Many articles are being written concerning the downfall of the church and religious worship in our country. There are people who are comparing our nation with Europe and the few who attend church on a regular basis there. Questions continue to be debated about the style of worship and the dress of the attendees to church worship events. There is a style of worship that has come to be attached to what is known as the Emerging Church. The worship style that stands out from those churches could only be described as different from traditional. Being different is not necessarily wrong, it is just different. The difference can be seen immediately in the dress of the people who gather for worship, rather than the traditional suit and tie, or what has come to be known as Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. The dress is much different, with men and women wearing jeans, flip flops, and even in some cases very relaxed with both males and females wearing shorts inside the worship center. The music can be heard long before one enters the area of worship. The “rock style” sound and various instruments that can be found in almost any 20 or 30 something style gathering place also catches the attention that it is not the more traditional piano or organ.
In a traditional church, like the one I pastor, we declared a “no tie” summer allowing for more dressed down look for the men. It was quickly embraced by the men and soon followed a more relaxed dress style of the women. The change in the attire has not hurt the worship atmosphere or in any way caused the attendance to go down. The more relaxed style of dress has enhanced the freedom in worship.
Having gone through this experience I am ready to conclude that it is not necessarily the style of dress but the innermost attitude of the people as they gather for worship. I have an appreciation for different styles of music, admitting that the blended type with praise choruses and hymns speak to my inner spirit as I worship. I can understand, however, that some people would find more to their liking the upbeat louder sound of the Christian rock. My age gives me away when I say it is more the loudness than the words or even the beat of the music in that genre.
As I have observed worshippers over these more than five decades, standing in front of a congregation as pastor, the most important aspect to me is the willingness on the part of the leaders to know and understand the culture of the people they pastor. Change comes slowly in churches. Many of the younger folks want to see change happen faster and sooner rather than later. Many mistakes have been made by church leaders over the years when not understanding the culture in which they serve; they try to force change when the people are not ready for the change to take place immediately. I discovered as a younger pastor that when people push back on change it is not always a refusal to change, but they need time to work through the reasons for the change and become familiar with the leadership style of the pastor. Once a leader has earned the right to lead most folks will follow them.
In a traditional church, like the one I pastor, we declared a “no tie” summer allowing for more dressed down look for the men. It was quickly embraced by the men and soon followed a more relaxed dress style of the women. The change in the attire has not hurt the worship atmosphere or in any way caused the attendance to go down. The more relaxed style of dress has enhanced the freedom in worship.
Having gone through this experience I am ready to conclude that it is not necessarily the style of dress but the innermost attitude of the people as they gather for worship. I have an appreciation for different styles of music, admitting that the blended type with praise choruses and hymns speak to my inner spirit as I worship. I can understand, however, that some people would find more to their liking the upbeat louder sound of the Christian rock. My age gives me away when I say it is more the loudness than the words or even the beat of the music in that genre.
As I have observed worshippers over these more than five decades, standing in front of a congregation as pastor, the most important aspect to me is the willingness on the part of the leaders to know and understand the culture of the people they pastor. Change comes slowly in churches. Many of the younger folks want to see change happen faster and sooner rather than later. Many mistakes have been made by church leaders over the years when not understanding the culture in which they serve; they try to force change when the people are not ready for the change to take place immediately. I discovered as a younger pastor that when people push back on change it is not always a refusal to change, but they need time to work through the reasons for the change and become familiar with the leadership style of the pastor. Once a leader has earned the right to lead most folks will follow them.
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