when a church service can be boring

[Shao Feng-Li]

Ok I don't mean to say everyone should be sitting around frowning. Though I am only talking about the two hours or so of an actual service. Not all day Sunday.

[Radical Dreamer]

On which type of song-worship is "right," here's the answer in a nutshell: both. Some people find themselves more focused on God when they're in a more quiet, American-traditional service (I specify America because other countries don't consider that way of worship "traditional" at all). Others find it easier to worship God with music that's more upbeat. Some people like to get up and dance when they worship, others will stick to just raising a hand or two, and still others will be completely still. And every person will wonder at some point, "how on earth can that person really be focusing on God if they're worshipping in that way?" The answer? Well, aside from "it's really none of your business," is exactly what Nate already said: everyone is different and people have different personal preferences. That's all it boils down to, really. At the end of the day, what matters is that your heart is focused on God.

And really, it's not like singing in a church pew is the only way to worship God anyways. XD

[mechana2015]

You specified worship, and for many people the entire 2 hour service is worship. Prohibiting joy or happiness which are the byproducts of fun or having fun during worship, would be explicitly contrary to portrayal of worship in the Bible. There are times to be solemn, and that is expressed as well, but I don't think that a church service has to be uniformly stoic. There need to be a balance in place that allows for both directions of emotional expression or the service will either become so solemn and wearing that the weight will wear people down emotionally week after week and bore them, or be so focused on emotion and happiness that no message of consequence can be delivered and the high will eventually wear off and the service will become boring. The key is balancing the process out.

[blkmage]

(I specify America because other countries don't consider that way of worship "traditional" at all)

This.

It dawned on me about a year ago how incredibly dumb the eternal battle of traditional vs. contemporary worship music is because it's assumed that those are the only two choices. And it should be incredibly obvious that they are not. When we get into an argument about the best way to worship, what we're saying isn't that our way is better than the other way, but our way is better than all the other ways around the world.

I mean, worship in the early church would look nothing like any service we'd be used to. For one thing, anything we'd consider to be worshipping music hasn't even been developed yet. And that's not to mention the implicit expectation that churches in, say, eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, or eastern and southern Asia would develop worship services that we'd be immediately comfortable in. Why would they?

[Radical Dreamer]

This.

It dawned on me about a year ago how incredibly dumb the eternal battle of traditional vs. contemporary worship music is because it's assumed that those are the only two choices. And it should be incredibly obvious that they are not. When we get into an argument about the best way to worship, what we're saying isn't that our way is better than the other way, but our way is better than all the other ways around the world.

I mean, worship in the early church would look nothing like any service we'd be used to. For one thing, anything we'd consider to be worshipping music hasn't even been developed yet. And that's not to mention the implicit expectation that churches in, say, eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, or eastern and southern Asia would develop worship services that we'd be immediately comfortable in. Why would they?

Exactlyyyyyyy. XD I approve of this post so much. XD

[Warrior4Christ]

It can be all three of those things. It's not a "pick one and only one" choice. Otherwise we'd still think wearing 50% cotton/50% polyester shirts and being clean-shaven was a sin and that you'd have to condemn your house if it had mold in it. You can base your beliefs on the Bible, AND reason, AND on philosophy. It isn't hard to do!

I think he meant the primary authority, which has the final say...
http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/briefing/library/1265/
("Four ways to live?")
And hermeneutics/interpretation comes into it, so use your brain as you read (which is still different from using reason apart from the Word).

I think church is not primarily for entertainment, but for worshipping God (showing God worth), meeting with other believers for encouragement, prayer, etc, and teaching from the Word. So in a sense, who cares if it's boring - our God is worthy, so pay attention. On the other hand, if we can achieve those purposes and make it enjoyable/entertaining, then sure, even better. The more engaging it is, the easier it'll be for the masses to keep attentive and better fulfil the above points. Of course, there are times when it's appropriate to have solemness as well (but that's not necessarily disengaging).

Having said that, I like my church that has contemporary rock worship and events every so often to engage people in fellowship in a different way (with food). I wouldn't stay away from a church that had more traditional music though (and have been to some every so often).

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Contemporary rock? Sam, it's more modern praise and worship music. If our church had rock and metal, I'd be a very happy chappy! As is, it's pretty good.