Christ is on the Move
Brian Fletcher
Acts 11:19-30
Intro:
In the mid 80's to the late '90s and really even today, the Christian church in America has experienced what was known as the ''worship wars''. In the '70s a typical church service in America included prayer, the preaching of the Word, and the singing of hymns and only the hymns that were printed in the hymnal. Of course, there would be communion once a month and the occasional baptism. Oh and not to be forgotten, the offering plate was passed every single week. The singing would be accompanied by a piano or, if the congregation were well off enough an organ. The pastor would ''lead the congregation in singing'' by stepping away from the pulpit and stand in front of his chair behind him. Clapping was frowned upon, raising your hands was considered too emotional and dancing, well, let's just say dancing was simply not allowed. Of course, this was mainly the conservative, evangelical churches, not the wild and crazy charismatic ones. It was considered a ''traditional'' worship service.
But into the '80s and '90s things started to change. Guitars, basses, and drums were introduced in many churches. People were so moved and excited to worship God that they started clapping their hands. Some people even started to pull their hands out of their pockets and raise them
above their shoulders! To add fuel to the fire, people, who were still alive, began to write hymns, spiritual songs and create different melodies and music for the ''great hymns of the faith''. This, of course, became known as ''contemporary worship''. It created a tremendous amount of division among churches, even splitting some. You could see this playing out on churchyard marquees...Traditional Service at 10am, Contemporary Service at 5am.
The last three decades have also created controversy over ''who'' the worship service is actually for. Bill Hybels Willow Creek Church and Rick Warren's Saddlback church both started to market ...
Brian Fletcher
Acts 11:19-30
Intro:
In the mid 80's to the late '90s and really even today, the Christian church in America has experienced what was known as the ''worship wars''. In the '70s a typical church service in America included prayer, the preaching of the Word, and the singing of hymns and only the hymns that were printed in the hymnal. Of course, there would be communion once a month and the occasional baptism. Oh and not to be forgotten, the offering plate was passed every single week. The singing would be accompanied by a piano or, if the congregation were well off enough an organ. The pastor would ''lead the congregation in singing'' by stepping away from the pulpit and stand in front of his chair behind him. Clapping was frowned upon, raising your hands was considered too emotional and dancing, well, let's just say dancing was simply not allowed. Of course, this was mainly the conservative, evangelical churches, not the wild and crazy charismatic ones. It was considered a ''traditional'' worship service.
But into the '80s and '90s things started to change. Guitars, basses, and drums were introduced in many churches. People were so moved and excited to worship God that they started clapping their hands. Some people even started to pull their hands out of their pockets and raise them
above their shoulders! To add fuel to the fire, people, who were still alive, began to write hymns, spiritual songs and create different melodies and music for the ''great hymns of the faith''. This, of course, became known as ''contemporary worship''. It created a tremendous amount of division among churches, even splitting some. You could see this playing out on churchyard marquees...Traditional Service at 10am, Contemporary Service at 5am.
The last three decades have also created controversy over ''who'' the worship service is actually for. Bill Hybels Willow Creek Church and Rick Warren's Saddlback church both started to market ...
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