CityView Magazine

faith "Back to the Future" Worship I BY DAVID GIRA n the movie, "Back to the Future", Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) accidentally travels back in time to 1955. In one scene, he's dazed and confused as he tries to make sense of the music playing, the way people are talking, the clothes, the newspaper headlines, and everything that's happening around him. Desperately, he wants to get back to the future. If you have come to a Christian worship service, you may have felt like Marty. Maybe you felt like you travelled back in time. Your experience may have leſt you dazed and confused. You may have wanted nothing more than to get back home. I'm happy to say that in Fayetteville, there are a growing number of churches where worship is going "back to the fu- ture." New songs are being written and sung. Timeless truths are being communicated in new ways. New technology, video and media are being employed. God's message is addressing new issues. New people are coming. New ways of serving are emerging in response. I am convinced that the Church's best days are yet to come. For example, Haymount United Methodist Church nearly eight years ago launched a contemporary worship service, which I am honored and excited to lead. Haymount contin- ues its legacy of excellent traditional/liturgical worship. But 18 | January/February • 2012 now at 10:55am each Sunday we also have our "New Sanctu- ary" contemporary service, which features a rock-n-roll wor- ship band, new songs, lots of video and pictures, innovative teaching, a relaxed atmosphere and my favorite — the "Holy Grounds Café," which serves the best coffee in town! Youth are engaged. Children are dancing during worship. Every week new people arrive, friends invite friends, attendance grows, and new commitments are made. There's a buzz in the air. Worship revitalization does not require throwing out the old, but it does require making room for the new. Our tradi- tional worship services are alive and well. The people of Hay- mount U.M.C, in my opinion, are a bright shining example of this worship hospitality. They have also supported "New Sanctuary" whole-heartedly, with a new building, state-of- the-art equipment, leadership and resources. They've given it the freedom, prayer and encouragement needed. They've given it an ideal Sunday morning worship time, 10:55 a.m., rather than relegating it to a less desirable time. They are will- ing to have traditional and contemporary worship at the same time and it's strengthened "New Sanctuary" too. CV David Gira is Associate Pastor at Haymount United Meth- odist Church and Lead Pastor of the New Sanctuary worship service.

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