I whole-heartedly agree that our society seeks experience over intimacy!! So true!

As I read your post, 1 Corinthians 1:19-23 came to mind. “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

There was a period of 2 years when I stopped leading worship really. I can worship to most any songs.. So I didn’t understand why choosing worship sets had become so complicated. I enjoyed worshipping by myself- but became so anxious when it came to choosing songs others would know and feel comfortable singing.

Now, here I am…and I’m leading worship again- but I find that sometimes I have to scratch a few songs I really want to sing because I feel led to go in another way…

The worship music industry is one I will not pretend to understand… but I’m realizing that as much as worship is a dialogue with Christ- it’s also a conversation in which new friends are eavesdropping. So that’s why this verse came to mind.
There are many themes in the Bible that are repeated throughout. So maybe these repetitive songs are necessary for bringing new friends into this dialogue!?

Yes, a church like Hillsong may decrease attendance if they stopped their music stuff, but most churches can get past trends. The bottom line is the church is greater than any trend. It will last. However, there are many parishioners holding on to trends, but this is nothing new. Some skip around churches to find it, and others just let their church dictate what the next trend is. And trends aren’t bad in and of themselves, but when they become trendy (doing things because its the cool thing to do) is when it gets messy.

Hope that helps clarify.

Thanks for the comment! I agree with you that we shouldn’t discount anyone for lack of eloquence or giftedness on an occasion or two. That is one reason I didn’t want to mention any names or songs. But, as a whole, there should be a standard that encourages eloquence and quality from our gifted brethren. No different than we would expect a preacher to be eloquent and bring depth. I will look up Laura Story as well. Sounds like a great artist!