Call me Mr. Scrooge or the Apostle Paul–your choice. What were they thinking at the contemporary worship service on Christmas Eve? They sang songs like “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come,” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” with the word “Thy” throughout. To top it off, they sang “Gloria in Excelsis Deo…”–it’s Latin!

Don’t get me wrong–I grew up with all these great songs, and because they’re part of my childhood, they’re all “feel-good” songs to me, too. But, it’s a contemporary service during the one time when more un-churched and de-churched people attend than any other.

Rob Bell from Mars Hill Church in Grandville, MI, had an article in Time Magazine, December 17, 2007, on page 60. With 11,000 people attending weekly, Bell talks about the early beginnings: “100 people a day were calling and saying, ‘Dude! Give us the real thing.’ I was like, ‘If someone could speak to them in their mother tongue, they’d be here in droves.’”

Call me Scrooge if you want, but for heaven’s sake, what’s our top priority? Mission or feel good? I’d go with the Apostle Paul.

Kent R. Hunter