Making Sense of Worship

In This Chapter

Discovering what worship means and distinguishing Christian worship

Finding out why Christians worship together

Exploring the differences between liturgical and free worship

Facing the hymn versus praise music debate

Dealing with the tensions between worship and culture

My wife and I are happily married, but I have to confess that we’re in an all-out coffee war. To me, true coffee means either fresh ground coffee with cream or else espresso with non-fat milk, chocolate, and extra whip cream. However, my wife recently felt compelled to get back to the basics and discover how coffee was originally experienced: black coffee, French press, or a double shot of pure espresso. Sayonara creamsville! My wife and I may need counselling for our coffee incompatibility, but at least we stand united against our woefully mistaken friend who has the nerve to speak against the coffee shop we love so much. Too commercial, she says. Not an authentic bean experience. “Bah, humbug!” we say, knowing she’s out of touch!

In these coffee wars, my wife, friend, and I are all striving for a common goal – enjoying coffee the way it was meant to be. But each of us has a different idea on how that’s achieved.

Worship is an infinitely more sacred issue than coffee, of course, and it’s a fundamental part of Christianity – but the myriad of perspectives on Christian worship is remarkably similar to the percolating debates among the three of us. To some Christians, worship is only pure when you do what the original New Testament Church did. To others, worship should combine the best of the ancient world and our modern world – sound biblical principles mixed with modern creativity and artistry. Still others want to ensure that, regardless of the worship style, they maintain a balance, avoiding the extremes of stuffy and emotionless or emotional and shallow.

This chapter takes a close look at the issue of worship, explaining what worship is, why Christians worship, and how different people express devotion to God – from somber, cathedral-style services to contemporary services with upbeat music played on guitars and drums to charismatic services in which people dance in the aisles.

I Worship, You Worship, We All Worship: Defining the Christian Tradition

Compared to people in earlier societies, most modern people have a hard time understanding exactly what worship is. In the past, showing reverence and awe was a normal part of life, whether it was to a king or to a god of one sort or another. Today’s highly individualistic society stands in contrast to this lifestyle, tending to view any kind of authority with either scepticism or as irrelevant. As a result, the word worship conjures up images of prehistoric folks bowing down before golden statues and revering them like gods. To a society that prides itself on being sophisticated and savvy, the whole worship idea ends up sounding silly.

Although bowing to a golden calf is outdated, the concept of worship is not. Worship is hardwired into the fabric of humanity; all people worship something, whether they realize it or not. Some people worship God, while others worship more earthly gods. The ancients often opted for golden idols, but today people revere money, power, fame, sex, celebrities, sports, and so on. In short, people worship whatever captivates their hearts.

Christianity says that a believer’s all-consuming focus needs to be the Lord and the Lord alone. In this light, worship is the act of showing God that you’re in awe of and devoted to him. Christians do this through a variety of practices, including singing, reading the Bible or creeds of the Church, praying, sharing in the Lord’s Supper, preaching, and enjoying fellowship with other Christians. Christians believe that worship not only honours God but also empowers the worshiper. Some Christians even believe that the Holy Spirit fills up the spiritual gas tank of the individual who’s worshiping, enabling him or her to be a disciple who’s ready to go out into the world and share the gospel.

The New Testament doesn’t provide much specific instruction on what worship should consist of, so the perspectives that developed are based on what the apostles and the early Church did, rather than on the specific teachings of the Bible.

No matter how they do so, Christians agree that they must approach worship with the right attitudes for true worship to occur. These include

Being reverent: Both the Old and New Testaments make it clear that God’s faithful must always worship in reverence – they’re never to approach worship in a light-hearted or an unwilling manner. After all, the Lord said to Moses, “Don’t come close. Take your sandals off of your feet, for the place you are standing on is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

Being genuine: Jesus indicated that true worship means doing so in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). By worshiping in spirit, Jesus meant that the worship originates deep inside of a person rather than through external activity. Worshiping in truth indicates being focused on the Word of God and being genuine in what you do, not going through the motions.

Being attentive to the Holy Spirit: Paul tells believers to worship “in the Spirit” (Philippians 3:3). True Christian worship is always inspired by the Holy Spirit, and Christians should acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s role as they worship.

Being humble and surrendering your heart to God: The story of the three wise men in Matthew 2:11 reminds believers that true worship means giving:

The wise men came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

In the same way, when you worship with abandon, you become completely focused on God, not holding back or sitting on the sidelines. Sometimes that involves giving gifts, like the wise men did, and other times, it means giving one’s whole self to participate in the service.

Being intentional while allowing room for emotion: Some churches have a tendency to treat worship as a purely outward emotional experience, while others think it’s a cerebral activity and much prefer to leave emotion out altogether. But most Christians agree that the Bible points to a balance between these opposing positions.

The Bible indicates that God wants emotion to play a part in worship. Note the word “shout” in Psalm 81: “Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob!” In fact, the Old Testament uses “shout” over 20 times and often uses the term interchangeably with “sing” in the original Hebrew.

At the same time, the Bible makes it clear that Christians must not get carried away and let mindless emotion dominate. Paul dealt with this problem in his first letter to the Corinthian church. Their worship services got crazy and out of control, making it impossible for some people in the congregation to worship. As a result, Paul responds in 1 Corinthians 14 about the importance of worshiping in an orderly manner, one that produces a worshipful attitude in everyone, not just a few. As Paul says, God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.

Being committed to worship as a lifestyle: The Apostle Paul reminds Christians in Romans 12:1 that true worship is a 24/7 deal, not something you only do for an hour on Sunday or Saturday:

I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship.

Not that Christians feel that worshiping with others isn’t important, because they do, but Paul says that the Christian life is, by definition, worship.