2. Not all environments and examples of modern worship are alike.
Modern worship songs are sung in all sorts of contexts, from Lutheran churches to Pentecostal churches. Furthermore, the distinction between “songs in the hymnal” and “songs on the screen” is blurring as modern worship songs are being added to hymnals (I know at least two that were added to the Baptist hymnal a few years ago). I recently worshipped in a Presbyterian church where modern worship songs were thoughtfully sprinkled into the communion liturgy. So, if one were to critique modern worship, the questions are: Which expression of modern worship? Are we talking about the songs themselves, or the presentation of them? Or are we talking about the shape of the service as a whole, or the portion of the service that involves music?
3. Many churches that employ modern worship do so because of a rich theology of the Spirit.
This may be the most unaccounted for and under-studied dimension of modern worship. In many churches, renewals in worship are seen as a result of the Spirit’s work. Consider that the two churches producing the most widely-used modern worship music (Hillsong and Bethel) are churches from a charismatic/Pentecostal tradition. Moreover, the sociologist of religion Martin Stringer argues that “the Charismatic meeting, complete with ‘worship time,’ powerful, emotive and biblical preaching, and the manifestation of the Spirit in some dramatic form,” is the most “common form of Christian worship in the contemporary world.”
Christians have long believed that the Lord is present in our gathered worship. Yet the location of His presence has often been restricted to the Eucharist. Some have argued that through the Reformation, the Spirit’s presence through the Scripture—the proclamation of the Gospel —began to be recognized and even given center stage (literally). In a similar way, the “great worship awakening” (Robert Redman’s phrase) came as churches began to see the portion of the service known as “sung worship” as a viable place of “encounter.” (My friend and scholar Nick Drake has written wonderfully on this, and has helped me see the trifold places of encounter in Christian worship: Word, Table and worship/prayer.)
Furthermore, these Christians believe that the Holy Spirit empowers us to proclaim the Gospel in a language people can understand (just as He did at Pentecost). Modern worship is the result (at least in part) of a renewal of awareness of the Spirit’s work, both to communicate God’s presence to us as we sing, and to empower each congregation to reveal Christ in fresh and meaningful ways.
4. Many churches that employ modern worship have a robust sense of mission.
Mission is not automatically in contradiction with “formation,” though the two must be held in tension. Some churches go too far by advocating a “reach the lost at any cost” approach. Yet others don’t take mission seriously enough and confuse liturgical conformity with gospel faithfulness. Many churches that utilize a modern worship style are trying to hold both things in tension. They want to be faithful to the core of the Gospel and to the Great Commission. They want people to be properly formed in the image of Christ in order to bear witness to others about Christ. Believe it or not, there are churches who sing modern worship songs who have no desire to resort to gimmicks to win people to Christ. In fact, these churches sing modern worship songs precisely because they believe only the Spirit of God can draw people to Christ.
5. Modern worship engages the congregation emotionally, and that’s a good thing.
Emotions are not secondary, lesser important parts of being human. (I’ve blogged quite a bit about this HERE.) Some researchers have even suggested that humans are seekers of “emotional energy,” which is a “socially derived … feeling of confidence” which results in the “courage to take action” and the “boldness in taking initiative” (Collins, 2004). In fact, a recent academic study of 12 nationally representative megachurches discovered that “megachurch attendees have high levels of belonging and spirituality,” and that their “megachurch makes a strong effort to help them realize and use their gifts to serve the wider community with most attendees volunteering for their megachurch at least occasionally.” All of them cited the worship (the musical portion) as either the first or second reason for both choosing the church and choosing to stay. Maybe modern worship—or if you’d like, “megachurch worship”—actually helps people belong and meet with God. I am not suggesting it does this better than other forms of worship, or that it will have this effect for everyone. I am only citing this research to say, don’t be so sure that it doesn’t. The popular criticisms of megachurches and modern worship is that they are “merely a source of entertainment without any real substance and that large churches cannot produce feelings of intimacy, morality and transcendence.” A closer look says otherwise.
I could go on, discussing in depth the pure hearts of so many worship leaders, the hunger for the presence of God in so many megachurches … but I hope you get the point: Painting with a broad brush doesn’t give us the best picture.
