Bulletin Articles: Full Article for Record Number 1030
Easier Worship
by Larry Ray Hafley
(Under the heading above come the words of Tod Brainard below. He has much to say which ought to stir and stimulate reflection and reformation among brethren-LRH).
"The title comes from an advertisement recently published in the ’Your Church’ magazine which markets technologies to churches. The gist of the advertisement was that technologies on the market today make worship easier. Much more is being said by such a title that most are willing to realize. The truth is, the average local church today is in a state of flux. The concept of a worship services is being reworked and retooled to fit 21st century standards. Churches are now hiring ’worship leaders’ to bring the modern audiences into the ’spirit of worship’ that is supposedly missing in old-fashioned Bible-preaching, hymn-singing church services. The old-fashioned congregation is out and the newfangled theatre audience is in!
Congregation Vs. Audience
"....Over the past 25 years there has been a diminishing of the congregational concept of worship. An appointment with the Lord in a collective setting that leads...to adoration of Christ...has given way to a selfish hodge-podge of fleshly activities. The spirit of secularism pervades much of the ’worship scene’ today. We have learned how to sharpen our swords on Philistine stones. Most church worship services reflect more the values and culture of Nebuchadnezzar’s worship service than that of Christ’s (Dan. 3:4-7). The offering of praise and worship in song has moved for the most part from the pew to the podium....Most...congregations today are nothing more than audiences watching the spectacle of ’praise teams’ with microphones, headsets, big screen projections, and special effect lighting....The flesh-orientation trumps Spirit-orientation in this setting. Worship then becomes all about us and our pleasure and less about Christ and his glory. By virtue of this worship philosophy, the preaching of the word of God is no longer front and center, it is secondary and supplemental.
"....One is easily deceived when one is flesh-oriented. Truth is exchanged for fables without the recognition of what is taking place.
Return To The Old Paths Wherein Is The Good Way
"Jeremiah told the Israelite religious leaders that they had left the old paths and the good way (Jer. 6:16). The ’worship leaders’ of Jeremiah’s day promoted a new way of worship which was very much like unto the worship of the Canaanites. It is high time...to get back to the Bible. Brush off the old hymnals and get back to singing the sound, doctrinal hymns....Preaching the Word of God after the manner of 2 Timothy 4:2 is desperately needed. ’Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.’ Preaching the exalted Word of God must be the centerpiece in reality and not in promotion only.
"....If people come away with a ’Wow, that service was so neat!’ rather than ’I need to confess my sin and do right for the Lord Jesus Christ!’ then we have not preached the Word of God with conviction nor have we worshiped the Lord in any way, shape, or form. The degree of our worship is measured not by our technologies and our...programs, but rather by...Christian lives being tuned and calibrated by the convicting Word of God to sing the eternal praises of the Holy One, Jesus Christ."
Concluding Comments: Did I mention that the author of the above piece, Tod Brainard, is a Baptist preacher and that his article appeared in The Baptist Watchman, May, 2004?
