How the Contemporary Church Has Eroded and Perverted True Worship of the Living God - By Publisher

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This is a 100% Scriptureless presentation by the unnamed "Publisher." He trots out familiar complaints and familiar bogeymen, offering nothing instructional or edifying. He makes many assertions about what worship should be but does not tell us how this should happen or where in the Bible we find this information.

Thus "Publisher" is simply telling us about his taste in churches. He's advocating for tradition based only what he personally likes and doesn't like.

We can safely deem this to be bad Bible teaching.
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When we take a look at biblical history, we find a pattern of worship that couldn’t be more distant from what we see in most modern churches today. Ancient Israel, a people set apart by God, given was meticulous laws and guidelines on how to worship the Creator of heaven and earth. It was an awe-stricken approach, deeply rooted in reverence and governed by God’s holy Word. The worship of God was never viewed as optional or negotiable. The intricate details of offerings, the role of the Levites, and the majesty of God displayed in the Ark of the Covenant—all were aimed to point God’s people to His glory. It was the central element of Israelite life and a failure to do so always ended with drastic consequences and judgment. (??? "Publisher" presents this as the ideal. He's praising the structure under which Israel operated according to the law. That is, the rules of God's chosen people, who have the patriarchs, the prophets, and through whom the lineage of Christ is traced [Romans 9:4-7]. It's their system he admires, their requirements, their rituals, and yes, their punishments.)

Fast forward to today, and what we witness is a drastic departure from historic biblical worship. Worship has been grossly misshaped, stripped of its sacredness, and redefined according to the impulses of popular culture. Worship leaders and their music teams have become nothing more than performers on stage broadcasting their talents to whatever agents might happen to run across them rather than humble servants leading the congregation in singing praises to God. While the capriciousness of collective ideology shapes the church’s worship service, the Word of God is often sidelined, reduced to a few-minute devotional tacked onto the end of a high-octane music set. (Now we're really confused. "publisher" has shifted from ancient Israel to contemporary-style worship services. He glides right on past the 2000 years of the practices and traditions of the Christian church as if those practices and traditions were more biblical. 

However, the things churches did 100 or 200 years ago are nothing special or biblical or acceptable to God. They have nothing in common with the practices of ancient Israel. They were not conducted according to the old testament.

"Publisher" is making an appeal to church tradition, making it the benchmark as to how a church service is to be conducted.)

But let us be clear—true worship has always revolved around God’s Word. (Where do we find this in the Bible?)

Whether it was the Levites reciting the Law, the reading of the Psalms, or the apostles expounding on the teachings of Christ in the early church, the proclamation of the Word of God was central to worship. (Clearly "Publisher" does not understand what worship is. Worship is the act of bowing low before God in humility, acknowledging His greatness and glory, and proclaiming His wonders. The Word informs us as to these things, but the act of worship itself has nothing to do with practice of proclaiming the Word.)

In fact, it is impossible to genuinely worship God without acknowledging and submitting to His revealed truth. How can one claim to honor God while neglecting the very Word He has provided for our instruction and edification?

Many contemporary Evangelical churches have bifurcated worship, separating the music from the preaching of the Word. (The preaching of the Word is not worship. What "Publisher" is doing is substituting the idea of worship with the proceedings of a Sunday church service as if the two were the same. So that allows him to claim that churches that do things differently in their Sunday services are not worshiping God properly. From that he will be able to declare these churches as fleshly, and then even heretical.

Further, for centuries churches have had a time of singing hymns followed by a sermon. This "bifurcated" worship is nothing novel.)

In such settings, “worship” typically refers solely to the musical or concert portion of the service, while the preaching is often viewed as a separate, even lesser, component. This is a serious error as the preaching of the Word of God is not a mere add-on. It is the foundation of worship. (This is the second time that "Publisher" has made this claim, but again does not tell us where in the Bible this idea is found.)

Our response to the preached Word—repentance, faith, obedience, awe, reverence—is itself an act of worship, honoring God by receiving and applying His truth. (All these things are honoring to God, certainly. But none of them required the preached word.)

Yet, the current trajectory is a grave one, where emotional experiences have supplanted biblical truths as the primary aim of worship. Take, for example, the many Evangelical and charismatic church movements that revolve primarily around their musical products. These congregations, widely popular and influencing millions globally, have clearly put a premium on creating an environment of emotionalism. (Vague, undocumented charges being leveled regarding something he cannot know. "Emotionalism" is a state of mind, something that "Publisher" cannot know.)

The weightiness of God’s glory and the richness of sound doctrine have been sacrificed on the altar of a fleeting ecstatic high. Songs with repetitive lyrics and hypnotic musical arrangements or songs that mirror the pop culture around us are deliberately chosen to foster an emotional surge. (He repeats his charges several times using different words, but adding no additional information.)

At Hillsong, for example, the grandiose performances, complete with laser light shows and concert-quality music, are awe-inspiring to many, but one may ask, where is the awe for God Himself? (Has "Publisher" ever asked anyone at Hillsongs? Do they awe God? It's not a hard question to ask.)

Where is the reverence that the Scriptures command when coming into the presence of the Almighty? (Where is this command? We agree the Bible says this, but "Publisher" is supposed to be teaching. But he seems to have an aversion to Scripture.)

Bethel Church, similarly, offers an atmosphere where sensational experiences take command. People flock to their “healing rooms” and engage in so-called “prophetic acts,” most of which are completely disconnected from or even totally contrary to the teachings of Scripture. The emphasis on miraculous signs and wonders and individual emotional experiences runs the risk of overshadowing the importance of the Gospel message. (The same charges repeated, with a couple of additional ones for good measure, again provided without reference or documentation.

So the emotional responses of people run the risk of overshadowing the Gospel? Would dead traditionalism do the same? Just wondering.)

Then there’s Church by the Glades, an overtly worldly Southern Baptist megachurch, which has taken sensationalism to another level altogether. The church is known to employ elements of pop culture, performing songs from secular, immoral celebrities, and even recreating scenes from popular movies as part of their services. In the quest to be “relevant,” the gravity of the Gospel has been diluted, relegated to merely another act in the show. People come for the spectacle and leave entertained, but do they leave transformed by the renewing of their minds through the Word of God? No.

Services at these churches are often designed to titillate the senses, keep people on the edge of their seats, and ensure they return the next week, not to serve the Lord, but to get another “fix” of religious amusement. (A serious charge, again based on information "Publisher" cannot know.)

The focus has shifted from God-centered worship to man-centered experiences, and in the process, the church is losing its distinctiveness, becoming more like a spiritual amusement park than a house of worship. (So "Publisher's" narrative has evolved from ancient Israel to certain eeevil contemporary churches to the conclusion that contemporary worship is emotion-laden entertainment. Based on...? Well, the fact that these churches are not like his church.)

In this distressing landscape, many so-called worshippers don’t even realize the idolatry they are participating in. They may leave church feeling uplifted but remain woefully ignorant of the God they claim to have worshipped. In such settings, we have traded the awe of God for a momentary emotional high. We have traded the sacred and eternal for the superficial and temporary. And in doing so, we have not merely redefined worship, we have profaned it. (Certainly there are churches out there who are in error. We're sure that heresy is taught in some churches. And we are confident that some people go to church for the wrong reasons. 

But the author confuses style with substance. Hw would have us believe that all churches of a certain style contain no substance. Thus he is able to summarily dismiss all contemporary worship wit a wave of the hand. No Bible neeeded.)

Modern churches must revisit their roots, recalibrate their priorities, and return to a biblical model of worship—one that exalts God above all, honors His Word, and leads His people into genuine, Spirit-filled adoration. Anything less is not only an injustice to God but a disservice to the very souls we claim to be nurturing. ("The Biblical model of worship," which "Publisher" never bothers to describe, or tell us from the Bible were we can look it up.)