Come Together and Worship
This past Sunday was unique. We had a joint service with Oakland United Methodist Church which is directly across the street from the school where we meet. Our praise band led the music and Sam had a great message about worship being so much more than the music you sing. Their church is looking toward transitioning to a more blended/contemporary style of music in worship.
It was awesome getting together with another church just to worship and fellowship together. We have such a culture of competition ingrained in the American church. It is great to just lay aside our differences and focus on our common goal of making disciples of Christ. They had some serious food after the service. They definitely have been blessed with some good cooks. There’s nothing like an artery clogging, cholesterol raising, church potluck.
As a side note, I hate labels because contemporary praise music is not really contemporary. What we sing in most churches is the style that was popular 15 years ago. Just ask a teenager if what we sing in church is contemporary and you will get a honest answer. If we stop and think about it, traditional churches were contemporary in style at one time, they just decided to not change with the culture. Honestly, shouldn’t churches be known more for what they believe in and what their mission is.
Our music shouldn’t define us,
but we should be known by our message.
Our style shouldn’t define us,
but we should be known by our hearts.
Our buildings shouldn’t define us,
but we should be known by our fruits.
As churches, let’s stop focusing on “labels” and start focusing on reaching people for Christ.