This an article-ish thing that I wrote for my English class, and I like it, so I'm sharing it. It was weird, but I was going to revise it tonight, and I had a worship-focused bible study tonight where we talked about a lot of the same things that I speak of in the article. I just thought it was interesting how that worked out. Anyways, here it is:
Worshiping God in Today's Changing World
I believe that God deserves our best. However, I feel that, when faced with changes in society, many churches tend to settle for mediocrity. When I say churches, I don’t mean solely Christian churches. I’m speaking of any religion, whether Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, or to some degree even Atheism. People are resistant to change, and thus so are their belief systems. This is particularly prevalent in worship styles.
If there is one thing I have noticed about worship, it’s that worship is diverse. I have seen worship using only a choir; I have seen it done with chants; I have seen it with an organ and hymnals. In contrast, I have also been to rock shows where the whole purpose of the concert was worship; I have been to churches that have played blues, rock, country, and rap. There are literally infinite ways to worship. Throughout my experience, there has been only one thing constant: the unwavering glory that people are giving to whatever God that they are worshiping.
Many people tend to believe that they have the only “right” worship style. That is, if someone who is used to worship using an organ and hymnals were to go to a Christian rock show, the last thing on their minds would be worship. What I want to say is that there is no one style of worship that God enjoys best. He loves it all. But where does that leave churches when trying to attend to their congregations’ needs?
What churches need to remember is that, as there is no one correct worship style, there is also no one correct church. There are other churches that are preaching the exact same message as yours. That said, I believe that churches need to be uncompromising when it comes to worship styles. They need to choose a style with their intended audience in mind. For example, I attend Cornerstone Church in Ames, Iowa. Because it is right next to a college, their intended audience is, of course, college students, and their worship style is rock. They understand that they cannot make everyone happy. If anyone disagrees, they can go somewhere else that suits them better. As long as the church is not a cult, there will be others that have the same beliefs.
Churches need to be uncompromising in worship. No matter what, the goal is always to give God the best we have. That is the definition of worship. I believe that people can learn to worship in any way, but they always give their best when they are enjoying it.
Worshiping God in Today's Changing World
I believe that God deserves our best. However, I feel that, when faced with changes in society, many churches tend to settle for mediocrity. When I say churches, I don’t mean solely Christian churches. I’m speaking of any religion, whether Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, or to some degree even Atheism. People are resistant to change, and thus so are their belief systems. This is particularly prevalent in worship styles.
If there is one thing I have noticed about worship, it’s that worship is diverse. I have seen worship using only a choir; I have seen it done with chants; I have seen it with an organ and hymnals. In contrast, I have also been to rock shows where the whole purpose of the concert was worship; I have been to churches that have played blues, rock, country, and rap. There are literally infinite ways to worship. Throughout my experience, there has been only one thing constant: the unwavering glory that people are giving to whatever God that they are worshiping.
Many people tend to believe that they have the only “right” worship style. That is, if someone who is used to worship using an organ and hymnals were to go to a Christian rock show, the last thing on their minds would be worship. What I want to say is that there is no one style of worship that God enjoys best. He loves it all. But where does that leave churches when trying to attend to their congregations’ needs?
What churches need to remember is that, as there is no one correct worship style, there is also no one correct church. There are other churches that are preaching the exact same message as yours. That said, I believe that churches need to be uncompromising when it comes to worship styles. They need to choose a style with their intended audience in mind. For example, I attend Cornerstone Church in Ames, Iowa. Because it is right next to a college, their intended audience is, of course, college students, and their worship style is rock. They understand that they cannot make everyone happy. If anyone disagrees, they can go somewhere else that suits them better. As long as the church is not a cult, there will be others that have the same beliefs.
Churches need to be uncompromising in worship. No matter what, the goal is always to give God the best we have. That is the definition of worship. I believe that people can learn to worship in any way, but they always give their best when they are enjoying it.
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