August 30, 2019 (Friday)
I have been looking at a picture of a new car. As I looked at a photo of its sleek interior, it made me think of a spaceship. Then another picture came to mind, that of Henry Ford’s first car, a “quadricycle,” manufactured in 1896. They called it a “horseless carriage,” and indeed it looked like one.
There’s quite a difference between the horseless carriages and the 2019 models.
Cars have changed. And so have churches. I can’t help but think of the differences in churches from 1896 to 2019. People choose different kinds of churches. For many reasons.
We drive the kind of car we like, and we leave it to others to choose their kind. Many people like to do church that way, too.
How do we choose a church? Paul’s measuring rod for a church was simple: “Is Christ being preached?” And not just anybody’s own idea of what Christ is like. He wanted to hear about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
The big difference in churches today is the song service. There are many new songs and sometimes the old hymns are arranged in a contemporary style. There are many new translations of the Bible, and I enjoy reading all of them. But there is only one gospel message and that is Christ crucified and risen; He is our Savior. That central message is far more important than whether we observe traditional worship, contemporary worship or blended worship.
Some churches, such as the First Baptist Church of Rockport, Texas, have separate worship services for preferred worship styles. That policy seems to be working fine for them. But not all churches are equipped to do it that way. Let us pray for each other that we may find a way to worship together, build up each other, glorify Christ and stand strong with the message of salvation by grace through faith. Jesus Christ seemed to have a favorite description of His Church as “The Bride of Christ.” His bride has a husband who always does the right thing. He deserves a bride who does the same.
(This blog is an updated version of a 2009 blog)