If you don’t attend church you may not be aware of the worship wars. The Traditionalists are battling the Contemporaries.
The traditional service uses hymns, pianos and organs and might have a choir. They assume that hymnals will not only teach you the words but might also bring unity in worship expression. They understand harmony to be more than singing falsetto. Except for those with Pentecostal roots, traditionalist can sing with their eyes open. The preacher stands behind a pulpit and often uses a stationary microphone. He will use a literal translation like the KJV or NASB. They like to meet in a sanctuary.
The Contemporaries like songs hot off the press, drums and guitars and have a “worship team”. If the song has been around long enough to be bound in a book, it is too old. Projectors and screens with beautiful background scenes are standard. The speaker of the day is personally wired and roams all over the place. There is not pulpit in view. A pulpit might scare the children. He will used many translations every week, usually paraphrases like the NLT or NIV. If you wear anything with a collar you would be warmly greeted but there would be concern that you might carry a disease or be a serial killer. The dress of the day is usually what you would wear to a picnic in the mountains.
The church my wife and I have settled into has an interesting approach. They have two different services most of the year. That is standard practice in many churches. But in the summer they combine services. They rotate back and forth between the fellowship hall and the Sanctuary. Each service is different. The pastor is the same.
It is an interesting experience. I enjoy both services. Since they are combined, both weeks I have gone have been very crowded. I don’t know if that will continue through the summer. One advantage of this approach is that it exposes people to a different style than they thought they liked. Who knows, it might help them to grow.
Happy worship wars.
homo unius libri
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