How Contemporary Does Worship Have to Be?

One of the most successful and influential pastors in Canada is Carey Nieuhof. His influence goes far beyond Canada. Carey has been successful both in church revitalization and church planting. He has much for all Christian leaders to learn from.

Having said that, I don’t always agree with him. Nothing I say is an attack on him as I do respect his knowledge about leadership.

I recently read a blog post by him that I wanted to respond to. This is not to refute his conclusions but to use his comments as a jumping off point for an important conversation. The post is 3 Truths About The Accelerating Pace Of Change And Leadership.

The part that I want to respond to is about contemporary worship. This is what Carey said:

Many churches have implemented some level of change and proudly proclaim themselves as up to date and current.

The truth is, the church might no longer feel like 1968. Instead, it feels like 1996 or 2004.

The church is contemporary compared to what it used to be, but it’s not at all current with the culture.

Add to that the reality that the change was painful enough that the leaders don’t want to change any more.

Want a quick test to see how current your church is? Check the copyright dates on the songs you sing most. Many ‘contemporary’ churches are at least a decade behind.

It is true that there are churches that consider themselves contemporary, who are doing songs that are twenty years old or older. But is this a bad thing? According to Carey, it is. He makes this comment:

In all likelihood, if your music is out of date, so is your church.

I admire Carey’s passion for inspiring the church to me relevant to today’s culture. We should all strive toward this. But I have a few observations about Carey’s comments.

The assumption seems to be that people, especially millennials, want only the most up-to-date music. I’m not convinced that is correct.

I’m not just talking church music. Most radio stations today play not just today’s hits but the best of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. At my previous church we had a youth group and I was amazed at how many of them were fans of classic rock, especially Led Zeppelin. Part of the success of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies is the classic songs that make up their soundtrack. I don’t know of anyone who only listens to music that was released in the last five years.

Turning to worship music, we need to also think about people’s expectations. Listening to Carey’s podcasts and reading his blogs, I know that his emphasis is on reaching the unchurched. What will a non-Christian think if they walk into a church that is playing Shout to the Lord, Here I am to Worship or In Christ Alone? Will they recognize those as being older than the last five years and judge the church to be out of date?

I need to be clear, I an not arguing for churches to do only hymns. I think there are hymns that stand the test of time and some that don’t. It is the same for every generation of worship music.

Instead of choosing music by the copyright date (whether the earliest or the latest), why not just choose the best songs that are singable and have good lyrics? Why not do these songs with excellence, aside from how old or new they are?

This is the philosophy of worship that I have.

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