Worship Trends

One of the joys about being in an academic setting is that you spend a lot of time looking at trends. For instance, at the moment I am doing research into events that took place in the nineteenth century. Why? Because I am looking for historical antecedents to predict current and future trends. Why is that important? Because it is not always wise to try and predict current and future trends based on the current situation. Let me give you a very powerful current example - Worship.
Lester Ruth is a professor of liturgics (worship) at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. In the book, "The Convictions of Things Not Seen" Ruth writes a chapter about the current state of worship. It is a devastating indictment on the classifications and "styles" that dot the worship scene of today's contemporary Christian culture. He critiques the popular notion that contemporary worship should be the norm for the church in today's society. Now, Ruth is not a proponent of returning to a traditional style. But he is not an apologist for contemporary worship, either. So, what is he? Ruth is a realist.

Ruth's opening questions is how do you describe the type of worship service your church shares. Is it one of the following:

• Contemporary or traditional


• Linear or organic


• Multi-sensory worship; indigenous worship; innovative worship; transformative worship; blended worship; praise services; spirited traditional; creative; classical


• African-American; Hispanic; Euro-American


• Multimedia worship; authentic worship; liturgical worship; believer-oriented worship made friendly to believers; visitor-oriented worship


• Boomer worship; Buster worship; Gen-X worship; Millennial worship


• Mass; Worship Hour; Gathering; Eucharist; Liturgy; Celebration; "One hour of boredom"


• Loud; listless; contemplative; dry; lifeless; engaging; the most segregated hour in American society

Whatever you call it, worship is too complex and too important to be given a slogan or defined in a word. In an earlier chapter of the same book, Constance Cherry writes these profound words, "I suggest there is a better question to ask (than style): What kind of worship helps people encounter God?"

Worship is not now nor should it ever be a matter of style. It must be about how we encounter the presence of the living God. That may fit neatly into the style debate, but it must be the central question we long to answer.