I believe there is an inherent struggle for people to want to remain the same. The people say: “What “we did” in the day is still current and relevant. “We want new people to come, yet just fit in and become just like us.”
The lines get drawn based on person's preferences.
What I struggle with is I see people pushing the remain in the past; which for us means late 80's and early 90's. It is ironic that these 30-40 somethings are becoming a graying congregation and they don't see it. I read a book in 2002, entitled “2020 Vision”, by Richard Hamm. It was very enlightening. It talks about how congregations are able to appear to be surviving well (a lot of it is based on the tithing habits of the founding members). Then those members start to die off and all of the sudden they realize there is no one left. What has happened was they didn't have a forward thinking vision to stay relevant enough to remain healthy in the future.
I keep saying that is it is God's will to remain stuck in the past (for this body of Christ), then that is what we are supposed to do. But if it is simply based on what “we want” or “we like”, then we've got it wrong. If you are passionate about following God, I believe you have to constantly step out of your comfort zone to pursue the higher ideal of serving God's vision. It all boils down to what God wants.
There is nothing inherently wrong with either traditional or modern worship styles.
If we listen to Him, we will continue to impact the world. But if we don't listen to Him, based on human nature, this “worship style” battle will continue to rage through the Body of Christ.
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