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One of the “mega-trends” which we’ve been witnessing the past decade or so, is that of making church “hip” and “relevant”. Part of the “inspiration” for this avant garde approach is found in the words of the Apostle Paul, who proclaimed that he was willing to be all things to all people, in order that he might win some to Christ. Accordingly, leaders of the contemporary church claim that by utilizing modern techniques, they are merely repackaging Biblical material in a more palatable form—changing the method but not the message.

Now, let me be clear—I’m all in favor of reaching out to a lost world with the gospel, and even being innovative to some degree: sponsoring a float in a local parade, offering free blood pressure screening at a country fair, employing modern technology (such as websites), and so forth, may all have a role to play in efforts to raise an awareness of the church and to provide opportunity for evangelism. But what is not appropriate is to prostitute the worship of the living God, and particularly to do so by adopting worldly standards and mores.

Consider statements made by some “contemporary” churches. They want, they say, to re-think church, and to do church differently, and to ensure that at the end of a church service, you’re happy!

Of course, I agree that much of what goes on in the name of “the church” today (and has gone on over the past several decades) needs to be critiqued. However, the “rethinking” being offered up by “contemporary” churches consists of following the latest fads, rather than a radical following of the Word of God. For example, I concur that “traditional” church choirs have got to go; but I would also suggest that replacing them with “worship teams” does not solve the problem, but compounds it. Such musical performances distance the congregation from a direct encounter with God, while at the same time playing into a worldly sensualism. That is true of “traditional” church choirs; it is especially true of “worship teams.” And the result may be an emotional “high” that is mistaken for a spiritual experience, but in actuality is spiritually deadly.

And what of the result of attending a church service? We all want folks, ultimately, to be “blessed”—a Biblical term that has been translated as “happy”. However, the blessedness of which Scripture speaks is deeper than the modern notions of happiness. Moreover, despite our penchant for immediate gratification, said blessedness does not occur automatically and very rarely immediately: there’s no “insta-happiness” product or guarantee that comes from being in the presence of God. Rather, it is more often the case that a person must wrestle with eternally significant matters such as his relationship with God, and guilt, before coming finally to rest in the atonement of Jesus Christ.

No doubt many of these “contemporary” church leaders are sincere, and perhaps even sincere believers in Christ. But good intentions cannot disguise the fact that much of what they are doing is trying to dress Christian worship in pagan drag—a jarring incongruity that not only dangerously distorts the message but perverts the worship of God.