PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

What are some changes in worship methods? Some people worship God with a guitar.
While I first became a youth minister, guitars were primarily identified with youth and the
counter-culture movement; so no one brought a guitar into our church. At least into most Baptist
churches I identified with. Guitars had always been used in pentecostal and holiness churches,
and Salvation Army citadels; as well as minority churches where guitars were the dominant
instrument of choice. The very fact that certain minorities used guitars, indicate that the use of
guitars was a method, not an eternal principles and had nothing to do with doctrine. The
same could be said for the use of candles, hymnbooks as opposed to psalters, or acoustical piano
as opposed to electronic piano. These are cultural choices and fall in the realm of methods. They
have nothing to do with principles and/or doctrine.
17. Most want to keep the worship traditions that made their church unique, hence
they fight change because of its unsettling nature. Most Christians strive to remain faithful to
God, by remaining faithful to their experiences when God first touched them in the past. They
think by allegiance to their experiences (that grow out of doctrine), they are also being faithful to
the purity of doctrine. Since the Bible says much about not changing doctrine, they view the
change in worship expression with the same reservation.
The New Testament exhorts us to be faithful to doctrine, "Those things that are most
surely believed among us" (Luke 1:1). Because of this Christian truth is quite often known as
"sound doctrine." Paul notes, "Holding fast the faithful Word as he hath been taught, that He
may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Titus 1:9). And
why do Christians fight over the differences in worship expression? Obviously, the exhortation
to defend sound doctrine, is connected to defending worship that is attached to doctrine. "I gave
all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation . . . and exhort you that ye should
earnestly contend for the faith which was delivered to the Saints" (Jude 3). After we begin
contending for doctrine, it is easy to add to this, contending for one's worship style. Those who
contend for a worship style thinks anyone who denies true doctrine was to be rejected.
"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God; he that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (II John 9). "Whosoever denieth
the Son, the same hath not the Father" (I John 2:23). Therefore anyone who denies the
fundamental doctrine of Christ are to be rejected.
18. Be wary of the elitist who despises worship that is different from his/her own type
of service. An elitist usually views his life and works far superior to others, and some elitists see
their worship as better than others. This becomes a dangerous practice, for the elitist introduces
the temptation to, (1) judge, (2) set oneself over another, (3) the pride of superiority, and (4) the
sin of despising another brother. The very elitist who would elevate himself into the heart of
God, usually blinds himself to the presence of God because he has succumbed to the sin of the
Scribes and Pharisees who, "Thought themselves to be something."
19. Most of the "worship wars" break out into battles because leaders have not taught
people how to worship, when to worship, and "why" to worship. When we better educate our