"Don't Throw Out Your Nice Suit Just Yet"

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/04/12/dont-throw-out-your-nice-suit-just-yet/



If you have spent any time in what some may call “traditional church,” then you are familiar with things like altar calls, formal benedictions, extended pastoral prayers, and a call to worship. While some of these elements may be problematic because of how they have been used in the past, many of them remain important and even relevant parts of a worship service. In fact, I would argue they can help contextualize the gospel message for many demographics. Hispanics familiar with liturgical services, African Americans who have enjoyed many generations of “traditional church,” and many older individuals who grew up in a churched culture would all be familiar and potentially more comfortable with these traditional elements in a church service.



I have found this to be true in our ministry to Karen refugees. One of the things they first mentioned when they cam to our church was how delighted they were that we still used hymnals- something they had not found true in every American congregation they had been to.