The Future of Contemporary Worship in 100 Years
A hundred years from now congregations will primarily sing hymns. But it won't be a return to the 1950s.
Worship wars of the past thirty years have caused worship culture to be turned upside down. Starting in the 1970s, a worship revolution took root. As we came of age, Gen X and Millennials felt sickened by the lack of substance found in a church committed to the status quo. So, younger ministers and worship leaders tossed out the clothing, service orders, and musical styles in an effort to build something more authentic. We saw a reformation of praxis. But will this revolution permanently alter the future of Contemporary Worship in 100 Years?
Now forty years later, with the contemporary worship revolution complete. One might well ask, where do we go from here? Now that traditional worship has been deconstructed, what will worship music look like in the next hundred years? My answer may surprise you. I think we’re going back to singing hymns.
The Baby with the Bathwater
In many ways, my millennial generation, and generation X before me, has thrown out the baby with the bathwater. In our diligence to root out unbiblical song lyrics, we have tossed out hymns all together.
You would think that contemporary worship came about by mimicking popular music. And while this is true to a degree, contemporary worship actually arose as a direct response to traditional worship. This response complicated worship by creating a cultural tit-for-tat.
For example
In an effort to change the simple rhythms of hymns, we introduced stylistically pleasing, but complicated syncopations. These rhythms necessitate such precision that even seasoned professional musicians, (like myself,) require significant rehearsal to sing them correctly.
If the purpose of congregational song is for the congregation to internalized the lyrics, how can they concentrate on the text while they’re distracted by a difficult melody?
In our zeal to not be constrained by the handfull of keys found in the hymnal, we wrote congregational melodies in keys higher than the average attendee could sing. How can a church member focus on the text when they can’t find the pitch?
The Current Model
In breaking out of one mold, we have created a new model that is even more unusable than the previous one. It is a known fact amongst Christian songwriters that hit worship songs almost always contain much syncopation, are written in Bb major or A major and are sung by a young baritone in the upper half of his range.
How many popular worship leaders fit this category?
The answer? Most famous male worship leaders! Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Jeremy Camp, Mark Hall – Casting Crowns, Matt Maher, Mac Powell – Third Day, Michael W. Smith
The sound of contemporary worship music is now so monolithic that tenors, basses and many women (The musical scene is not quite so bleak if you’re a second soprano.) have a difficult time worshiping in a comfortable vocal range.
In 100 Years
Contemporary worship will come to an end sometime in the next fifty years. And a hundred years from now, I expect congregations to primarily be singing hymns. But it won’t be a return to the 1950s. And that’s a good thing.
Though my own generation overreacted by tossing out centuries of Christian thought and liturgy, many churches are now beginning to see the value of theologically rich hymns.
In the twenty-second century, I believe congregational song will resemble the rhythmic simplicity and key choices of traditional hymnody. Songtext will be tied to scripture more than it is now. And it is possible that the Psalms will find new popularity by being arranged in the prevalent musical style of the time.
The pendulum is already swinging this way through the work of churches and publishers like Sovereign Grace. These churches have found that the congregation worships best when the text contains thoughtful, biblical depth, and is set to simple, but relevant musical accompaniment.
The Future of Contemporary Worship
If largescale trends continue, the future of contemporary worship in 100 years will be characterized by churches who sing four and five verse songs in homophonic style. Instead of the straight accompaniment that we now think of as “hymn style”, the hymns of the future will benefit from more popular treatment.
Once again, this is already taking place. In the future of contemporary worship, these trends will become widespread.
In the future, the strengths of both traditional and contemporary worship will come together in the song of the church. Long after we’re gone, the contemporary vs traditional thinking that caused the worship wars of the 1990s will be nothing more than a footnote in church history.
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This is hogwash and complete ignorance of church history as a whole.
Hi Yours Truly,
Specifically, where did I go wrong?
Daniel
Pretty poor assesment of Church history. Hymns were not the first songs to be sung in gatherings. Historically speaking, there was some incredibly complex pieces that took place before hymns..Take Gregorian chant for example. You won’t catch me easily singing along to that anytime soon.You’ve uplifted a certain section in church history and are saying, “this is right and true”. That’s a bold doxological statement. I do agree with you that we will continue to grow in holding fast to robust theology and songs that sing true pictuers of God’s character. But, I have to say I disagree with this post and find it’s lack of support and thought not compelling.
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the comment. The English word hymn comes from the Greek word “Hymnos”, generally meaning song of praise. They have been around much longer than even chant, as Matthew 26:30 uses the word. It’s always interesting to see what people think of when they hear the word hymn. Some automatically assume we’re talking about the power and blood songs of the American Gospel Song movement. Others think of the polyphonic music of the 14th century “Paris School”. It depends on where you are and what you’ve been exposed to. You are correct, most protestant churchs do not use chant. But some denominations do. In the past 20 years, some groups such as Liturgical Methodists and Anglicans have begun singing the prayer book to band accompaniment. (There were even a couple of chants in the 1956 Baptist Hymnal!) In fact, many hymns sung in worship throughout the ages are paraphrased Psalms. (Psalmody itself has a long, well-established history.) In this article, when I refer to hymns, I am specifically referring to homophonic texture. I believe in the future, worship will return to homophony (over monophony) with contemporary accompaniment. I hope that helps you see the thought process.