Just a theory...

I know that in writing about contemporary worship there is a danger of falling into one of two extremes. One extreme says that nothing new or “contemporary” in any way should ever be used in worship. The other extreme says that only new, innovative, and contemporary forms of worship are effective and relevant. At the very beginning, I want to go on record as rejecting both of these errant and foolish positions.


With that being said, I do have a theory (for what it is worth) about the ultra-contemporary worship that exists in our day. I know I need to define the term “ultra-contemporary”, but I want to be careful in doing that. I will list some practices that I believe characterize the ultra-contemporary model of worship, but I understand that these are general and can exist in a church to greater or lesser degrees.

The ultra-contemporary model of worship is one in which the production and presentation are of the utmost importance. The music must be cutting-edge in its performance and style, accompanied by adequate light shows and smoke for dramatic effect. The use of media is central, and images and visuals are highlighted, even over the actual content of what they convey. Within this model, other “forms” of communication, such as drama, dance, and art are brought forward and presented for the audience’s consumption. Within this model, “preaching” as it is traditionally understood, is minimized, de-emphasized, or altogether replaced by other means of communication. When the pastor speaks, he does so in a conversational style, with little biblical emphasis, and strong emphasis on the personal needs of the congregation. The messages become another avenue of satisfying the desires of the consumers, otherwise known as the congregation. Rather than teaching the Word of God, the sermon becomes a sort of motivational pep-talk, with verses sprinkled in to sanctify the whole discourse.

Though there are other elements that could be added to that description, and parts of it that some would contend are unfair, I think that will suffice to define what I mean by ultra-contemporary. With that in mind, here is my theory. The ultra-contemporary worship model is nothing more than children’s church for grown-ups.

Think about it. Many of the people that are proponents of this style of worship are the children who grew up in traditional churches. In those churches, those children move from the nursery to children’s church, where they are entertained with puppets, pictures, story-books, and movies. Each Sunday was an effort to keep up with Nickelodean, Disney, and other entertainment devices that the children were consuming throughout the week. Churches tried to make it “fun” for the kids, while giving their parents a break in “big church”.

When the kids are too old for children’s church, they move into the youth group, where the entertainment continues, though it moves from the style of Nickelodean to MTV. The music is updated, and activities, games, and outings replace the puppet shows, but still the effort is to keep the kids interested.

Finally, when the young adults are too old for the youth group, the only thing left is to move them into the auditorium where they have to sit and listen to hymns, and hear the preacher preach from the Bible. When they are no longer entertained, they either leave, or they stay and demand that something be done to entertain them. With that, we find the entrance and expansion of what I described above.

Now this is just a theory. I am not a sociologist, nor an expert on the church. I do, however, feel like we have hurt ourselves by not involving the children in the simple process of sitting in a worship service with other generations, and learning from them what it means to come to church, not to be entertained, but to worship the Lord by focusing on Christ and His Word.

It is just a theory.