What other changes ought we make to adapt our worship in ways that will more easily be understood in our generation?
If you’ve read the previous posts (Quo Vadis? Part 1 and 2), then you have some context to understand my thoughts. You may also wish to see the discussion on principles of worship that unite us at HBC. We are committed to these.
You may find these modest suggestions. I think they are. Some may wish I’d go further. (And probably some think I’m going too far.) The gospel is always at the heart of our worship. That is, the Word and prayer (which includes our singing) must remain our central concern in our corporate meetings. So we (the church under the direction of our shepherds) make changes to encourage more earnest, more affective worship.
Please know that I love our pastors. I gladly follow their leadership. They have my unwavering support as we think through these questions.
We have a diverse congregation, and it is vitally important that we minister to all who attend HBC. Let us love each other more than we do. I know I need to. Let us love them and learn to defer to their musical tastes (Phil 2:1-4).
Having said that, I do think there is more for us to do. I speak here only for myself...
1. I would hope we continue to be a (new) hymn-loving church. Now when you see the word “hymn,” do not assume that I’m talking about 18th English sacred poetry. Stuart Townend and Bob Kauflin also write hymns. Hymns are sacred songs full of Bible content. They carry theological (both doctrinal and practical) weight. This is where the Sovereign Grace churches are so helpful. One can have a thoroughly contemporary sound and have lots of content, many words, in their singing.
2. I would also hope we would continue to preserve the heritage of hymns that has blessed the protestant church since the Reformation. This is what we mean by “being rooted.” And this is why I strive to bring the “great hymns of the faith” into the 21st century – both text and music.
I still think it's a little slow to expect your church will grow the rate that certain other more progressive church nearby is growing. I mean, you can still have the doctrine, they do, but you can move into the 21st centruy of worship. I don't think you will lose people but you might gain some you otherwise wouldn't. I think that can be proven because there are people going to another doctrinally Reformed church down the road simply because that church is more progressive in some of these areas you mentioned and more. I know that rb called me a prophet of doom but that is not the intention--the intention is just to point out that people are going other places for these reasons. Perhaps even the writer of this blog can identify with that. And if has been happening and is happening now, should we not suspect it to continue to happen?
ReplyDeleteProphet,
ReplyDeleteyou mentioned that you don't think we'll lose people because of this. I hate to break it to you, but we already have. Multiple times. I'm not saying we shouldn't continue to change, but just know that it's not without cost.
Why don't you identify yourself?
Blessings to you.
Yeah, I know people are not coming or have left because things aren't progressing as much as they would like, but I don't think anybody has left because we've gone too far with the music and other changes. I did hear of one person that was possibly going to leave but don't think it was over music and don't know that they officially left.
ReplyDeleteI think more people are leaving our "Reformed" churches today because of our failure to "adapt" and our stubborn refusal to give up some of our "traditions" and the people of Heritage should be thankful for you Brother Dave and the elders who are willing to change to be more culturally relevant.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way HBC moves from its conserative tradition--I don't care who is leading music.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, though I was not at HBC 10 years ago, I think it is safe to say that HBC has moved way away from what it used to be like in terms of church music and if what it used to be like is what you call "conservative tradition", then HBC has at least budged. HBC utilizes various instruments and various genres which, I think, is a fair representation of our church culture and reflects the general culture at large. If our target audience was 70 year old Owensboroinians, our instruments and genre would, most likely, be scaled back. However, we are not ministering to, nor are we targeting only 70 year olds. The church, as with our culture at large, is not limited to one age group. If I had my personal preference, it would reflect my tastes and my age group alone. But hey, it ain't about me and my age group. There are more folks to edify than me and my own. If I acted as if it were about my preferences and made decisions based on that, I would be forcing my will upon others totally unnecessarily and very selfishly. I spoke to a well-known pastor today about the difficulties musical tastes can cause in churches. He said his church sings a blend of different kinds of music with various instruments accompanying them and with various age groups represented in the congregation - from old to young. They made the shift from an older form of music 6 years ago. He said it is wonderful to see unity in the midst of diversity (a very biblical concept) at this practical level and I agree with him. This issue is not as simple as "traditional" v. "contemporary". It does not have to be either/or when the church culture and the general culture is so diverse. A diverse congregational culture (a very biblical concept), along with a diverse general culture, seems to warrant diverse musical genres, unless we wanted to target one sub-culture within the larger general culture. Since the gospel is for old and young sinners alike, since our general culture is both old and young, since our church culture is both old and young, and since old and young alike owe God acceptable worship, it is wise and prudent to utilize diversity in musical genres and is actually a sign that HBC, in large part, is not conservative/tradtional. We all need to realize that at some point in the not-so-distant future what is contemporary today will be considered conservative/traditional tomorrow.
ReplyDeletePeace!
Rich B.
RB--
ReplyDeleteWell said!
David
times--they are a changin but when will these changes come?
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