Well, i started researching the differences between contemporary and traditional services, specifically in regards to many main line denominational churches who are accessing their relevance to a post modern community, and couldn't find much out there. I mean, there was nothing that made sense or was clear or concise. So, I decided to do an interesting thing... pray and put my thoughts on paper. They were recently received joyfully by both those who prefer a liturgical service and those who prefer a contemporary service. So, I put it up for all those looking for something that makes sense that can be used to communicate with others the differences between the two. At my church, we've adopted a slogan which says, 'Something for Everyone'. We don't see these differences as obstacles or negatives, but as positive incentives to a community who demands choices. You will see some facts that are 'community specific' to where we reside, but i hope you can still find some universal truth in its context. I hope you enjoy...
Defining Contemporary and Traditional Services
I believe that it is very important to tackle the issue of defining, not only the function, but the definition of a contemporary and a traditional service. This is important because, no matter what side of the fence we sit on, we carry with us our own biases and opinions of what we believe a church service should look like and why it should look a certain way. To begin, however, we must define what the purpose is. We must define who we are trying to attract, minister to and keep. And lastly, we must give a clear picture of what the service looks like and have the courage to stick with that model, even if it is not our personal preference. The goal must overshadow our personal desires.
The purpose behind structuring a service in a contemporary or a traditional style needs to be centered in meeting the needs of the congregation and the community. Not only the congregation that currently sits in the pews, but those whom you wish to reach who dwell in the homes surrounding your church and those throughout the city. There will often be those who currently attend who prefer a service one way or another – but remember that you’re making decisions not based on what you have, but on what you hope to have in reaching those unsaved individuals throughout the city. It makes sense that those who currently attend are content with how things are or the chances of them still being there would be slim. We want to think of those who have come and left after their first or second visit and those who have never entered through our sanctuary doors.
A good place to begin when defining a traditional or contemporary service is to define what age group you are trying to reach. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that someone in their seventies prefers things a little different than those in their thirties. It will also help to define how ‘contemporary’ or ‘traditional’ you are expecting the service to be. Do you want the extended electric guitar riffs that would be appreciated by someone in their twenties and annoy someone in their forties or acoustic folk songs that would be remembered by someone in their fifties and seen ‘cheesy’ as someone in their thirties? Can you mix these into a good worship set that would please both the twenty year old and the fifty year old?
In Wickenburg, I believe that a good goal would be a ‘two decade goal’. It is quite feasible to design a contemporary service that attracts 30-50 year olds and a traditional service that attracts 50-70 year olds – understanding that there could be 45 – 55 year olds who may prefer one style over another and there may be an overlap with different individuals even outside of that age range. But, when looking at First Presbyterian Church of Wickenburg, the data of the city provokes me to believe that these age goals are a good range.
I would like to define some different aspects of a service and compare what they may look like through ‘contemporary’ eyes and ‘traditional’ eyes – based on our age goals.
Traditional vs. Contemporary Music: The contemporary group was raised with a certain style of music that they listened to. This ‘style’ incorporated different instruments like drums and guitars and gave the listeners catchy melodies and riffs to remember and sing along. The traditional group was raised with a different ‘style’ of music which was more of a defined, precise style with big band elements, musical interludes and well defined beginning and endings. So, we see that the differences go far beyond what instruments to play, but the very ‘feel’ of the set. A well defined, precision start and stop style of traditional versus a looser, catchy chorus driven style of contemporary. A common mistake is to believe that a ‘contemporary’ team can just do the same traditional songs using different instruments. This is not true because it doesn’t carry the ‘feel’ of more common choruses and songs which are out there today. I believe that there are songs that were written decades ago that have deep spiritual truth and great words founded on scripture which must be sung in the contemporary services today, however this must be done carefully. Trying to do hymns by simply replacing an organ with a guitar is an exercise in futility.
On the other hand, a traditional style needs to have songs which are known by the 50-70 year old congregant. There is a great comfort found in singing songs which have become part of your spiritual foundation. Also, the organ and choir work together to bring the traditional style which is so appreciated by the traditional congregant. Many 50-70 year old members are happy to have the opportunity to sing in a choir and welcome that ministry.
The Flow of the Service: I find that many who attend a traditional service find great comfort in knowing what is to come next in the service. The bulletin is an important part of their experience on Sunday mornings and they take great time and effort in reading it and following along throughout the service. They enjoy the printed prayers and the responses and enjoy reading about different prayer requests and activities that take place in the church.
A contemporary service will often reflect a flow of service which is not as regimented as a traditional service is. There are no responses or prayers which are read. There is still a time for prayer, but it is not a printed prayer but one which is spoken from the heart. I believe that the sermon becomes one of the most important aspects of a contemporary service - a sermon which is centered on scripture and applicable to everyday life. A contemporary service will use many different elements to complement the sermon in order to minister to the 30-50 year old congregant. Some of these will be notes that are in the bulletin that can be filled in as the sermon is preached, a power point which follows the sermon and provides the scripture reading for those who aren’t comfortable and/or knowledgeable enough to find it in pew Bible, and practical examples that the congregation can truly relate with. I find that the length of a sermon is not as important as its content in a contemporary service. (Someone would rather hear a moving sermon and have the service go longer than watch their watches and want the pastor to stop after 16.5 minutes.)
Follow Up: Both the traditional and the contemporary service attendees want to be followed up with and shown that they matter and that the church cares about them. There is no substitute for time spent, a smile and a kind word. This happens before or after service as the congregation mingles with one another. However, I do believe that there are certain things that a visitor to a contemporary service wants to see.
A good website. The first thing that a 30-50 year old church searcher is going to do is try to find you on the internet. In fact, oftentimes they will visit the website and listen to a few sermons long before they ever walk through the sanctuary doors. Keeping a site that is current and professional is important.
Distribution of information. We cannot assume that everyone knows where the Bible Study is or where the children’s ministry is or what time the church potluck is. We need to have a crisp, clear way of distributing information to a 30-50 year old in a professional manner.
Good signage. This not only has to do with the church sign, but when someone enters the church. Is it easy to find your way around? Do they know where the snacks are? Do they know where the bathrooms are? If we rely solely on individuals to communicate these facts, people will be missed and information will not be distributed.
There are more things that I could cover, but I believe that this is a good start. If we really want to have two services – and have ‘something for everyone’ – then we need to be willing to honestly look at our efficiency and see if we are really doing two services with two different goals in mind (catching the appropriate age groups), or simply doing the same thing a different way. I believe that we can make the decisions which are necessary to facilitate growth in our congregation, but I believe that it is going to happen when we have the courage to say that it’s not about what ‘we want’, but about what needs to be done to reach our goal… and Wickenburg for Christ!
Your Partner in the Gospel,
GP Hintz
www.gphintz.com
Labels: Church, Contemporary, Contemporary Service, First Presbyterian Church, God, GP Hintz, gphintz.com, Greg Hintz, Main Line Denomination, Ministry, Traditional, Traditional Service, Wickenburg
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