, Ugly.

Although I like acoustic guitar and the intimate feel of that, I also really enjoy a romping organ belching out an amazing old hymn! And I enjoy a lot of the modern worship stuff, too, if it's done well!

Thanks for sharing!

And if that's what you enjoy, then no worries. But this is why churches do separate services. The things you enjoy, to me, are more of a distraction and irritant. Same as with others. The only reason i can see why this would cause division in the churches would be if each side were actively against the other. For example, many people who prefer only hymns take a very negative and critical view of newer music, particularly in church, so they become outspoken in their disagreement. This happens and it causes a defensive reaction in people who prefer modern worship. Before you know it you have two groups of people being intolerant of the other GROUP (not the music).
If people would just accept the differences, rather than need to dictate musical tastes to others, there would be no churches being torn apart. The issue isn't the music, it's the people. But many people are quite intolerant of and vocal about their disdain for music not fitting to their tastes. I've seen this countless times over the years, because of my personal musical interests. I see it on a regular basis here in the Music forums. People feeling a need to attack a style of music, creating division, rather than just accepting that they don't like it and moving on.

 

[Bushido8000]

I DO NOT understand why churches must split themselves up into two services based on worship style. I think it brings disunity among the brethren. Why can't everyone just get along and have a blended worship service with the best of all styles worked in?

Why should I have to choose between traditional or contemporary? Why can't both elements be incorporated? If I go to a strictly traditional service, I lose out on great modern praise music, and if I attend a contemporary service, I miss out on the great historic hymns of the faith (or worse yet, a praise band will take an old hymn, lower the key, simplify the harmony and play it on guitars!).

What gives? It truly breaks my heart to see the church is such disarray!

Unfortunately it isn't even the church administration's fault. Many people wont attend a church purely because of the style of worship music, mainly older people can't stand contemporary worship. Drums and synths are just too much for them Younger people can't stand old time twang.

 

[Lynx]

I see it on a regular basis here in the Music forums. People feeling a need to attack a style of music, creating division, rather than just accepting that they don't like it and moving on.

*Thinking about multiple christian rap and christian rock threads...

*Thinking about saying something...

*Accepting that some people won't accept it and moving on.

 

[JC3]

I don't think it follows that having two separate services need necessarily split a congregation apart. I visited a church when I was in Adelaide Australia a few years back. The neighborhood was transitioning. There were only enough English speaking (mostly ethnically German) folks left to support one service, but there were lots of new immigrants who needed a place to worship. So the church added services in Portuguese and then maybe also Swahili -- I think that's right, been a few years, don't quote me on which languages. I gather that initially this was effectively three congregations sharing one building but they grew into one congregation, albeit each with their own clergy who conducted services in their own languages. And I suspect they each had their own distinctive music styles.

So I don't see any problem with one building or one congregation offering several different service styles.

Perhaps some people are not so much bothered by the fact that there are two different styles but rather that one of those styles is a 'wrong" style. I'd be cautious about such condemnation. Judge a tree by its fruit. I've been to Quaker services that had no music at all and no liturgy. Wasn't right for me, but it seemed to provide a worship experience that worked for those congregations. And I'd guess that if that service was bringing them closer to God, then God maybe found music enough in that closeness.