“Music Wars”
Recently, your congenial editor came across a 13-year-old article titled, “Church Music Wars: Some Hear Satan’s Beat,” which appeared on page 6A of USA Today (November 17, 2011). A previous controversy along these lines involved organ music versus guitars and drums four decades earlier. This one involved the style of music plus a different emphasis on the words. Songs such as “Amazing Grace” were (and still are) being replaced by modern lyrics and “singers who croon as if Christ were their boyfriend.”
Reportedly, about “50% of Protestant churches now say they use electric guitars or drums in worship.” Many people read The Purpose-Driven Church by Rick Warren, founder of the Saddleback Church (the fifth largest in the nation) in Lake Forest, California; his book advocates having an elaborate musical program to help draw visitors. The “music pastor” of that organization argues that, if you don’t like that kind of music, that does not mean it is theologically incorrect. He adds, “The Bible does not have an official soundtrack.” Saddleback tries to accommodate everyone with hard rock, a group called Fuel that does “alternative music,” and even something more traditional—a singer accompanied only by a piano. “There are all different kinds of churches for different kinds of people.”
What Bible verse says that? If God intended for that to be the case, then there would have been Jewish churches in the first century and Gentile churches. Does anyone remember reading about there being “one body” (Eph. 4:4)? Or how about Galatians 3:28? “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We are all one, but we need different styles of worship—and different churches?
One pastor protesting the newer “music” says that “one of the devil’s most effective Trojan horses is music.” He uses only the 400-year-old King James Bible “and bans contemporary music.” Another man claims that “CEO-type pastors have to attract crowds to fill their megachurches.” He does state one thing correctly: “God is our audience in worship, and God doesn’t have the same demand to be entertained.” It is true that many religious groups focus more on entertaining people than on offering worship to God.
A hip-hop artist known as Urban D (Destruction?) claims that “we have a big God. As long as people are worshiping in spirit and in truth, we can worship in any way that reaches our hearts.” Can the men on either side of this controversy show that instrumental music of any kind is authorized (Col. 3:16-17)? The New Testament church is never described as using it.
SATURDAY WORSHIP
One of the last articles your congenial editor saved before canceling his newspaper subscription a decade ago was titled, “Prefer Church on Saturdays? Services ease Sunday Crunch” (Orlando Sentinel, September 14, 2013). The story leads with news about an Episcopal Church in the area trying something different—a worship service on Saturday. The rector of that organization commented:
Sunday morning used to be a sacred time that nobody competed with. Now I have volleyball tournaments and soccer tournaments and another dozen things going on. There are a large number of folks finding it difficult to come to Sunday morning service (A1).
What he says is undoubtedly true—but also sad. Yes, for centuries nothing else competed with worship on Sundays—especially Sunday mornings. Does that mean that everyone attended worship then? No. But most of them respected those who did and the concept that they were living in a Christian society—one established on the basis of the Bible.
Although the pressure to attend was probably greater in smaller communities, no one forced people to attend. People went out and played golf; some men went hunting or fishing. Others slept in or used the day for family time. But major events were not scheduled on Sundays. In fact, many states had blue laws, which according to the Internet was a colloquial term for state statutes or ordinances that forbade or regulated entertainment and commercial activities on Sundays or religious holidays. Alcohol could not be sold on these days, either. Later, they applied only to Sunday mornings. These blue laws eventually were rescinded.
The NFL began televising professional football games—but not in the morning. They did not begin until noon or after. Stores, restaurants, and grocery stores began operating seven days a week. And now Sundays are considered fair game for various sporting events. These contests have become more numerous as the number of people attending worship diminished. Sports and entertainment events have ascended while interest in God and the Scriptures has declined.
Sunday conflicts would not have become so successful if society would have discouraged them, but many have gone along with them—including those who usually worship. Participants will not attend worship if there is a playoff game scheduled at the same time, and team members must make a decision.
Why are some finding it difficult to continue to attend worship on Sunday morning? To whom do they have a greater commitment—the soccer team or God? To ask the question is to answer it. Kicking a ball up and down a field evidently outranks worshiping the Almighty.
The Solution?
To solve the problem, churches are offering services on Saturday evenings. Question: Why not instead schedule the soccer match on Saturday evening? Many in this article make comments favorable to Saturday worship, but no one, whether for or against, mentions anything about the Scriptures.
There was a time when multitudes worshiped on Saturday; those people were called Israelites, who had been commanded by God to keep the Sabbath day holy. Their Saturday was different than ours; it began on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and continued for 24 hours. If we were Israelites, we could worship on Saturday night. But we are not, and we still could not play soccer on Sunday mornings.
What do the Scriptures say about worship? We know that we should worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). But what is the truth about the day and time for worship? The New Testament does not say a great deal about it. Does that mean it is unimportant? No. A very simple reason for so little information exists—the church began worshiping on the first day of the week, and it was never an issue from the beginning. Secular history verifies this fact.
In fact, Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost (a Sunday), and 3,000 were baptized and added to the church (Acts 2:41, 47). Evidently, the church met again the next Sunday in Jerusalem and continued the practice for years. The Bible informs us of no other habit. When other churches were established, they followed the same pattern, and we read of one in Troas that Paul waited several days to meet with:
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight (Acts 20:7).
The disciples came together habitually on the first day of the week—not the seventh (or any other day of the week). They came together to worship—to observe the Lord’s death. The words, to break bread, are a synecdoche, a figure of speech in which the part stands for the whole. Today, we might say, “We’re going to meet to remember the Lord’s death,” but we know that it includes praying, giving, singing, and hearing a message from God’s Word.
The day of worship apparently was well understood to be Sunday because it continued to be that day for nearly 2,000 years. The apostolic tradition was authorized by God. Very few Bible teachings have gone unchallenged or unchanged so long. But now voices are clamoring for Saturdays for a number of reasons—none of which prove compelling.
Reasons Cited
The reader can ultimately decide how many of these reasons are valid, but they will be commented on as presented. One person observed that in Central Florida we have an emphasis on tourism; we also have a health care industry. “The secular work schedule doesn’t stop on Sunday.” And don’t those same individuals need to work on Sunday as well? One reason why many congregations have a morning and an evening service is to accommodate those who are required to work on Sunday morning. They can attend the evening service, which is still on the first day of the week.
Another benefit of changing the day to Saturday is drowsiness. One man who works from 10:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. claims to be “more awake” on Saturday evening than on Sunday morning. That might well be the case, but again, that’s one of the advantages of providing a Sunday evening service. He could feel more awake, and it would still be the Lord’s day.
Another individual works Sunday morning loading trucks; so, attending a smaller service on Saturday evening appeals to him. He enjoys having the rest of Sunday off after he finishes work because “Sunday is the recharge day.” If he were to attend worship on the evening of the Lord’s day, would he not be recharged—at least spiritually? This attitude sounds more like, “Let’s have worship when it suits me,” rather than, “I will worship God as He directs.”
A mother of four children says it’s easier to get her children ready for worship on Saturday night than getting them ready for Sunday morning. Really? After they have been playing all day and are dirty or sweaty? It seems doubtful that all the kids could be corralled, cleaned up, and calmed down for Bible study and worship on a Saturday evening. Besides, doesn’t she need to get them ready for regular school five days a week? Why would Sunday be any more difficult? To what is she committed?
One “reverend” claimed that modern families need as many choices as possible. Yes, people’s schedules are getting busier—including on Sundays. The Saturday option, he claimed is helpful. One wonders how that would have worked with Moses. “Many of our families are busy, Moses. We’re going to have to meet some other time and place than here at Mount Sinai.” They might have cleared their calendars quickly once the mountain started quaking.
Another gambit used by some to justify worship on Saturday is it might attract people who do not come now. That has been the justification for, “Let’s build a gymnasium. We may get some people into our building who do not usually come here.” Some have thought, “We can get people saved by having elaborate music programs.” And occasionally someone who likes basketball, music, or something unusual in the way of a “church service” might actually hang around and be converted. But it’s not the kind of evangelism used by the apostles.
A former Catholic—no longer showing up for mass at any time—laments that worshiping on Sunday “would interfere with the 10-week fall softball league season.” Horrors! The obvious question is, “Why can’t softball be scheduled on Saturday evenings?” But to paraphrase the Apostle Paul, “Was softball crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of softball?” (1 Cor. 1:13)? God is our Creator; softball was created by man. Should we be worshiping the Creator or what He created (including what man created)? No, we’re not badmouthing Softball or any other sport, but what ought to be our first priority—a little round ball or the One who made the big round ball (Gen. 1:1)?
Okay, everyone has been patiently waiting for it; here it is. A rower claims “getting out on the water on a calm, beautiful Sunday morning is a form of worship.” Really? In what Scripture is that idea found? Someone needs to tell the emperor that he is not wearing any clothes. No, being out on a lake is not worship. It may feel serene and might even lend itself to prayer; an outdoor enthusiast might even be led to praise God for the marvelous world He gave us, but rowing is not worship.
Worship is designed by God for man that he might know what pleases Him. An individual can worship God personally, sitting on a couch, traveling on an airplane, boating, or at dozens of other times. But he cannot worship God on the Lord’s day as he ought unless he is meeting with the saints in the assembly (Heb 10:25) (the exception being ill or disabled). The first day of the week was designed for brethren to sing together, pray together, give of their means together (1 Cor. 16:1-2), remember the Lord’s death (1 Cor. 11:22-29), and hear God’s word presented. How many of those occur on the lake, the golf course, or in the woods at a hunting stand?
“If you build it, they will come.” Maybe. That same soul said that if his church had the Saturday option, he might attend more frequently. The key word there is might. If he cannot commit to worshiping God on Sunday, why would he be more committed on some other day? Haphazard attendees have little to offer the church.
The writer of this news story, Jerry Kunerth, did make a correct observation on the nature of our society. He wrote:
In many cases, Saturday services are an acknowledgement by church leaders that American culture has shifted its emphasis on Sunday morning from worship to leisure, recreation and work (A2).
That’s about the size of it. True churches of Christ are not going to replace or move the assembly of the saints on the first day of the week. We understand that such would be a rejection of what the Scriptures teach.
However, if there is a demand for something spiritual on Saturday evening, why not schedule a Bible class for those interested, in which they can be taught the truth concerning salvation as well as worship? And a look at what the Bible teaches about commitment would help.