Final Essay

For my final project I researched how worship has changed over the years and the reasons why it has changed. I read a book by William Willimon called Word, Water, Wine, and Bread: How worship has changed over the years. This book discussed different places of worship for not just different types of religions but for different branches of Christianity. For my interaction, I attended First Baptist Church of Trussville and The Basement. I compared these two services by worship, preaching, and just general atmosphere. I was trying to see why these places attracted certain age groups, and why certain people prefer certain worship services than others. One of the most interesting things I learned was probably that music pastors are taught to put a variety of types of worship in their services because it helps please people. Although, It does not always please everyone.
During the course of this project, I learned many things. Some things that are a factor in changing worship styles are things that I would not even think would be a part of it. One of the first things I learned was that the first type of worship was derived from chants that originated from Greek and Hebrew ceremonies. They added melody to the chants to put some kind of consistency to it, and the language was also changed so people knew what they were singing. A lot of worship is tradition, passed down from generations. I learned that Jesus preached against it because it help back the advancement of worship. He said we must move forward. My final opinion for this is just that. I think that we must keep moving forward. If we stay in one spot, in one state of worship, we will never be able to grow and get deep into worship. Even this generation is reforming worship into music that will attract younger people, instead of older music that older people like. The same thing will happen with this kind of worship. When my generation gets older and younger generations rise up, they most likely will not like this music. They will come up with their own ideas and theories of worship. It is a never ending cycle, and I believe it will never stop. I do not think it should stop.
For this project, I wish I would of done many things differently. First off, I would of tried harder to go to a different church to compare to The Basement. First Baptist was much different, of course, but I think if I would have gone to a Catholic church then I would have had a much better comparison. I also wish that I had gotten a better book to describe why some worship has changed, not just the different type of worship. What I did do, though, I believe it helped me better understand how and why it has changed.