Acoustic Guitar:
I came to faith during a time when contemporary worship was gaining steam and hedging its mark on youth culture. Movements such as Passion flooded our CD binders, players, and radios while every tasteful youth leader sought to learn the acoustic guitar and passionately lead their youth group to Jesus (unfortunately I fell into the former). In the circles I ran in, Christianity had little to do with doctrine and theology, and had more to do with emotion and expression. Chris Tomlin and David Crowder, The Newsboys and DC Talk, and Hillsongs and Jesus Culture were individuals that many of the youth groups emulated. Effective ministry was based upon how well your band could play contemporary worship. If for some reason your youth group did not have a band, you were out dated. Period!
Ministries were constructed around the notion of coming together to sing songs of praise. This movement birthed ministries (at least thats what we thought) like Worship Nights, Battle of the Bands, Talent Shows, Special Songs, and the list goes on. As young people we felt it our duty and obligation to find songs that would be indicative of the passion and desire we had for God. We were tired of old hymns that seemed out of date, out of touch, out of style. This movement was filled with devotion and fervor, and the challenge was to sustain a spiritual high in order to pursue the next spiritual high — next week’s Youth Revival.
Do not misunderstand me, worship is a reality that God invites us into. God calls His people into an intimate life of worship that sees His Name and fame lifted up on high. God is a God that is for His Glory. This reality is not being downplayed. Worship, in of itself, is not a bad thing. Jesus clearly states that “the Father is seeking such people to worship Him” (John 14:23 ESV, italics added). Worship is an invitation to pursue our greatest joy in Christ Jesus. Yet, what started out as a passion for the Gospel soon began to reek of idolatry. Contemporary worship, at the time, no longer was the means to the end — communion with God — but became the focal point of the youth culture’s existence (at least in our circle of faith) to magnify our own talents.
God’s Grace to Open My Eyes:
It was not until recently that I began to realize the sinfulness of my heart in idolizing contemporary worship as a functional savior for the local church. At that time, in the early 2000s, there was a great deal of chatter amongst young people about the “fact” that the Hmong church needed to change, in particular their style of worship, in order to be relevant to the next generation. In more or less words, “contemporary worship will save the church!” From our perspective, the local church was out dated and out of touch with the 2nd generation Hmong who had assimilated to the American culture. We (more like I) fell into the trap of thinking that style would save the state of the local church. As God continued to love me and shape me I began to realize how wrong I was.
Centrality of the Gospel:
By His grace and for the glory of His Name He lead me to see that there is no "plan B" in regards to His redemptive work. God knows what He is doing, and it was/is His plan to make much of Christ in order to redeem, restore, and renew His church for His glory. In His infinite wisdom “He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:5 - 6 ESV, italics added). His plan and purpose has always been Jesus. It is the duty of the church to remain faithful to that plan through the power of the Spirit.
For this reason Paul urged the church of Ephesus to “maintain the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3 ESV). Not create unity, but rather maintain unity. Maintain because Christ on the cross and through the power of the resurrection has already created the unity for the church. The centrality of the Gospel holds the community of saints together. The Gospel is sufficient to save and sufficient to sustain the life and breath of the church. No longer will there be a distinction between Jew and Gentile, but “you are [all] fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV).
The Gospel needs no gimmicks. The Gospel needs no revision. The Gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV).
Concern for Today:
In our day idolatry rears its ugly head again, and we must be aware of how the church can fall into its deceptions and lies. Much of the talk amongst young Hmong believers is the movement for 2nd generation ministries and/or English speaking services that will restore the life of the local church (realize that I am and have been at the forefront of many of these conversations). This is, in our current season and climate, the model and practice that will restore the hope to the lost generation. We must be careful, then, to not place our hope in finite ideologies, least we dethrone the Gospel of its rightful place and elevate pragmatism and innovation to an ungodly sphere. The Gospel must remain central and the main focus in the heart of the local church!
What About Understanding our Ministry Context?
Pragmatism, innovation, and technique all have their rightful place in the scheme of Gospel ministry, but we must remember that these ideologies are merely tools to usher in the central hope for humanity — the Gospel. It cannot be overemphasized that these devices are simply means to the ultimate end — Jesus Christ. The issue that arises in the heart of broken humanity is the bent to elevate good things to ultimate things.
God’s decree for Israel was to “be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6 ESV, italics added). That same decree was given to the body of saints to live in holiness (1 Peter 1:15). This holiness is not a self derived holiness, but rather a holiness contrived by the presence of God through the Spirit. This God empowered holiness was to be to the nations a distinction from the world in order to proclaim to the world the beauty and majesty of God.
The church is responsible to know the context to which they minister, but comprehending the context will never supersede the power of the Gospel. Gimmicks will never paint the Gospel in a way to be accepted in terms of publication and presentation. If so, we have lost the Gospel altogether. Acceptance of the Gospel is initiated by the Spirit (John 3:1 - 15; 1 Corinthians 2:6 - 16). Again, the Gospel has no need for gimmicks or revision! Context must be understood in the realm of observing a set people group in order to minister effectively and position oneself to communicate clearly the Gospel message. Context, then, becomes a vehicle to carry the Gospel, not the main thrust of the ministry.
Are You Against 2nd Generation Ministries or English Services?
By no means am I against ministries longing to proclaim the Good News! I, myself, have been apart of ministries and services that cater to the English speaking portion of our indigenous community group. These ministries are agents for the generations to hear the beauty and majesty of the Gospel. These ministries are instruments used by God for the expansion of the Kingdom and the salvation of the people.
In light of this reality it is our duty as ministers to remain faithful to the Gospel which is the proclamation of the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This message must remain central to the heartbeat of Gospel ministry and be hedged into the make-up and DNA in the culture of the local church.
Conclusion:
Contemporary worship started from a heart that longed to see Jesus magnified and glorified through song. This was/is a beautiful reality! Yet the wayward heart will always sway from the Gospel, and it is pivotal that we evaluate our hearts to see where they are at. This garnered my attention to think: “what else are we buying into that is hindering us from full Gospel gaze?” This blog is a shout out for accountability, a shout out to analyze the foundation of your ministry, a shout out to check the heartbeat of the ministry culture in your church, a shout out to reorient the strategy and aim of the ministry to focus in on the person of Jesus Christ.
My fear is that we will deviate from the centrality of the Gospel and fall into a pragmatic approach in regards to local church ministries. This in turn will lead to a dependence upon method and strategy rather than Spirit-filled regenerative power through the proclamation of the Word. We will begin to love the idea of the community, rather than the One to whom our community is built upon. We will begin to acknowledge our innovation, rather than admiring His faithfulness. We will begin to elevate our ministers, rather magnifying Jesus.
If the Gospel is not enough for us to build community and make disciples in our current church community, what makes us think that adopting a 2nd generation model or English service will do to change that? The issue is not our model, the main issue is our heart. Is the Gospel enough?
McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (6 months). He graduated from Crown College with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years. He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity. He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.
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