Week 5: Knox Presbyterian and the Traditional vs. Contemporary Worship Debate

With 4 full weeks of research under my belt, I was confident that I was finally getting the hang of things. My observations were going well, I was meeting a lot of great people through my interviews and having really awesome conversations, AND I had finished my original reading list! However, as week 5 hit, I was faced with the realization that things were not going to be as easy as previous weeks.

This week proved a bit problematic. Honestly, I’d been lucky to experience no setbacks until now. But when the church I had planned to visit for this week was unresponsive after my many different attempts to reach out, I had to scramble to find a new church. Emailing last minute, I didn’t actually end up hearing back from the senior pastors of this new church because I later learned that they were on vacation. But as I know a few people who attend worship there, I was able to make it work.

Knox Presbyterian has been apart of the Naperville community for nearly 60 years! What started as a congregation meeting in a local elementary school grew into a thriving church with a heart for service and missions. The weekend I was there, they had sent over one hundred teenagers and adult leaders on a mission trip to Alma Michigan! While its congregation may be smaller than some of the other churches I’ve attended, I was floored by the number of people who were involved in going out into the world to serve.

 

Since I wasn’t able to get ahold of the senior pastors, I decided to be a bit more discreet and stretch my observation over two weekends.

On Sundays, they offer traditional and a contemporary services. However, as I’ve learned throughout my research, the definition of those terms is always relative to whatever church you go to. Since both services took place in their sanctuary, the connotation of the contemporary service was incredibly different from, say, the contemporary service in the worship center at Good Shepherd.

One thing I’ve learned about myself throughout this process is how much I love natural light in worship spaces. As you can see above, the sanctuary in Knox Presbyterian has a beautiful stained glass window, and the room is always brightly lit. There is a warmth to the place as you walk in, as it feels both welcoming and reverent.

I would definitely categorize this church as more traditional, but I also think, as I said before, that that category is relative to whatever church you’re in and also your own experience. In Naperville, I’ve noticed that churches with pipe organs typically have more older people in their congregation, but this doesn’t mean that families don’t attend these types of churches or that older people don’t enjoy contemporary worship. I think its easy to make assumptions. However, this will not be the case in my research with regards to the traditional vs. contemporary debate.

Some may walk into the contemporary service at Knox Presbyterian and say that it was too traditional, just as some would walk into the traditional service and claim that it wasn’t traditional enough. Keeping church shoppers in mind as they are the target audience for my research, I see the inconsistencies behind these labels and have decided that they will not be my focus.

If you are church shopping, its important to go into every church with an open mind and to take these labels with a grain of salt. Don’t walk into a “contemporary” worship service with a certain set of expectations. Look deeper for intentionality and their sense of community. Ask questions about the worship service, but don’t be frustrated when your definition of “contemporary” or “traditional” doesn’t quite match up with theirs. Its okay if you the worship service wasn’t what you were looking for, maybe turn it into an opportunity to explore new ways of worship that take you out of your comfort zone. Seeking different experiences is a good thing, even if its unintentional.

On a personal note, I loved Knox. I loved their sanctuary and the ways in which they could manipulate the space to fit multiple styles of worship. I love all of the opportunities they provide people with to serve, and I love their intentionality. While I was challenged in my ability to be flexible this week, I am so immensely glad that it brought me here.