Formal Vs Orderly Worship
We have all been in worship services in which the prayers sound scripted and memorized, the hymns are sung with little passion, and the Lord’s Supper is treated as an afterthought. Not only is this discouraging, it is hardly pleasing to our God who expects us to love Him and worship Him with the best our heart can give.
Because of these deficiencies, it is easy to imagine that the solution to the problem of cold, formalistic worship is to change the format of worship. If the problem is that our services are too orderly, it is logical to imagine that a less rigid format would create a more spiritual atmosphere. Perhaps more spontaneity, or a different seating arrangement, or some other structural change will solve the problem.
I believe this approach to improving worship is well intentioned, and may indeed temporarily inspire more heartfelt praise, but will not make a lasting difference. I truly believe that if worship is not genuinely spiritual, the reason is not because the services are too orderly. After all, if you read First Corinthians 14, the apostle Paul laid down one rule after another to regulate what the Corinthians were doing in their worship assemblies – even in the time when there were miraculous spiritual gifts. Apparently Paul did not think that orderly worship was the same as cold, formal worship.
I would have no problem with changing the plan of worship every service if my congregation thought that would be more edifying. But if we want to get to the root of the problem of indifferent worship, we must go to the heart of the worshipper rather than making artificial and synthetic changes to format. In Revelation 4-5, the celestial creatures around the throne of God burst with praise. In Revelation 4:11 they praise God for His power as the creator; in Revelation 5:8-9 they praise Jesus for His sacrifice as the redeemer.
That to me is the key to truly spiritual worship. We must recover a sense of awe and wonder at our Creator and our Redeemer. If we do that personally, then our worship will be everything it should be corporately.
Because of these deficiencies, it is easy to imagine that the solution to the problem of cold, formalistic worship is to change the format of worship. If the problem is that our services are too orderly, it is logical to imagine that a less rigid format would create a more spiritual atmosphere. Perhaps more spontaneity, or a different seating arrangement, or some other structural change will solve the problem.
I believe this approach to improving worship is well intentioned, and may indeed temporarily inspire more heartfelt praise, but will not make a lasting difference. I truly believe that if worship is not genuinely spiritual, the reason is not because the services are too orderly. After all, if you read First Corinthians 14, the apostle Paul laid down one rule after another to regulate what the Corinthians were doing in their worship assemblies – even in the time when there were miraculous spiritual gifts. Apparently Paul did not think that orderly worship was the same as cold, formal worship.
I would have no problem with changing the plan of worship every service if my congregation thought that would be more edifying. But if we want to get to the root of the problem of indifferent worship, we must go to the heart of the worshipper rather than making artificial and synthetic changes to format. In Revelation 4-5, the celestial creatures around the throne of God burst with praise. In Revelation 4:11 they praise God for His power as the creator; in Revelation 5:8-9 they praise Jesus for His sacrifice as the redeemer.
That to me is the key to truly spiritual worship. We must recover a sense of awe and wonder at our Creator and our Redeemer. If we do that personally, then our worship will be everything it should be corporately.
posted by Shane at 10:34 AM
4 Comments:
Appreciate the insight, Shane. Even our small congregation is challaged at times. Our singing tends to be on the weak side with only 6 adults :) Nevertheless, despite the size of the church I agree with you that our worship must be expressed from a deep reverence for God. It won't make our singing more in tune but our hearts will be speaking forth genuine praise, nonetheless. Peace be to you.
Good thoughts Shane! The problem reminds me of those who tell us that if we want to feel better we just have to have a positive attitude (a cold's not a cold but a warm, etc.). Calling something by a different name or doing something in a different order is like putting a bandaid on gunshot wound. The real problem is that we don't sense the closeness of our relationship with our Father not that we always sing 2 songs before the opening prayer.
When our thoughts have been on ourselves all week long and how hard we have it and we don't meditate on God's blessings and thank Him for them, I doubt that our hearts are going to be filled with praise and adoration when we gather to worship. We will look forward to worship only when our hearts are full of praise and thanksgiving. Mixing up the order or having no order will not ultimately make the difference.
You would think that David and the other Psalmists would have been miserable with the continuous sacrifices and rituals they participated in. Yet, they longed to go the Lord's House because they had an intimate relationship with the Lord and understood that it was at the Lord's House that fellowship with Him could be had.
We need to stop concerning ourselves with what's in it for me and praise God because He is God!
Unfortunately, our theology--proof texted by "forsake not the assembly"--is so shallow that members, who may or may not be truly Christian, believe that church pews will sprout wings and fly them to heaven.
Of course, if the governing board of directors (i.e., elders) and the preacher have no deeper theology, why should I be so hard on the "average member?"
Knowing I am forgiven gives me a more "spiritual" feeling. It is like Jesus' example of the man forgiven much, compared to the one who was forgiven little (which one loved more?) What is really amazing is that no one loved more than Jesus, who never sinned.
Leaders can make such a difference in the attitude of a service. Talks at the Lord's Supper, scriptural insight into songs being discussed before the song, pertinent honest prayers, all help keep me focused (when I'm not passing crayons to my 2-yr old.) Max your comments are dead-on. "Because He is God!"
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