Contemporary Churches

Do you like the traditional or contemporary church services?

Many years ago, I was a member at Willow Creek Community Church and also a youth leader. It was exciting and an eye opener to be part of an organization that in effect putting old wine in new wine skins-- modern media but a four-square traditional Bible-based message. By contrast, some of the mainline churches have lost numbers, most notably the Episcopalians who are traditional in the structure of their services while often jumping on every modernistic bandwagon that trundles their way-- new wine in old wineskins. The WC model is the way to go if the goal is numbers. Having said that, the modernistic (mega) churches also are a flawed model in my opinion. With its seeker orientation, messages tend to be superficial and inoffensive. At Willow on a Sunday morning, you would be lucky to hear more than a single Bible verse in the sermon. It was essentially an anonymous place, which many people prefer. Again, you would be lucky to encounter someone you knew on any given Sunday. The turnover was tremendous-- a veritable revolving door. It also annoyed me that they had little use for the gospel classics, preferring even during the advent season songs from the Maranatha backlist. The effect was that most people didn't sing at all although the enjoyed the rock music and the drama.

My preference is a mix: I like the traditional songs and sermons but also the contemporary and creative media.