One of the most troubling aspects of contemporary Christian worship that is too abundant even within liturgical churches is that you cannot make a distinction between announcements and the ordo. It all flows into one because there is commentary on everything. Liturgical directions that tell people what they are going to do before they do it are not exclusive to contemporary Christian formats but they are intrinsic to the kind of free flowing liturgy which is basically a conversation of leader and people (whether that is the pastor or the music leader and people). I detest it. I do not even like it when we tell people to sit or stand or kneel. Unless they have no direction in hymnal or worship folder and it is absolutely required, the presiders do best when they shut up and let the people do their part without prompting. Nearly all of the time they already know what they are to do. Let them.
Those who practice contemporary Christian music and worship delight in the lack of clear markers to define liturgy and announcements (which vary between information and inspiration). Indeed, so often in these congregations the announcements work like the opening act of an entertainment venue to warm up the crowd before the main act shows up. I might be relieved if that main act was Jesus but too often it is simply the worship leader du jour who enters like the mighty sage with all the answers to tell the people what they should do. Preaching is less preaching in this context than it is a longer version of the kind of informational and inspirational announcements which begin the worship time and are hardly distinguished from the rest of it that follows the first words and songs.
I was talking with members of a group which spent a goodly amount of time opening for the big names on the concert tours. Interestingly, they said they had to walk a fine line between overshadowing the main attraction so that the crowd was disappointed when they took the stage and disappointing the crowd so that they lost interest in the whole thing. It would be helpful if worship leaders heeded the same advice. Do not make yourself so big that Jesus is no wanted or welcomed and don't make yourself so boring that people are not watching or waiting for the main event. If they did at least this, it might be helpful. Instead it seems that too many of these leaders know how to keep the attention on themselves and on the things the people do without allowing any of the attention to be given to Jesus and His gifts.
One more disappointment is how they keep making everything in worship special -- from the music that entertains the people to the events that they are promoting to the latest kitschy trinket they are promoting. Everything is special at these churches but the one thing that is supposed to be the most special becomes ordinary -- so ordinary that no special order, vestments, or devotion is attached to the Christ who gives us His flesh in bread and His blood in wine. Okay, there you have my rant for the week. I am not sure where you attended or what you experienced this Sunday morning but I hope and pray the markers that signaled the beginning of the Divine Service were clear as well as the gifts of God in Word and Sacrament the center of it all.
If you bothered with the video, the liturgy as such began about 17 minutes in and the sermon at about 32 minutes in. For what it is worth, the sermon seemed to be more about goats (greatest of all time) in various categories than about Jesus and what He has done.
2 comments:
There is much anxiety and dissatisfaction about everything in the church. It makes sense that as Christians live imperfectly and sinfully, they often worship imperfectly as well. The Lord is aware, we can be sure. We can’t seem to find, while in our human tabernacles, a worship style or format that pleases everyone. You are right to point out this essential truth: that our worship must be Christ centered, and not focused on ourselves, even unconsciously. The whole of the Christian walk is to strive to be faithful, and empty of carnal and sinful pride. Yet, Our Heavenly Father knows our frames, and extends mercy. We are incomplete in all we do. We must admit to it, and be honest with God. We are sinners living in a fallen world, even as we love and follow the one Holy and eternal God who created us. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” 2Cor3:5. Soli Deo Gloria
I am beginning to think, after seeing this LCMS so-called “contemporary service,” that the issue is not really one of “high church” versus “low church” forms.
Historically, “low church” did not mean what is now commonly called “contemporary worship.” Traditional low-church advocates were not attempting to discard theological depth in order to appear relevant to the latest cultural trend.
“Low church” is itself a tradition—one that does not reject the communication of transcendent truth. In reality, both high-church and low-church traditions possess substantial theological content. They differ stylistically, but both are attempting to communicate and embody truth. High church tends to do so in a more formal, scripted, and ceremonial manner. We may debate which approach is safer, more beautiful, more reverent, or more effective, but the debate is not fundamentally between theological depth on the one hand and emotional consumerism on the other.
Low church is generally less pageant-like and more reflective of ordinary human interaction. Truth feels accessible because it is communicated directly, without requiring extensive liturgical or cultural sophistication in order to understand what is taking place. High church, by contrast, often resembles a kind of sacred drama in which the congregation participates almost like a Shakespearean chorus. Many find this beautiful and stabilizing. In some ways, it may even require less preparation, since the words and actions are already prescribed in the “playbook” of the liturgy and hymnal.
Yet therein also lies a danger. If the book says, “and the congregation shall sing the Amen threefold,” they may do so whether they understand, trust, or inwardly assent to what is being proclaimed. The low-church instinct is not that we should emotionally manipulate people so that their “Amen” sounds heartfelt. Rather, it is that truth should be communicated clearly and meaningfully enough that people respond naturally and sincerely with, “Yes—this is most certainly true.”
In the end, I am beginning to think that the term “contemporary worship” should perhaps be reserved for approaches that intentionally thin out theological substance in pursuit of cultural immediacy. Serious and thoughtful worshipers may be either “high church” or “low church,” but both are engaged in the proclamation of transcendent truth. Both seek theological depth, even if they differ sharply in how that truth is expressed, embodied, and communicated.
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