By Mark A. Taylor
Things were simpler then, but I”m not convinced they were better. Way back in the “good old days” when I was growing up, Sunday-morning worship invariably followed the same pattern: Two praise hymns. Prayer hymn. Minister”s prayer. Communion hymn. Communion. Offering. Special number. Sermon. Invitation hymn. Closing prayer. “Blest Be the Tie that Binds” or “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.”
It intrigues me now, with all our talk about worship style and quality, that no one demanded more of formal worship services in those days. Oh, I remember talk around the dinner table about how nice, or how embarrassing, that week”s solo or ladies trio had turned out. But no one would have considered changing churches for the music, because the church down the street (unless it was Roman Catholic or Episcopalian) offered the same order of service, the same hymns and gospel songs, and the same amateur presentations from Singspiration and Rodeheaver songbooks.
Of course, that was before cable TV, laptop computers, or the Internet. We hadn”t seen salad bars or shopping malls. There were no megachurches and very few multiple church staffs.
Expectations are higher now. The barrage of multimedia assaulting us every day has accustomed us to excellence and multiplied options. Why shouldn”t we find them at church too?
But some expectations have become lower.
Back in the “50s we expected to know the words to the songs offered for worship. Not so today.
Back then we expected the whole congregation to sing. But some worship leaders today seem not to notice or care what”s happening with the crowd that mostly just watches.
In the smaller churches of that bygone era, worship felt more like all of us participating than a few of us performing.
We can”t go back, and I certainly wouldn”t want to””especially when many today are moving beyond “The Sunday Morning Show,” as Ken Read has called it (see our October 9, 2005, issue).
Each of this week”s articles about worship indicates a trend toward engaging the heart of the worshiper. This is good.
When Sunday worship offers variety and an occasional surprise, there”s the chance it will truly involve me.
When it connects me with God more than the people on the platform””when it challenges me with God”s claim on my life””then I have worshiped and not just attended.
This is especially possible if I have come to worship expecting to encounter God. Regardless of what”s happening up front, this may be the most important factor of all.
Author: Christian Standard
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