Just a Bit too Harsh

Some folks, whose opinions I cherish, advised me that my expressed observations of the congregations I have recently worshiped with were unkind and, even, factually inaccurate. (I wrongly stated that a certain Baptist Church had five to twenty baptisms every week - in fact, two or three weeks would pass between baptisms.) There were more than a dozen or two after a youth revival or camp or vacation bible school.  I decided to delete those two harsh posts and beg the readers to disregard them. After all, these congregations did not gather to please me in their forms of worship. Their denominations were not formed to conform to my doctrines and practices. I was a visiting guest.

It is so easy to establish and state one's opinion. After worship, we often ask, "what did you think of the worship or the preaching?" To ask a preacher what he / she thought of a sermon will always produce a critical response. This is not because preachers are born critics, its because we are trained critics. If you ask a carpenter what he thought of a house you just visited he / she will notice that several corners were out of line or that the spacing between the windows were not uniform and maybe a bit out of square. He will notice how server joints were not flush. I am blind to such errors. If you ask a Master Gardener what she thought of the church's landscaping or an interior designer about the décor, you would get a thoughtful appraisal of its strengths and weaknesses.

We each have are preferences regarding worship. I find it helpful to allow lots of room for pastorally lead prayer, congregationally recited prayers and silent prayers. I like prayers of praise, intercession, supplication, and thanksgiving. I like to be reminded of the basics doctrinal tenets of the Biblical faith in the form of a creed. Much of this is what I find lacking in more contemporary forms of worship. I expect a sermon to be an exposition and application of a biblical text. I expect there to be a minimum of promotional announcements and for them to be kept out of the sermon. Yes, I understand that a congregation does not order its worship to meet my expectations.

I prefer hymns with rich content and to be directed mostly toward God. I like hymns where God's attributes are articulated. Hymns like, "Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise." I think central to worship is adoration (love) directed toward God. "More love to Thee, O God, more love to Thee." I like hymns that tell of God's "wonderful greatness." Many songs in Contemporary worship styles seem to emphasize the Christian's experience with life in the light of the salvation experience. The form is our need / God's provisions. There is nothing wrong with that per se, but God is far more than our Provider. He is not worthy of our praise merely because he meets us at our deepest felt need. On the contrary, our true need is solely to know and cherish God's will.

Are there contemporary Christian songs that touch my heart and feed my mind? There certainly are. I listen to the music produced by Sovereign Grace Music. They are out of Nashville and have taken very old hymns and reworked them to fit modern musical forms. Their content is rich and their musical forms match the best Contemporary Christian Musical groups. Many of the Contemporary songs we sing are perfectly fine in their content and musical styles. Many of the songs of the 19th century are woefully dreadful - their tunes are impossible to sing and often sound like they belong in a roller skating rink  (think: "sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life." and say, "everyone skate.")

In the posting I deleted, I mentioned the song selection for worship and characterizes it as "top forty." This was not intended to sound as flippant as it did. It is an accurate description of how songs are often selected for contemporary worship. You can visit the webpage yourself.  https://www.praisecharts.com/songs/ccli-top-100-songs/ 

My problem with singing in large size worship services is not so much the content of the songs. Most of them are inspiring. They lend themselves to expressions of praise and a renewed commitment to God. Near the heart of my problem is the decibel level of the amplifiers. The preacher's voices is amplified to about 80 dbs. That is a comfortable and safe level. The music is amplified (I am told by those who study these things) to between 90 dbs to 115 dbs. The high level is the sound of a Harley Davidson motorcycle at full throttle. It is simple math - if the sound level of the praise band is 100 and the congregant singer's voice produces 75 decibels of sound you physically cannot hear yourself sing. If I cannot hear myself sing or those around me, I stop singing.

So, my apologies to anyone I offended in the two posts I deleted. The other post on my level of involvement in professional ministry, I may treat in a subsequent post. That subject, I must confess touches some pretty raw nerve endings. It is so painful that I might have lost perspective.