50 IDEAS TH AT CH AN GED E V E RY T H I N G
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13 MODERN WORSHIP GETS EVEN MORE MODERN
Let’s Get Coffee and Talk about God’s Sovereignty and Human Free Will! John Piper. Mark Driscoll. Joshua Harris. These pastors share more in common than bestselling books. They are part of a growing Reformed movement that has attracted young people across denominations. In 2009, Time magazine named new Calvinism the number-three biggest idea changing the world. “In a day when the world is big,” Driscoll said in 2010, “and there is terrorism, chaos and confusion, to know God is sovereign—that God is in control, that God is good—is practically and pastorally really helpful.”
Remember when it was controversial to put drums on a church stage? We’ve moved past that, obviously, but even modern worship has gone through a few evolutions in the last eight years. Here’s a look at where worship has been, and where it is now:
13.1 FIRST WAVE Delirious? took the world by storm. British anthem rock worship became the style of choice.
13.2 SECOND WAVE The Passion conferences took off, and Matt Redman’s and Chris Tomlin’s songs were in every church.
13.3 THIRD WAVE Today’s worship has several streams, represented by John Mark McMillan, Hillsong United, Jesus Culture and Misty Edwards.
WE CAN PRAY AND PROTEST
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“The Christianity of private piety, affluent conformity and only ‘God bless America’ has compromised the witness of the Church while putting a new generation of Christians to sleep. Defining faith by the things you won’t do or question does not create a compelling style of life. And a new generation of young people is hungry for an agenda worthy of its commitment, its energy and its gifts.” Jim Wallis Author of God’s Politics and editor of Sojourners, 2006
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JUST ADD SPIRIT
Like Reformed doctrines, beliefs and practices once considered Charismatic became more accepted across denominations. According to a 2008 Barna survey, a majority of born-again Christians (51 percent) reported Charismatic beliefs, including being “filled with the Holy Spirit” and/or believing “the Charismatic gifts, such as tongues and healing, are still valid and active today.”
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