There has been a lot of debate in Christian circles concerning the "style" of worship services. My focus here is in two areas...formal vs. informal dress and the type of music and instrumentation used.
I grew up in and spent my early adult years in more traditional churches where dress was pretty much formal. Of course, in my early years most churches were formal (1950's & 60's). I don't think clothing is really an issue at all, as long as it is clean and modest. I suppose "modesty" is very subjective so let me use the phrase "in general good taste" (probably not much better).
When it comes to worship music, as a middle-aged guy who grew up on rock and roll, I actually see both sides of the debate. The "perfect" church for me, musically speaking, would offer both traditional and "contemporary" music and instruments. I like the old hymns as well as the more recent praise and worship choruses. In my view, the music question can get complex. Some hymns have been taken, modified and turned into modern worship songs. There are all kinds of cross over. I totally disagree with a former employer of mine in Christian radio who believes that drums are "of the devil". Psalm 150 says:
3 Praise Him with trumpet blast; praise Him with harp and lyre.4 Praise Him with tambourine and dance; praise Him with flute and strings.5 Praise Him with resounding cymbals; praise Him with clashing cymbals.
A tambourine is a hand-held drum and the resounding and clashing cymbals speak for themselves. As long as our worship is God-centered and not man-centered, we should do well.
No comments:
Post a Comment