"The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24).

I can remember when we first heard about it. They called it "Celebration" worship. In our denomination the first Celebration churches began in the west and the northwestern parts of this country. Since then Celebration worship can be found from the mountains to the prairie and from sea to shining sea. Though it is by no means the practice of the majority of our churches, a person would have to be blind not to realize that it is a spreading phenomenon.

The other day I was talking with a retired pastor from the General Conference whose name many of you would recognize. Some years ago he and a few others in the church began a branch Sabbath School that has since become an organized church. He told me that others from his former church are beginning to join this new group because they said their pastor is "going Celebration."

I know of one church in the South that split because the young pastor decided he was going to have a contemporary service during the worship hour. About forty of the members felt that this kind of worship is not appropriate, so they left the congregation to form another. When I asked the young pastor about it, he replied, "We're in charge now."

Is all of this just a power struggle? Is this a battle in which one generation is trying to take over from another, or is something more involved? Some are saying that how a person worships depends on their culture or personal tastes. Others are saying that how a person worships depends on which god they are worshipping.

Some pastors have tried to solve the problem by having two worship services--one traditional and the other contemporary. I know of one church that has three worship services--something for everybody.

I believe the time has come, indeed it is overdue, when we must sit down and ask ourselves some fundamental questions. One might be, Can contemporary Christian worship be combined with traditional worship? Another question might be, Can the concepts of two styles of worship co-exist and the church remain united?

I would like to speak with great respect to fellow pastors and fellow members who have been inclined to adopt the new worship styles--if not completely, at least to some degree. I do not want to appear hostile in any way. I recognize that there are numbers of dedicated men and women who feel they should give the new worship a chance.

Some claim they personally do not care for contemporary worship, but they have been persuaded that their reservations are simply a matter of taste and culture. They are convinced that the only way to attract young people is to use contemporary worship songs.

Not long ago I was in a meeting where the youth leader reported on a recent Bible Conference. He told what a wonderful experience that it had been for the 500+ young people in attendance. He allowed that the music had not been so good. He mentioned that even some of the youth pastors had walked out on it. But, he said, this happens to be the kind of music the young people like.

There can be no doubt that our children are the greatest burdens on our hearts, and to see them saved in the kingdom of God is the goal of our lives. I have four grown children, all in their thirties. My prayer is, "God, I am not concerned about the crowns or the mansions that You have promised. You can keep them as far as I am concerned. But please, Lord, give me my children and my grandchildren."

And so it seems there are many sincere people who are concerned about their children and young people; and although they may not be sold on the new worship styles, they feel that somehow it is a compromise that must be made for the sake of the young people. Unfortunately, that kind of approach makes it difficult to sit down and discuss the issues involved. When some try to do this, it can appear that somehow they don't care about the salvation of the children. But nothing could be further from the truth. Those who are concerned about the new worship styles are concerned, not because they do not care if the children are saved or lost, but rather they are deeply convicted that if they are on the wrong road in this respect they may well be fighting on the enemy's side in the battle, and instead of helping to bring the children to the Lord could actually be driving them away.

And so some seem almost to apologize. They will say they are really not in favor of some of the things that are going on. They will say it is not their taste, but inasmuch as others like it they must somehow put up with it. After all, they say, we all have different ways of looking at things and we come to worship with different tastes and from different cultures. Therefore they feel that, inasmuch as we live in changing times, we must give guarded acceptance to new things.

More and more pastors are trying to provide it both ways. These pastors have every intention of keeping traditional worship along with the new. They propose to keep things from going too far, but they feel almost compelled to get involved in the new trends.

Anyone who has a burden for youth and a deep concern for what seems to be declining church attendance might not want to oppose new ideas. I don't want to give the impression that I do not believe in change, or, better yet, in progress. I have long believed that the message to the Laodicean church is a call to change. Basically Jesus is saying that the status quo is unacceptable. Change we must. How shall we change is the question. Neither do I want to be perceived as criticizing my fellow workers. The issues that face us are not "us against them" but "truth against error." I am convinced in my heart that great issues of principle at stake.

Up to this point you may have seen the disagreements as simply a matter of personal preference. But if we look closely at the issues, we will discover that what we call traditional worship and contemporary worship represent entirely different concepts of worship that are, in fact, opposite of each other.

In a broad sense Celebration, or what is now called contemporary Christian worship in its present incarnation, started in California in the late 1960s when many hippies turned to religion. Some of you will remember they became known as the "Jesus People." It is not surprising, then, that when they became "Jesus People" they worshipped with the same style of music which they had known as hippies. Various movements were formed to encourage this trend, among them the well-known Calvary Chapels.

This new worship style consisted mostly of one verse choruses, which are repeated almost endlessly. The words were simple--much simpler than those of a traditional children's chorus--and the themes were elementary. There is seldom any confession of sin or any doctrine. Though it may have been well intentioned, the new worship was not shaped or influenced by any biblical model of worship nor by general church practice.

It is a form of worship fashioned and conceived in the womb of hippie meditational mysticism in which hippies by the hundreds and thousands would sit on California hillsides with eyes closed, swaying themselves into an ecstatic state of experience. Before they became "Jesus People" these groups would use drugs to give them their so-called spiritual highs. When they became Christians they continued to seek for the emotional release and sensations to which they had been accustomed. Unfortunately, no one was there to show them a better way.

This new mystical worship style grew. After a while it merged with another stream of new songs written by those who simply wanted worship music to be like secular rock music. In other words, this worship style wanted a "good time" in a worldly sense.

We need to be aware that what we call Celebration worship and contemporary worship came from two sources--one from hippie mysticism and the other from worldly Christianity. This new worship style was immediately incorporated into the Charismatic movement, which is now producing the vast majority of new worship songs.

I am not suggesting that traditional Christians who accommodate the new worship are like hippies or are trying to be worldly. Nevertheless, we cannot evaluate new worship without considering its background and objectives.

We need to understand that contemporary worship, or what we call Celebration worship, is designed to be ecstatic worship. In other words, this kind of worship has as its chief objective to stir the senses or feelings. You might ask, "So what is wrong with that?" Only this--that the biblical requirement for worship is that God must be worshipped with the mind, and evoking the emotions must not be the primary purpose of worship, but should play only a supporting role to the mind.

The great emphasis in scriptural worship is meaning. True worship is to be about the mind inspiring the heart. On the other hand, ecstatic worship says, "Let's simplify the meaning. Meaning gets in the way. Meaning confuses us. Meaning is about facts, and while that is happening we cannot feel. We want to go for the feeling."

Here is where we must come back to the hippie culture once again. It was from the hippies that we got the saying, "If it feels good, do it." It was from the hippie culture that the plague of drugs that now seeks to engulf society got its greatest impulse. We must not forget that drugs are about feelings. It is no wonder that with drugs has come the emphasis on sex. Sex is about feelings. It should have come as no surprise to us that a lust for feelings would sweep into every aspect of our lives, including our spiritual lives.

And so the music, which has come out of the contemporary worship movement, is based on the desire to create, or better said, to induce feelings. This is not my assessment, but the clearly stated aim of the advocates of new worship.

Any of us who has seen the way music is being used to manipulate feelings will understand that this is exactly what is being done. When our family lived in Chile, there was a large Pentecostal Methodist church in the city of Santiago with a membership of twelve thousand. The music during their services was clearly used to manipulate the feelings of the congregation. On one of my visits, I observed how the musicians would bring the attendants to near hysteria. Then the pastor would say a few words, which would back it down. This process would be repeated until suddenly, all over the congregation, people would begin to swoon or be so-called smitten in the Spirit. They would turn around in slow circles and then seemingly pass out.

Have you noticed that in the time of what is called "Praise" in the churches that practice the new worship style, the type of songs chosen will begin slow, will then go faster and faster, and finally just before the preaching they will begin to slow again. This is purposely done to prepare the people for the sermon and is a clear attempt to manipulate the congregation through its feelings. When all is said and done, the effect is attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit.

It is not difficult to see that contemporary worship is about feelings. Another way of looking at the new worship style is to point out that it is mystical. Its songwriters may not consciously be mystics, but they express their belief in the idea that direct union with God may be achieved in worship. And so the new worship is both ecstatic and mystical. Ecstatic has to do with feelings, and mystical refers to a method of sensing union with God.

Any attempt to be in direct touch or union with God by means of a technique is a form of mysticism. It is the opposite of our traditional Christian worship, which says that union with God is through faith based on knowledge not by emotion. The Scripture is clear that we touch God by faith and not by feeling. It would seem that we sometimes can't seem to tell the difference between the two.

Many hymns in the new worship speak of touching God, suggesting that touching God is something we do by turning on our emotions. The danger of this philosophy cannot be understated. Emotion-driven, mystical worship is a delusion whose philosophy tends to create intensely emotional and subjective worshipers. Personal enjoyment becomes the chief aim of their worship. Scripture teaches that we do not touch God through feeling but through faith. From a biblical perspective feelings are a result of our approaching God by faith and appreciating the truth about Him.

Another incompatibility between the traditional worship and new worship is found in what could be called the aesthetic factor. Traditional worship maintains that human beings worship God by way of words and thoughts. But the aesthetic point of view, which is universally adopted by the promoters of contemporary worship, claims that God can be worshipped by human creativity. For instance, if I play an instrument well enough, I legitimately worship by instrumental skill. It is believed that God will look upon the beautiful thing I have produced, be pleased with it, and accept it as valid worship. I will have pleased Him and glorified Him by my expertise. The great cathedral builders of the past believed that the very arrangement of the stones and the ingenuity of the stained glass was an act of worship.

Of course, God is to be glorified in everything we do, but true corporate worship is born of words and thoughts which flow from sincere and earnest hearts. Worship and offering, which is our contribution of thanks and love, must not be confused or substituted one for the other.

In the new worship forms, words are often used very sparingly, because words do not count for much. Creativity and clever instrumentation are considered to be more moving or exciting to worshipers and more acceptable to God. You may have noticed that there is a movement toward using drama, dance, and even pantomime as expressions of worship. While this is taking place, the preaching of the Word is being diminished in importance.

As mentioned at the beginning, in trying to make everybody happy, more and more churches are trying to mix the old with the new. They call it "blended worship." But when we consider where the respective worship styles come from, we can see that mixing the two methods is like trying to mix oil with water. The concepts are built on completely different foundations.

The biblical basis for true worship is not established by the worshiper but by the object of worship, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Listen to His words in John 4:24: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

In the text just quoted, Jesus is establishing the basis of true worship. We could paraphrase the text this way: "Inasmuch as God is a Spirit, those who worship Him must base their worship on the foundation of that which has to do with the mind and on the basis of the revealed Word of God."

This being true, to worship in spirit means our worship is not based in anything that is physical. Jesus left no physical guidelines for worship except baptism and the Lord's Supper, and these were instituted by Him to be teaching figures. Aside from these there is no physical ingredient other than, perhaps, to fall in reverence before the Lord. Because worship is in spirit and is not physical, it is obvious that one cannot worship in dance, drama, pantomime, puppets, or videos.

Because worship is a spiritual activity, it is not done by the way of melody or instrumentation either. Instruments and music are merely helps to the singing of intelligent praise. The key words here are "helps" and "intelligent". An organ or piano is a great help but have no greater status than that. You cannot abandon or minimize the words and worship through the music instead. The music cannot add to the spiritual acceptability of the words.

Biblically, there is no such thing as that worship which some say is a "celebration of words and music." Music, if it has an appropriate "mood," may certainly help focus the mind, but one cannot worship through it. Worship is not by melody or instruments, but by faith. Let us remind ourselves of the text in Hebrews 11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

Instruments have no more status in worship than the radiators which supply heat to the building. God trusts us to use such "helps" reasonably, but they must never be elevated into a form of worship. To state it simply, drums can't worship God, and neither can an organ or a piano. It is we who must worship God, and we do that in our spirits, that is, from the seat of our intelligence and not with our bodies. If true worship were necessarily something we did with our bodies, anyone could worship except those who are disabled and lack the physical abilities.

So that we would not miss the point, the Lord defines worship as being exclusively "in truth." This means that genuine worship comes from a true, honest, and sincere mind. It also means that worship is intelligent. Our Lord said that the Father seeks worshipers who will worship Him through the rational faculty--the mind or the reason. He insists that worship themes must be directed to the mind and be understood. He tells us that is the only valid way of worship. "In truth" also means that worship must be made according to the Truth, or, in other words, as prescribed by the Word of God.

There is a world of difference between the worship that Jesus prescribes as being true worship and contemporary worship. When we bring simple and short choruses, with all their repeated lines and their shallow sentiments, into worship, we severely strain the Lord's demand for intelligent understanding of profound and glorious truths. To use the hackneyed term, we "dumb down" worship.

We don't have to go back to the time of David to understand how God means for us to worship. The book of Revelation presents a most glorious picture of what true worship is. We read about it in Revelation 4 and 5. These chapters present a vision of the rule of God over His church, and also of the church's worship of Him.

At the center of the vision is the wonderful throne of God, and as you work through the two chapters you find all three Persons of the Trinity present at that throne. Exalted language is used to describe the throne, with precious stones and powerful phenomena symbolizing the attributes of God.

Before the throne are the beasts or living creatures. There is the great sea of glass. Outside and around that sea of glass are the twenty-four elders. Outside and around that circle is the angelic host. There are ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.

In these chapters we discover how men and angels worship. In Revelation 4:8 we read: "And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." The word to notice is that little word, "saying". They said their worship.

In verses 10 and 11 we read that "The four and twenty elders fall down before Him . . . and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord." Notice again, they said it.

In chapter 5:8-9 we read: "And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song." In these verses they sang the words.

Then in verses 11 and 12 we are told: "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb." Here again they said it.

In verse 13, the record says: "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne."

In the last verse of chapter 5 it declares that the "four beasts said."

And so they said and so they sung. In these texts we see that true corporate worship of God is based on words. Worship is not words and music. Music assists us, but the efficacious or valid part of worship is the words. There is no other vehicle of worship aside from words. The rational mind is the seat of worship. Worship is by faith and love, but it has to be in words, whether thought, said, or sung. Today, unfortunately, this principle has been greatly played down, even eroded away.

Someone may inquire about what the apostle Paul wrote in the book of Romans about "groanings that cannot be uttered." Let us read the text from Romans 8:26: "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." Isn't this prayer without words?

The answer is no, for the simple reason that the groanings are not ours but those of the Holy Spirit. With our words we pray, and the Holy Spirit, in His majesty and power, translates those words into the language of Heaven and conveys them to the throne on our behalf. We do not know what to pray for or how to pray for it as we ought; but the Holy Spirit takes our stumbling efforts, beautifies and perfects them, and presents them before the Lord.

A person may say, "I can pray just by feeling, even though I cannot express it in words." I recognize that a person may feel so strongly about something that his feelings seem to outpace his mind. But if you were to ask this person, "What were you praying for just then?" he would be able to say.

There is no true prayer which has not passed through the rational mind. There is no prayer that cannot be put into words even if they are just, "God, help me." This alone is true worship. Anything other than this is mystical and ecstatic worship. For this reason Scripture places the emphasis on the mind, while those who advocate contemporary worship want the emphasis to be on emotions.

In 2 Timothy 1:7 we read: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." This text confirms that our relationship with God is about a relationship of our minds.

The strongest feelings that we are capable of should be in our worship, but these feelings should be supporting words. We must feel things because we think them. If we understand and mean the words, then the Holy Spirit, who inspires all genuine worship, will touch our minds so that we see them even more clearly. He will also touch our hearts so that we feel what we see all the more strongly. The emotional system is a system of support and response. It must not be the prime mover in worship. It must never be stirred into action or worked up by musical techniques.

In the Pastoral Epistles, the apostle Paul makes many exhortations about sound-mindedness. He calls for rational control at all times. He insists on sensible words and thoughts. He says that the rational faculty must always be switched on. By these exhortations he condemns trances and purely sentimental worship.

He calls us to be alert. He admonishes us to be watchful and vigilant. We are commanded to be moderate in our approach, and discerning. This means that every word of a hymn must register first in the mind, for this is the prime channel of praise.

This matter is so important that Paul makes separate exhortations to ministers, to older men, to older women, to younger men and to younger women. He makes this call repeatedly, and it especially applies to the exercise of the mind in worship. In I Corinthians he tells us that we pray and sing in the spirit, but always also with the understanding. In worship we are to think and comprehend. The point is that knowledge and understanding are foundational to what Jesus meant when He said we are to worship in spirit and truth.

Those who are advocating contemporary worship styles must be careful lest they unknowingly become guilty of rejecting the basic principle of worship, which is the centrality of the mind. We must hold on to this. So-called contemporary worship ranges from the extremes of ultra-simplified worship to sheer emotionalism. It is not biblical worship.

Those who hold fast to the principles of true worship are often called old-fashioned, close-minded, judgmental, or even Pharisaical. No one wants to be guilty of these kinds of things so the charge intimidates us. A person begins to wonder whether the charge is true. We begin to think that we may be prejudiced against new worship merely because we prefer the way we have always done things. People have come to me and said, "I believe that something is wrong, but then I begin to think that maybe it is just me." Friend, it is not old-fashioned, closed-minded, or judgmental to be alarmed at the new worship. There are great principles at stake.

There are many who maintain that the new music is largely from Scripture and mainly from the Psalms. But though the words may have been taken from a Psalm, they are usually very limited, perhaps being only one verse. When this verse is sung over and over again, it may actually do an injustice to, even misrepresent, what the Psalm was trying to teach. We need to appreciate that the Lord gave His people the Psalms not only to praise and to thank Him for His mercies, but also to teach them doctrine. The Psalms are not a set of choruses, but doctrinally rich words that were learned by the people through the medium of music.

From the Psalter all the way down to the Reformation and through subsequent centuries, hymns have been clearly understood by the Lord's people. They have lifted up the people of God spiritually and intellectually. They have expressed worship and taught the great truths of the Word. The Bible first, and godly hymns second, have liberated generations from ignorance and have articulated intelligent praise. In contemporary worship it is not what is being said that is important but the mediums of expression that dominate the scene. In listening to the majority of the praise songs, one first hears the rhythm, then the melody, and then the lyric, which tends to be centered on people rather than on God, who is to be the center of our worship.

Some months ago I was in Colorado. While there I wanted to see the headquarters of Focus on the Family at Colorado Springs. It was Sunday, so of course the offices were not open. There was, however, a large Charismatic church nearby and the services were in session. Inasmuch as the church was one of largest and most dominant in the area, my host invited me to go in and see what it was all about.

Noticing that people were entering by the side doors, we followed several and found ourselves right in the sanctuary, which was full of people. The congregation was standing. It was the time for what is now called "worship". We used to call it the song service.

The music was just the kinds of chorus that I have referred to. As usual, the rhythm was the main emphasis. Many of the people had kicked off their shoes, and a young girl in front us was jumping up and down and going in circles. She wasn't the only one. This went on for a considerable length of time. It is not uncommon in contemporary worship services for one- or two-line choruses to last for more than five minutes. I have been to services where the people were on their feet singing for at least forty-five minutes.

As I watched it all, I became aware that something wonderful was happening to the people who had come together in that place. There could be no doubt that those who had come to the service sad and laden with problems were now being greatly detracted from the cares of the world. There was the feeling of fellowship and family, to say nothing of the physical exercise.

There were many wonderful and positive things going on, but the one thing that seemed to be strangely missing was worship. The words of the songs were less about God than they were about us. Interestingly, the song being sung as we went out to the lobby was entitled, "Jump, Jump, Jump."

There can be no doubt that what is going on in contemporary worship services has some very positive social dynamics. There is an opportunity for interaction, sharing, emotional release, and all the rest. But what is the purpose of coming as the body of Christ to His house if it is not to worship Him?

The call to the last generation is a call to true worship. It is no wonder that the enemy of God would try to get ahead of things and introduce all kinds of things that would be a substitute for true worship and could keep God's people from being ready for the great test that lies before them.

It occurred to me that if the foundation of worship is words, then the spirit of true worship must be based on repentance. Matthew 5:23,24 declares: "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."

Jesus said that true worship is of the spirit, and the text is saying that if in our spirit we have something against each other we should not proceed to worship until we have made things right with each other. If we would obey in this respect, our homes would be healthy. It would be impossible to divorce or be unfaithful to our spouse, because before the worship service each Sabbath we would have made things right with each other and then we could proceed, as it is meant to be, to worship corporately as the body of Christ, before whose presence every knee must bow and every tongue must confess. Unfortunately, for many it is more fun to sing, "Jump, Jump, Jump" than it is to confess that we have been wrong and to ask for forgiveness.

In many churches during the worship service an invitation is given to greet each other. This may be well intentioned; but it is easier to give a hearty handshake all around than it is to make things right with a person who may have offended us or whom we may have offended.

God is calling His church to true worship. Just like there are salt substitutes and sugar substitutes, there are substitutes for true worship. What is being done in many churches is just fine as a social dynamic, but it is not consistent with the scriptural model for worshipping our holy God.

In our search for true worship we don't have to go to the Old Testament and use David's dancing before the ark as a worship model. It was not intended to be that. In the first place, David was not in the temple or the sanctuary. What he was doing was celebrating, and though celebrating has its place, it must not be seen as a substitute for true worship, which must come from the mind.

We must not think that drums, keyboards, or any technique--be it mystical, ecstatic or esthetic--is what worship is all about. Worship is about the heart of a man, woman or child. It is not contrived, induced, or concocted. It is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit in the heart. The Lord is not in the wind, nor in the fire, but He is in the still, small voice. It is my prayer that each of us will respond to that voice. Amen