Contemporary Movement Faltering

In mid-January, I read an article entitled “10 Reasons Contemporary Worship Is Declining and What We Can Do to Help the Church Move On” (Meg Bucher, crosswalk.com). It is from a charismatic source in which several key admissions are made.

“To understand where contemporary worship is going, it’s helpful to understand what it is and when it began. The charismatic movement birthed this style of worship known for a more casual setting.”

“…Contemporary worship is evolving into the next generation, and with that comes change.”

“…it makes sense that the style in which we worship will evolve along the way. As people change, the relevant way in which the church reaches them will have to follow suit.”

“…Each new leader…is influenced by where they came from and what’s going on in their circle right now. The ideas that will flow most naturally will be what they are connected to in the here and now.”

Bucher’s statements are very revealing about the nature of the contemporary Christian scene. As with any venue, church or otherwise, where entertainment is a major component, changes do inevitably come. The music in the contemporary churches includes (they say) everything from “Bach to rock.”

The writer of the Crosswalk article correctly reports that all of this started in “the charismatic movement.”

She further reports that “contemporary worship is evolving.” If I ask, “Why is that?” the answer is “people change,” “the church…will have to follow suit,” and “the here and now.”

Who knew that “as tech evolves, so will the way we worship”?

Much of what this article tells us about the contemporary church scene, we already knew. That’s why we have repeatedly spoken up to express our opposition to it.

The writer (Bucher) seems sincere in asking, “What can we do to help the church move on?” Since “contemporary worship is declining,” apparently, the idea is to find out what the people want now and give it to them.

Sincerity is obviously a good trait, but it needs to be embedded in the bedrock of Scripture. The people who are sincere—but sincerely wrong—number in the multiplied millions. What will the contemporary leaders plunge into next? That remains to be seen, but you probably should not expect a return to church as we once knew it.

When things go awry (as we believe the contemporary scene has), they usually go even further adrift when they “move on.”

The fact is that a number of our Baptist brethren have embraced some measures of the contemporary church movement. Hopefully, they will not “evolve” with the charismatic originators of the contemporary Christian movement. Although a U-turn that returns them to their Baptist heritage may be unlikely and would be difficult for them to make, it would be a wise move if they did.

Here are a handful of observations—

1. Pleasing God should always be priority one. That likely will not please a lot of worldly people.

2. Scriptural foundations should never be twisted to fit current cultural norms.

3. When the church platform begins to look like a nightclub stage, something is adrift.

4. When the music at church sounds like that of a nightclub, something has gone wrong.

5. When preaching plays second fiddle to the music, you’ve got trouble.

6. When “hang loose and cool” are the norms, things are headed downhill.

7. When a variety of Bible revisions are acceptable, you can expect the church’s theology to “evolve.”

So, yes, we have and do object strenuously to the contemporary Christian movement. Now that its advocates acknowledge its “decline,” we will watch closely for where they head next. Based on their past performance, we can’t imagine that their next move will be a positive step.