So it's interesting. I have found myself thinking through these issues for a few years now so I thought I throw them down here and see what some of you think about it as well.
One of the most debated, not to mention explosive, conversations in the church today (I say today, but if you study church/worship history you find it's no new issue) has to do with worship in the church - style, approach, biblical and cultural issues, essential elements of the service, etc. Every generation carries with it a different approach to its corporate worship. Like I said, this is definitely not a new thing. In fact, we see this in the book of Ezra after the new temple was created when they were having a service of dedication of the temple. The older generation was remembering the first temple which was much greater and more elaborate than the second, and they were weeping tears of sadness in their remembrance. The young generation who had never seen the older temple was blown away at the fact that they finally were able to worship in a temple and their songs of celebration and praise were loud. In the book both are received by God as praise - although one is lament and one is celebration.
Growing up as a "Generation X-er" (although every Gen-Xer hates being labeled that way) was interesting in that our corporate worship tended, and still tends, to be very contemplative and introspective. Mine is the generation that finally begin to be honest with how they were truly feeling about life and God instead of putting the face on before going to church. Mine is the generation that began to see their parents divorced at ridiculously high percentages and wasn't exactly sure how to deal with the fact that their parents were hurting and abandoning them, leaving them as latch key kids, but didn't seem to care. Mine is the generation that began to experience a significant disillusionment with church inauthenticity and a major lack of relevance to their lives. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we're alone in the experience of these things, but these are things that heavily influenced the way this generation worshiped. Gen X-ers were intensely drawn to corporate, musical worship that was honest, lamenting and me focused ("I need this...I feel that...etc"). Many churches adopted long drawn out times of worship that facilitated hurts being dealt with and a receiving of the emotional and spiritual healing that Christ brings.
The biggest problem I have with this approach or expression of worship is the amount of me-centeredness going on. Worship is not about me, it is about God. And my heart is healed, realigned and filled when our worship is full of the truth of the person and deeds of God and I respond to that revelation. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for songs that focus on what I will do, but I believe it needs to be a smaller percentage of our corporate experience and it needs to come after we focus on who God is and what he has done. It makes so much more sense that way.
But here's what I wanted to write about tonight. For the last four years I have consistently led all generations in the church, but could probably say that I have mostly led Gen-Xers and Millennials. Ethnos Church is largely a Gen X Church (those born between 1965 & 1976), and most of the other places/events at which I lead are geared for Millennials (those born between 1977 & 1998). I have noticed the above trend relating to the way people approach our time of corporate, musical worship. But what I have noticed about the Millennials is very intriguing to me. They live in a much more negative environment than we did as GenX kids. The divorce rate has climbed. The political and economic situations have gotten worse. They are inundated with violence, sex, religious and spiritual pluralism and confusion, war, hate, etc. Hurt is all around them. YET they are so much more optimistic than we were as a generation. They are hopeful and alive, and their worship follows suit. As GenX-ers we mistrusted institutions and completely rejected rules. Millennials see a total irrelevance for institutions and they are rewriting the rules. As GenX-ers we reacted against our families and clung to our friends. Millennials cling to family and friends, seeing them both as one big family.
All of these things are so affecting their worship. I was talking to a friend about this, and he said that he thought that Millennials worship this way because they are led in ways that other generations weren't - meaning that there is more access to up-tempo worship music style, and this supposedly facilitates "up-tempo worship." But I really do believe it goes much deeper than merely music. There is something much more significant going on. What I have noticed in the context of corporate times of worship with Millennials is that it is incredibly honest, yet intensely celebratory. They love being together with each other, and they love to express themselves in celebration to a God who they believe is full of hope. They are drawn to songs about God rather than songs about "me." There are moments of pouring their hearts out to God in need and desperation, but unlike Gen-X, it is the minority. This has been incredibly refreshing for me as I have led them, and it has taught me to approach our times of corporate worship in this way. I find it interesting that when I see Boomers or Gen-Xers in those Millennial worship contexts, they are on the brink of exploding from the inside out, because they truly want to "break out" and just celebrate. But it's not natural for them and it takes work.
But I think that it is important for us to learn from each other. I think we as Boomers and GenX-ers should work at approaching our times of corporate worship with their attitudes, and let them teach us some things we need to learn. At the same time, I think the Millennials need to learn what it truly means to be able to worship from a place of lament. They are young and haven't experienced too much suffering and pain, and if we teach them how to worship from a place of pain they will have that foundation when that time in their life comes.
______________________________________________________________________
And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, fold men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. ~ Ezra 3:11-13 ~
_______________________________________________________________________
Thoughts?
