Over this past year, I have had the privilege of teaching a short course called Earnestly Contending at Fairhaven Baptist College.  During a recent two-day course, we took some time to teach on the issue of contemporary worship.  The students were assigned to write a short paper explaining what is wrong with contemporary worship, and why we must contend for the issue.  As an incentive, I promised to post online any articles that I thought were well-written and compelling. 

Our first post included three “honorable mentions.”  In our second post, we began at number ten and worked our way to number seven.  Today, we continue working our way through the top ten, beginning at number six. 

#6 – Kayla Sgrignoli

The belief that the worship “mood” can be controlled by a dimmer switch, rather than prayer and heart preparation, says a lot about the fleshly experience expected.

Satan is constantly attacking the idea of sacred worship in today’s age and has promoted the idea of contemporary worship to modern-day believers. God intended for worship to be our purpose on this earth. But contemporary worship has taken over in four areas – music, dress, platform arrangement, and stage lighting – and turned our focus from worshipping God to promoting self. And when we promote self, we open the door to losing the presence of God in our midst.

Contemporary Christian music appeals to the flesh rather than appealing to God’s glory.  It promotes a fleshly response and drains the proper focus of the service. Music style is important – it conveys the message of the song – is it really about Christ or pleasing the flesh?

Contemporary worship styles have developed a studied shabbiness in the way they dress also. Dress style can both cause and communicate an attitude. The downward trend is to “come as you are,” which is causing more of a careless attitude towards worshipping God. Once again, it appeals to fleshly desire and comfort rather than worshipping Almighty God.

The platform arrangement also conveys a strong message in today’s contemporary circles. Contemporary services eliminate the pulpit, which serves to hide the speaker and emphasize the message in more conservative settings. The trend of promoting the flesh rather than bringing the focus where it ought to be can be seen once again.

Finally, the stage settings and effects can be a distraction, and yet serve as what is deemed a “vital” part of today’s contemporary worship services. Such worship settings have turned into theater-styled experiences rather than meeting with God. The belief that the worship “mood” can be controlled by a dimmer switch, rather than prayer and heart preparation, says a lot about the fleshly experience expected.

In conclusion, modern “worship” services have somehow lost focus of God and have turned to promoting and appealing to the flesh. Instead of bringing the flesh into subjection and humility, worship has slowly become more about fleshly comfort and enjoyment. It’s time to bring the focus back into perspective!

#5 – Brooke Wilson

Contemporary Worship generally has the idea of “come as you are”. This kind of idea puts no demands on the sinner to get right and make changes in his life.

Contemporary worship is something that seems to be sweeping through the country and finding its way into every denomination. This kind of worship is not Biblical and causes some problems. Contemporary Worship generally has the idea of “come as you are.” This kind of idea puts no demands on the sinner to get right and make changes in his life. “Come as you are” basically means to “leave as you are.” Everything is very casual in this kind of worship setting. A lot of money is spent to dress down.

Pastors pretend that style doesn’t matter, but to them, it matters almost more than anything. The congregation in a contemporary worship service wouldn’t hesitate to judge someone who came in dressed up. This casual setting shapes the view the people have of God. Style causes and communicates an attitude. We shouldn’t have an attitude that God is casual. It makes him seem less important. Contemporary worship is all around today and it’s an easy trap to fall into if your standards aren’t set. Be sure to set your standards and don’t let them slip.

#4 – Sabrina Damron

Since the moment God created Adam and Eve, a spiritual war has been raging for the souls of men. Man has no choice but to be a part of this war. The problem arises when Christians refuse to stand at the very point that is presently being attacked in their culture. In society today, that point of attack is contemporary worship.

Since the moment God created Adam and Eve, a spiritual war has been raging for the souls of men. Man has no choice but to be a part of this war. The problem arises when Christians refuse to stand at the very point that is presently being attacked in their culture. In society today, that point of attack is contemporary worship. A wall of defense is immediately shot up when addressing this issue. But does God really care about the way in which the Christian worships? Of course He does. The Christian’s purpose in life is to give God glory and please Him in every area of his life. Whatever he does is to be done to the glory of God, and this includes the way one worships God as well. The Christian is to offer his life continually to God; his body is to be a living sacrifice. The Christian’s worship style speaks volumes about the way he views the occasion and the way he views God. The style of the service shows whether he is giving his life as a living sacrifice to God. The typical contemporary church has four distinctives which express the people’s view of God. The music itself is contemporary, the dress is casual, the platform no longer includes a pulpit, and the church utilizes, to some degree, stage lighting for effect. Each of these aspects shows the view of God that the church wants to portray. It portrays a God of cheap mercy, one that lets the sinner come as he is and stay that way if he wants. Contemporary worship does not preach a God of justice, but rather an “all accepting” God. Christians cannot fight the scourge of secularism in its churches by conforming to secular ideas. It is here, in the area of Contemporary worship, that the battle is raging today. If the Christian does not fight at this very point of attack in culture today then he is not fighting against the devil as he should.