The End of the Worship Wars

...For me, at least.

I grew up in the church. I've spent approximately 43 years worth of Sundays rising early while my friends slept in. Dressing up while my friends got into their swimsuits or other Sunday activity clothes. Driving to church while my friends went off to the mall. Singing praise to Christ while my friends indulged in football.

I point this out because it is those of us around this age, who grew up from birth, in the church, that seem to have become the most involved in the "worship wars." We seem to be the ones who have the biggest stake, so we think. On this side of things I have to wonder why.

Who decided that simply because a song was written after we were born it can't be worthy of use during a church service? Who decided that the electric guitar was demeaning to the worship of God, but the organ, easily the most obnoxious instrument on the planet, brought glory to God?

When we left the Reformed church it was difficult to attend the "contemporary" service at the Baptist church. While I knew some of the songs from listening to Christian radio (I know, *gasp*), the style of worship was never one I had been comfortable with. It was fine for a concert, I thought, but not for a church service.

As we've been there for several months now, and thought back to all the problems with the Reformed churches we've attended over the past 2 decades, we've come to the conclusion that the music is not the most important thing. And last night, for me at least, sealed it.

Last night I took my oldest to a special event at church. It was supposed to be for young people but there were a lot of middle aged folks there too (mostly parents, I assume). As the music began, even louder than at the contemporary service, and the words we were to sing flashed on the screen, it began to dawn on me that to think God was not being glorified simply because a guitar and drums were being used instead of an organ or a piano would be pretty conceited.

The words were incredibly worshipful and, while I can't speak to the heart of each individual worshiper, I'm sure that as many people were praising God from their heart in that congregation as could be in a hymn singing, organ listening, congregation.

The worship wars have divided the young and the old for far too many years. The desire to hold onto the past is not a sign of orthodoxy, it's simply a sign of stubbornness.  While I probably will not switch to the 11:11 service (where they play louder music) over this, I don't have a problem with the church reaching the young through the means of their own style of music. There is an old adage in business, "lead, follow, or get out of the way." I think it's time for us to admit that by insisting on archaic worship practices (which, btw, I love--well, except the organ) we are "in the way." Yes, the gospel is enough, but, no, worship doesn't need to bore people to tears.