A Non-espresso Latte?

I recently ordered a latte at a coffee shop. Those who know me best know that I enjoy coffee. In fact, I enjoy high-quality coffee-- especially when it is prepared with high technical and artistic standards. The latte I ordered was a house specialty. It contained their own special brew of steamed milk and flavoring syrups. I received my cup and sat down at a table. I took a couple sips and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.  The girl who had prepared my cup then found me and informed me that she had forgotten to put the espresso in my drink. She apologized, took my cup, added the needed espresso, and returned my cup to me. How could I, a self-proclaimed coffee aficionado, not notice that there was no actual coffee in my drink?

The thought then occurred to me that the reason I did not recognize the lack of coffee was because of all of the "extras" that had been added. If I had ordered a simple coffee with nothing else to go with it I would have immediately been able to see the problem. Even if I had only ordered a simple latte (espresso with steamed milk) I would have easily seen the lack of the vital ingredient. While the "extras" add to my latte they also, in one sense, take away. I am left unable to appreciate the actual coffee.

This recent event at a local cafe (along with a couple articles mailed to me by my father) prompted me to ponder the implications of modernistic church worship. The average church today either holds multiple services that cater to a variety of worship styles, or actively attempts to incorporate multiple styles into a single worship service. I am not attempting to argue for or against styles and modalities. I simply wonder what, if any, ripples will result from this stylistic explosion in modern worship.

These modern worship services are packed with "extras".  These extras are meant to add to our worship experience. Whether we are talking about modern musical styles, worship bands, large projector-lit screens, flashing words and phrases, or any of the other things commonly seen, we must remember that these things are all "extras". It seems easy to slip and forget that the core of the worship service-- the necessary element-- is the proclaiming of the Word of God by both preaching and song. That is the danger of the "extras".

I am not decrying the modern trappings that sometimes accompany our worship. I simply seek to give a reminder that we cannot lose our focus. What a tragedy to realize that in our effort to spice up our worship we water down (or worse yet, leave out altogether) the primary essential of what corporate worship was meant to be.

Also, maybe it is time for me to get back to drinking basic coffee.