Recently, I took a little heat when I poked fun at a young female for claiming that she went to a new level in worship at the latest Generation Unleashed Concert. I argued that what she experienced wasn't worship, but instead excitement at attending a fun event. Well, Exhibit A, in support of my argument is this video of the most recent Generation Unleashed Concert.
When you rely on special affects, lighting, guitar solos and crowd surfing, to get Christian teens excited, that's not worship that's manipulation. If worship is just a good concert, then the Rolling Stones have brought more people to Christ than Billy Graham.
Does that mean that Hannah Montana has brought more people to Christ than even the Rolling Stones?!?!
Seriously though, your post made me think of a very pertinent quote by none other than the great theologian Brad Pitt:
Kind of chilling and supports Catalyst’s point. BTW, you can find the interview with Pitt here. He makes some other provocative and interesting observations on leaving his faith.
Interesting read on Brad Pitt. Thanks for the link.
In many of the Mega Churches I have found it too much like being at a concert and there is no room for the Holy Spirit to move in the service as there is too much “Production”. I remember a time at BT when the worship services were pure. (long time ago)
I have been turned off by churches for that very reason and for the first time in many many years I found a church where there was a real worship service. . no special affects, lighting or major production. It was refreshing!
My friends and I were just discussing this very thing this morning! It seems that this type of hyped up ‘worship’ (of whom?) is something the church has come to rely on to feed the increasing religious addiction.
Hyped worship is also just another way for preachy authoritian leaders to tell the people they aren’t doing something right. The church world has too many worship leaders who chide the crowd when they feel the worship hasn’t ascended to the maximum ‘level’ to validate their ‘anointing’. — “Am I the only one worshipping here??” “I don’t know about you, but I’m going deep! You can stay in the shallow water, but if you do, you will never abandon yourself to the Lord.” Well, maybe I want to sit here in my chair because my heart is in a quiet mood today. Why do I have to yield to group hysteria?
I got so tired of someone yelling at me between songs.
Not saying that worship music isn’t excelling in its newly established genre — it’s just what it has evolved into though, a genre. Having fun at a worship concert is ok to do. And what a great way to showcase talented singers and musicians. But participating in the big noise shouldn’t be criteria for a Christian to prove a level of spirituality.
I suppose it’s personal as to who is really worshipping God and not up to anyone else to judge that. But if we each took time to get quiet before the Lord and be truly honest with ourselves, we could each discern what hungers drive us.
You might be shocked at how much production actually went into those services.
[Comment ID #32940 Will Be Quoted Here]
I doubt we are referring to the same era. There was no major production back then.
It wasn’t a production in the sense that the worship service was more like a concert or showcase for individual talents like we see in many mega-churches today. But a lot of hours and work went into producing and practicing it to make it feel exactly the way you described, pure.
OK but I am talking about the early 60′s – early 70′s. When I first started going to BT there was only 50 people. (not quite a mega church yet)
I do understand what you are saying but I am talking about when worship was just that. . Pure Worship.
Paul F would sing – if I could write a song and put the words to music, I’d only want to write about the Lord….
S Iverson would lead..
… And there shall me no more tears (beat) neither sighing, or dah dah.. any more tears, for the former things have pasted away, behold I a make all thin-ings new.
and we’d all start in together
halla hala shan dala coola… we all knew the routine and perfect cue.
I would get a such an endorphine rush after singing I couldn’t get to sleep.
Singing produces endorphines, the same high one gets from running, and back then it was called jogging. (eating chocolate can also do it for ya) A natural high.
After a short deliberation the jury has decided, based upon the evidence provided, that the defendand, Catalyst, is…
NOT GUILTY
You’re stealing from that young female by discrediting her worship experience and claiming it wasn’t genuine. Whatever revelation or freedom she experienced could now be thrown into confusion because of YOUR jealousy and religiosity.
For all the talk here of how God moves in greater ways than we know and how we can’t put Him in a box, I just saw a lot of boxes put up over what God can do in a GU worship service.
We can’t discredit someone else’s experience with the Lord because of our lack of breakthrough. It’s damaging. It’s hurtful. I hope that young girl left here with at least some assurance God had done something in her life. You could have left her with that at least.
jaspercreel said:
Just because we are discussing what true worship is or isn’t in our opinion, doesn’t mean that we are jealous and religious. You are correct in assuming the young female had a true experience of God in worship, but you are incorrect in assuming that what works for her should work for everyone else. This is a free forum and we are entitled to our opinions.
jaspercreel said:
You are entitled to your opinion, Jasper and that’s one way to look at it. But just because we are discussing what true worship is or isn’t in our opinion, doesn’t mean that we are jealous and religious. You are correct in assuming the young female had a true experience of God in worship, but you are incorrect in assuming that what works for her should work for everyone else. This is a free forum and we are entitled to our opinions just as much as you are entitled to yours.
ok so Jasper gets an initial response and the more polite response.
I apologize. I never meant to suggest religiosity in that way. Worship does have many forms, although I have my views too on what our response should be in worship.
What I wanted to express though was the religiosity in picking apart that young girl and her worship experience to expose the flaws in it, especially in a foum where she could openly see, and directly to her as well. It’s very damaging to her, especially if that level of worship gave her new freedom in a particular area. God works in any arena of worship. He loves His children enough not to deny them His presence or healing if that one person is truly seeking it amidst a sea neural stimulation.
Again I never meant to attack one person’s particuar view on worship, and apologize if that wasn’t clear. I just wanted to protect this girl’s revelation.
Jasper,
Since this isn’t my blog I’m not sure if it would be my place to accept your apology, but if it were, I’d accept. Thanks for clarifying and I can see where you are coming from. I remember it dawning on me one day how God may not have a favorite type of music like we do and so therefore isn’t confined to ANY particular form of worship. As always he looks at the heart and moves through whatever he chooses to.
One day the young female matures, she will need to be aware of her responses in that ‘sea of neural stimulation’. When her spirit isn’t sensing what the worship leader is suggesting (or demanding depending upon his/her leading style) will she have to force herself to conform out of what she thinks should be obedience to phrases like “Am I the only one worshipping here??” Instead, she will probably feel bad about not feeling what the leader is feeling and think there’s something wrong with her own sensing of the Spirit.
We all know that God is most pleased with honest offerings and sacrifices of the heart. I think worship leaders above all need to be careful with how they present their belief in presenting those sacrifices to the Lord. Rather than give in to the temptation to chide those on the floor for not picking up the pace don’t they need to simply worship from the platform themselves as an example?
Jasper, I doubt if that will be damaging to anyone. She’s 17 and almost an adult not 7 years old. She’s not a young child. I want her to be closer to Christ and would view her as a younger sister in Christ.
And if she truly experienced freedom and God, she would not be torn apart by words of others. She should be old enough to realize that there are Christians with differing opinions, and that not every Christian will agree with her 100% and that sometimes being a Christian isnt easy. Freedom in Christ isn’t about what you feel at a service. There is nothing wrong with laughing, jumping or enjoying a GU conference. However, freedom in Christ is knowing who you are through real life and no matter what happens. If her ‘freedom in Christ’ depends on opinions of strangers in a blog then she can easily be torn apart by everything outside the domes or real life.
As for real life, when I was newly saved I experience the greatest joy ever. Was my own family supportive? Not at all. They acted as though my conversion was another day. Also, my Christian friends were totally apathetic. But that was reality. I had God and nothing else mattered.
This may sounds harsh but thats the reality. And this is from a 25 year old woman that very well remembers her teen years. When I was 15, I would have said something exactly like that. Did I have a good time? Yes while I was there yes. Later around 17-18, I started wondering why I was struggling in my Christian walk. Where was the joy, ideal Christian life? Well, do you see where I went wrong. I was measuring freedom by superficial standards and life inside the bubble. Being a Christian is not always being idealistic.
When I turned 18, I wondered why I felt empty and dry inside my spirit. I realized that it isnt necessary to go to GU to experience a freedom in Christ. In fact, I can encounter God powerfully (just as much as I had in the conference) in the privacy of my own home in my own devotional. If a person cannot have the same kind of experience of GU during their own devotional, then they just attended a rock concert.
There are different expressions of worship. And just because Christians are worshipping in hymns DOES NOT make them ‘lesser’ Christians or legalistic. That’s measuring spirituality by superficialities. I have seen a powerful worship where people were being healed, and saved in a Lutheran church during an Ash Wednesday when they worshipped quietly in hymns and in a traditional way.
I can’t speak for the rest of us here but I have seen many of my own friends turn away from Christ during college. And when we were teens, we went to the conferences, youth camps and were totally on fire for God. All of them are now at different walks. What happened to some of us was we grew up and realized that there is a lot more to spirituality than the mega church culture. However, there were disappointments and hurts during the process, which were painful. Why? instead of conforming to God like we thought, we were being conformed to church culture.
I don’t want to speak for everyone. It seems the posts here are reflecting and speaking out of personal experiences. I’m sure we all grew up there as teens. As for that girl, I want her to grow, mature and find happiness in Christ and wish good things for her.
[And if she truly experienced freedom and God, she would not be torn apart by words of others. She should be old enough to realize that there are Christians with differing opinions, and that not every Christian will agree with her 100% and that sometimes being a Christian isnt easy. Freedom in Christ isn’t about what you feel at a service. There is nothing wrong with laughing, jumping or enjoying a GU conference. However, freedom in Christ is knowing who you are through real life and no matter what happens. If her ‘freedom in Christ’ depends on opinions of strangers in a blog then she can easily be torn apart by everything outside the domes or real life]
Any discouragement can tear a person’s freedom from them, if they let it, and if it’s too harsh for them. I agree that worship can’t be put into an MFI shaped box, but to criticize someone else’s version of worship just to “teach them something about the world” doesn’t make you any better than the people that this blog is supposed to be “hurting”.
As far as discouragement goes, even Elijah ran from Jezebel because of discouragement and fear, and just after he called down fire from heaven. You don’t have to be young in the faith to get hurt by discouragement, you just have to be human.