Resolution Against Unholy Worship Styles

Whereas there is a great movement among evangelical churches to contemporize their worship styles to fit our ungodly culture;

And whereas these contemporary worship styles are said to be winning generation X back to the church, but in reality are simply entertaining people and bringing worldliness into the church;

And whereas contemporary worship services are often followed by traditional worship services--communicating that worship styles are just a matter of taste--not an issue of right and wrong in God's eyes;

And whereas some have tried to label those who reject their contemporary worship styles as simply traditionalists, who are "legalistic," "afraid of change," "anti-new," or "anti-emotional;"

And whereas the contemporary worship styles are characterized by the style of the rebellious world, using instruments that are strongly associated with the rock genre (such as drum sets and electric guitars), a party atmosphere, and dancing;

And whereas those in this movement not only claim to be right, but actually claim that they have biblical precedent for this type of worldly worship through misinterpreting certain Bible passages;

And whereas those using unholy worship styles actually present to the lost world a God that is neither biblical, nor holy, nor unique, and they wrongly persist in defending what they do as the only way to reach the lost or to make the church relevant to the world;

Therefore be it resolved that we the members of the Ohio Bible Fellowship at the Spring Conference meeting at Bible Community Church in Mentor, Ohio, on April 12-13, 2002, wholeheartedly reject the contemporary worship style movement as an unholy, satanic counterfeit of what true biblical worship should be (2 Cor 11:14).

And be it further resolved that we believe the Bible explicitly teaches that we are not to be conformed to the ungodly activities and behavior of the world in our church services in any aspect (Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 14:40).

And be it further resolved that we remember that Scriptures provide many examples of how men angered our holy Lord by worshiping Him in an unholy way (John 2 13-17; 1 Kings 12:25-32).

And be it further resolved that we reject the false label of being "legalistic traditionalists, who are afraid of something only because it new" just because we reject the "contemporary" worship movement, (rather, we judge both old and new styles alike by the holy standard of God set in His Word).

And be it further resolved that we do not believe that worship styles are just a matter of preference, since Scriptures clearly teach that we must worship God in a spiritual manner and according to truth, which includes the full revelation of God's holiness presented in His Word (John 4:24).

And be it further resolved that we realize that through these unholy worship styles, believers have been given the wrong impression that worship is merely for man's entertainment and that God is unconcerned about their being separate from sinful associations (2 Cor 5:17; 7:1).

And be it further resolved that we clarify that the Old Testament use of "drums" and David "dancing before the Lord," must be understood in reference to the ancient Hebrew culture and not to be equated with the sensual dancing and pulsating drum-beat of the modern American culture.

And be it further resolved that we reaffirm our commitment to joyfully worshipping the Lord from our hearts both individually and corporately as churches, on a regular basis in keeping with the holy nature of God and the principles that make us distinct from the world (1 Pet 1:16-17; Rom 12:2).