Contemporary worship
is a form of
Christian worship
that emerged within
Western
evangelical
Protestantism
in the 20th century. It was originally confined to the
charismatic movement
, but is now found in a wide range of churches, including many which do not subscribe to a charismatic theology. Contemporary worship uses
contemporary worship music
in an informal setting. Congregational singing typically comprises a greater proportion of the service than in conventional forms of worship. Where contemporary worship is practiced in churches with a
liturgical
tradition, elements of the liturgy are frequently kept to a minimum. The terms
historic worship
,
traditional worship
or
liturgical worship
are sometimes used to describe conventional worship forms and distinguish them from contemporary worship.
History
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The contemporary worship phenomenon emerged from the
Jesus Movement
in North America in the 1960s and the "Charismatic Renewal Movement" in Australia and New Zealand during the 1970s and 1980s. The function of music in services, the style of songs, their performance, the explicit theology of the lyrics, and the theology implied by these aspects distinguish “contemporary worship” from traditional worship in practice, and theological background. Contemporary worship music takes a significant part of the service time and repetition of phrases reinforces the theological content of the service. The impact is heightened as creeds and formal prayers are seldom used. Theologically, contemporary worship music is influenced by Pentecostal and evangelical theologies. However, the phenomenon has influenced all major denominations to some degree. There is a wide variety in practice between churches.
Contemporary worship is intrinsically related to the contemporary
Christian music industry
.
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Block worship
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Contemporary worship normally includes a number of songs sung in succession, with little or no intermediate speaking. In more traditional forms of worship, it would be normal for
hymns
to be interspersed with prayers, readings, liturgical items, etc. The traditional practice is sometimes referred to as a 'hymn-prayer sandwich' and the contemporary form 'block worship' or the 'praise and worship'.
Worship leader
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A notable feature of contemporary worship is the worship leader. A worship leader is normally a musician (often a guitarist or pianist) with good singing ability whose role it is to lead the congregational singing. Many composers of contemporary worship songs are also worship leaders. The worship leader has a prominent role in contemporary worship services and is responsible for much of the spiritual direction of the meeting and often will choose the songs that will be sung. This can be contrasted with traditional churches, where the entire service is normally led by a member of the clergy. Also, in many cases, the worship leader is responsible for recruiting, assigning, and training other musicians to compose a worship band or team.
A popular definition of the worship leader's role is by Bob Kauflin: "A faithful worship leader magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit by skillfully combining God's Word with music, thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the gospel, to cherish God's presence, and to live for God's glory."
[1]
Worship band
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The style of
contemporary worship music
is influenced by
popular music
and not suitable for the traditional church organ. Most
churches
adopting contemporary worship therefore have a
worship band
or
praise band
to provide music during their services. Other terms such as
worship team
,
worship group
,
praise team
, or
music group
are also used.
Worship bands are most common in
evangelical
denominations, but can also be found among other Christian denominations.
Most worship bands are church-based and seldom play outside their own churches. However, some
contemporary Christian music
bands also act as worship bands for events, and may label themselves as such.
Worship bands have varying compositions and use a variety of non-traditional church instruments. In the 1970s and 1980s, a
folk music
style was commonplace with acoustic string or woodwind instruments being popular. Today, the influence of
rock music
is widespread and the use of electric instruments has increased.
Worship bands normally also include vocalists and a worship leader and usually lead congregational singing replacing the traditional church choir and
pipe organ
, although occasionally churches use both bands and choirs. In fact, apart from the singers and musicians, the people "handling the presentation slides, the sound guy who manages the mixer, and all others who support the worship ministry in many different ways"
[2]
are also considered a part of the worship team or band. A worship band can create a contemporary sound to the worship that younger worshipers can identify with. Worship bands may also be utilized with the rationale that some non-churchgoing visitors will feel more comfortable.
Projected lyrics
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The
charismatic movement
also resulted in large numbers of
songs
being written. It became impractical for churches to use hymn or song books, as a single book rarely contained all the material they wanted to sing, and the turnover in songs was rapid.
Hence many churches that adopt a contemporary style of worship project the words to the songs onto one or more screens. Originally, this was done using an
overhead projector
or occasionally a
slide projector
, but as
video projectors
fell in price and improved in performance, it became more popular to use a computerised system. Specialised software, known as
worship presentation programs
, was developed to generate the images for display.
Creative arts
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Contemporary worship often includes other elements not found in conventional forms of worship.
Drama
, typically in the form of short sketches, is sometimes used to highlight a topic of teaching.
Dance
is commonplace and includes both choreographed and improvised dance as both an expression of worship and again for teaching purposes. Occasionally short videos or film clips are shown.
Criticism
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Critics have also argued that contemporary worship services are actually 'entertainment', claiming that the increased amounts of music (often played by a band) and lack of
intercession
, create the atmosphere of a concert or performance.
[3]
Interviewed in
Christianity Today
in 2011,
Grove City College
professor T. David Gordon stated that churches were adding hymns to contemporary services, but that in the past the main concern had never been how new the music sounded. He supported blended services, but only to the extent that they kept churches from splitting.
[4]
After his 2011 interview, Gordon said Mark Moring of
Christianity Today
had observed that contemporary music in churches was on the decline. Gordon said the people who first wanted it are older, and contemporary music had become so common that it was no longer a marketing tool, and no longer new when people wanted what was new. Praise teams, Gordon said, were like performers, but they were in conflict with what the Bible said. And the congregation needed to participate.
[5]
See also
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References
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Further reading
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]
- Pro contemporary worship
- Contemporary Worship Music: A Biblical Defense
. John M. Frame, P & R Publishing, 1997.
ISBN
0-87552-212-2
.
- Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God
. Bob Kauflin, Crossway Publishing, 2008.
ISBN
978-1581348248
.
- Anti contemporary worship
- Worship in the Melting Pot
. Peter Masters, Wakeman Trust, 2002.
ISBN
1-870855-33-7
.
- Stones for Bread: A Critique of Contemporary Worship
. A. Daniel Frankforter, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
ISBN
0-664-22284-6
.
- Why I Left the Contemporary Music Movement: Confessions of a Former Worship Leader
. Dan Lucarini, Evangelical Press, 2002.
ISBN
9780852345177
- General - not categorized
- Selling Worship - How What We Sing Has Changed The Church
. Pete Ward, Paternoster, 2005.
ISBN
1-84227-270-5
.
- Worship In The Spirit
. James H. S. Stevens, Paternoster, 2002.
ISBN
1-84227-103-2
.
- America's Worship Wars
. Terry W. York, Hendrickson, 2003.
ISBN
1-56563-490-X
.
- Putting an End to Worship Wars
. Elmer L. Towns, Broadman & Holman, 1997.
ISBN
0-8054-3017-2
.
- Worship in Spirit and Truth
. John M. Frame, P & R Publishing, 1996.
ISBN
0-87552-242-4
.
- Blended Worship: Achieving Substance and Relevance in Worship
. Robert E Webber, Hendrickson, 1996.
ISBN
1-56563-245-1
.
- Guiding Your Church Through a Worship Transition
. Tom Kraeuter, Emerald Books, 2003.
ISBN
1-932096-08-6
.
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History
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Thought
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Practices
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Forms
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Movements
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