I don't particularly care for contemporary services, or as they are more euphamistically called "celebration service." The church I attend has just started this unfortunate trend. We have two services one at 8 and another at 1045. Every other Sunday we have these "contemporary services," or "celebration services" at the 1045 service. I generally go to the 1045 service mainly because I work on Saturday nights and I can't quite drag myself out of bed to get to the earlier service.
The main reason I don't like them is that I don't feel filled spiritually. I find something wanting in me. My weekly spiritual "fill-up," if you will is not quite complete. I will give my church credit, though. They do have all the parts of a service-- they follow a kind of liturgy, which is something that I have found tends to be lacking in other contemporary services I have attended. I can't tell you how many times the most important part (as far as I am concerned) of the service has been left out: the confession and absolution. I need that. I need that reassurance. I need that to keep my pilot light going.
The other thing I don't like is the "hymns." They songs we sing in a celebation service tend to feel more like "petting Jesus songs," or "I really dig you Jesus" songs.
For those of you that understand the terminology: I much prefer the "old hymnal" to the "new hymnal" (to those that don't really understand this be assured that the "new hymnal" is now at least 20 years old). I much prefer the 5 and 15 liturgy to the one we find in the "new hymnal" if for no other reason that I can never find it. I miss using hymnals. It would seem that churches could safe a lot of money if they use the hymnals and forgo printing the whole blasted service into small booklets.
I don't see much uniformity in LCMS church services any more. When I visit an LCMS church I'm not sure what I'm going to get. There is a reason why McDonald's is so popular in the world: you know exactly what you're going to get when you order. In the LCMS I'm not so sure any more. You could walk in get a good old fashioned 5/15 liturgy based service, or some fly by the seat of your pants service.
I'm trying to figure out when services became sunday morning camp fires. I'm not sure.
2 comments:
i dont like much the newer songs either ... they had a contemporary worship band at the nondenominational church i went to in conroe ... ok, i suppose but irritating ... same songs over and over ... old people were impressed b/c there was an electric guitar AND a sax ... big woot ...
The "new" hymnal? Uncle P-Nut, when you get a chance, have the cobwebs blown out of you attic and take a gander at the hymnal that really is "new," the Lutheran Service Book (LSB). As far as your liturgical preferences go, I may not agree with you on the place you give the 5 & 15 services from TLH, but that's just because I grew up with the Divine Service II (First and Second Settings) from LW. Maybe, just maybe, you'll find something that you like in the new LSB. God bless you, Mr. Nut, cause we need more liturgy lovers like you to keep us from going to H-E-Double Hockey Sticks in a handbasket and becoming just another one of those happy-clappy "Jesus Loves You" kind of churches (not that there's anything wrong with Jesus loving you, of course). Be well.
Post a Comment