An Audience of One

Churches used to be a bastion of conservative. As churches climb on the "seeker-sensitive" bandwagon, there is a slide away from this trend. Older members are offended by the shift to "contemporary music". Many have been told, "If you don't like it, leave." One church I know of actually told their members, "If you don't like this music, you're just being selfish." The belief seems to be contemporary music is biblical and necessary and those who disagree are simply being disagreeable.

I have to disagree.

The primary reason we're shifting from "traditional" to "contemporary" is the perception of the audience. Churches believe if they make their music more contemporary, more "relevant", more like the world's music, then they'll attract more people to hear the gospel. And that, after all, is the point, isn't it?

Again, I have to disagree.

James wrote, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4). That's pretty harsh language. James considers friendship with the world adultery against God and hostility toward God. And yet, our churches are moving rapidly toward friendship with the world as if it is a keystone for God's plan for evangelism. Instead, John says, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." "Nor the things of the world." So, tell me ... does that include their musical stylings? Well, you decide.

The question to me is two-fold. First, who is the audience to whom we are playing at church? Second, what is the purpose of church? What are we trying to accomplish with that audience?

To the first question, I suspect the answer is much more elusive than we think because we're not paying attention. We would likely answer quickly, "Well, the people that attend, right?" It's certainly the popular answer, but, unfortunately, it's not the biblical one. The biblical answer (read "God's answer") is:

the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:12-13).

The job of the Church is the equipping of the saints. Part of the job of the saints is indeed evangelism, but that's not the job of the Church. The job of the Church is to build believers. When we shift from building believers to gathering converts, we end up with an "immature man", a "diversity of faith" -- weakness and confusion, just like we see in the Church today. Indeed, the author of Hebrews says this about the church:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near (Heb. 10:23-25).

Our goal in gathering together is the mutual worship of God, the mutual holding fast to the truth, and the mutual stimulation to love and good deeds. None of that includes "reaching the lost". I'm not saying the lost need not be reached. I'm saying that this isn't the primary thrust of the Church.

So here we are. We've decided that the people who attend church make up the audience. We've decided that the purpose of this gathering is to reach those who don't believe as we do. And we've decided to use the methods of the world -- that segment of society that is defined as being in opposition to God. Our "best effort" is put toward making people "feel good about God", even though Peter warns "Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned" (2 Peter 2:2). When our best worship is "feeling good toward God" and our best means is the tools of the enemies of God and our goals don't match God's goals for the Church, we're in trouble. When we forget that Church is primarily for God, our Audience of one, we're in serious trouble.