Last December, we took a survey in the 11:00 Traditional worship service.  I asked worshipers why they attend traditional worship, what have been their favorite moments, what they would like to see more or less of, and what other comments or feedback they have.

Ever since, I’ve been wanting to reflect on the feedback.  It was insightful and helpful – for me and for all of us, no matter which service we attend.

Let’s start here: Why do have a traditional worship service?  It’s more than just “tradition.”  Many churches with a long heritage of traditional worship no longer have a traditional service.

We have a traditional worship service for the same reason that we have a contemporary worship service and an 8:30 Sonrise service that is what’s commonly called “blended.”  We have this service because it is the most meaningful time and way for a significant portion of our congregation to worship God.

Ever since I became pastor at Corinth sixteen years ago, I’ve been saying that our worship services shouldn’t be about my personal preferences.  (The world hasn’t yet seen a worship service designed only for my tastes, and probably never will.  OK, maybe my funeral, if I have enough advance warning to plan the details.) 

Long before I came to Corinth, we lost our need or desire to conform to a particular worship style just because it’s German Reformed or UCC.  The former hasn’t existed for three quarters of a century, and the latter is intentionally inclusive of a wide variety of worship styles.

The reason we offer various worship forms is you.  To say it positively, we believe God created us differently and works in us differently.  Various forms of worship minister to various kinds of Christians.  We think a church that focuses on the “essentials” should be able to minister, learn, and work together even if our worship preferences vary.

A cynic would say (and would partly be right) that we are simply nurturing a consumer mindset.  We are catering to different markets with the same basic product.

The point I want to make is that we are doing so with traditional worship no more or less than with contemporary or blended worship. 

This point came home to me in our survey at the traditional worship service.  A contemporary worshiper sees our traditional service as a radically different experience.  Among those who attend traditional worship, however, there is an interesting range of opinion.  For some respondents, the service is too traditional.  For others, it’s not traditional enough. 

Here’s the lesson.  Regardless of which service we attend, we must be careful to resist the idea that worship needs to conform to all our individual preferences in order to make us happy – or at least comfortable.  Is that why we’re here?