Stupid Scholar

It’s been a while, but last time we critiqued both sides of the worship wars. The basic conclusion was that both sides are flawed for various reasons. Thus, style should not and cannot be the main issue. A focus on style is quite simply a bad priority.

Today, we will focus on some important passages of Scripture that deal with worship. I admit two things upfront.  First, this is a small, selective group of passages. It is impossible to address every passage in one post. I will most certainly miss some texts, and my biases will probably govern what I write. Second, this post is, nevertheless, rather long. This is a bit technical, and I ask that you stay with me.  I hope you will it useful.

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Isaiah 6: Isaiah in the Presence of God

I begin here because many people on both sides of the argument, myself included, are too comfortable in worship. We “enter the presence of God” and we are at ease, each in our own way. The contemporary side makes things comfortable by trying to appeal to the culture. The traditional side often falls into the, “We’ve always done it this way,” form of comfort.

However, in this passage, Isaiah sees a vision of The Lord Almighty. He enters into a throne room, where even God’s robe fills the temple. It is an awe-inspiring, fearful scene for sure, and the prophet is not at east. Instead, he calls out in terror, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips” (ESV).

Ever since the time when Adam and Eve sinned, every time a person enters into the presence of the most holy God , that person is immediately confronted with his or her own unholiness. Being in God’s presence is frightening. Adam and Eve cowered in fear when God appeared (Genesis 3:8), the Israelites refused to approach God on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:18-21), and even the Apostle John fell in fear when Jesus appeared on Patmos (Revelation 1:17). God’s presence is not comfortable, for we are unclean people with unclean lips.

Sadly, we have turned God into a buddy at the expense of His Majesty and glory. Yes, He is our friend (John 15:15), and it is not inappropriate to emphasized that.  Yet He is also our King (Psalm 29:10), and this cannot be forgotten. As we come to approach the King of Kings, let us remember that Our God is an Awesome God. Entering into is His presence can be uncomfortable, even fearful, for we are not worthy to be in His presence at all. Thus, may our worship never become ordinary or easy.

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Exodus 20-31: Details Matter

Clearly, I’m not going to discuss 12 whole chapters. What I want to highlight is how “nit-picky” God’s commands about worship and life can be. In these 12 chapters, we learn the 10 Commandments and read details about altars, the Sabbath, the Ark of the Covenant, the lampstand, the curtains for the tabernacle, and even the clothes of the priests. Exact dimensions and specific materials are divinely ordained. It is very precise.

We learn from this that God cares about details.  He has a way by which He wants to be worshiped.  He is the King, and He has the right to define how He is to be honored.  As we approach the New Testament, we should expect to see such particulars – either in specifics (dress, postures, locations, etc.) or in guiding principles. Then we would do well to adhere as closely as possible to what we find.  Again, He is the King.

It is easy to label such exactness as legalistic and works-based. However, legalism, by definition, only applies to salvation via works. When it comes to being obedient and honoring the King, we are not being legalistic when we pay attention to details and do what God says. Indeed, we are obligated to pay attention to them, as we will see below.

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Leviticus 10: Nadab and Abihu’s Dangerous “Worship”

We now look at two men who were at one time very privileged, Nadab and Abihu. They were two of Aaron’s sons, and, along with Moses, Aaron and the 70 elders, were even able to come near to God at Sinai (Exodus 24:1-2). They were consecrated as priests and served before the Lord. They were important worship leaders of their time.

However, eventually, they decided to do things their own way and offered “strange” fire to the Lord, which God had not commanded (Leviticus 10:1). The Lord was not pleased at all. Immediately, and perhaps ironically, a strange fire came up out of the ground and consumed them.  Yahweh was rightfully angry because Nadab and Abihu, who should have known better, did not follow the details.

A similar story occurred with Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-7). We don’t know exactly what Cain did wrong, but he clearly knew what he ought to have done (Genesis 4:6-7). Nevertheless, he didn’t do it, and he too incurred God’s anger.

All throughout the Old Testament (1 Samuel 15; 2 Samuel 6; and the Prophets), and even in the New (maybe Acts 5:1-11; and surely 1 Corinthians 11), we see that God does not appreciate His people “doing worship” their own way. He wants His detailed commands for worship to be followed.  After all, He is the King. That deviations from the commands occasionally resulted in death should remind us that this is serious business.  Who are we to decide how God should be worshiped?

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Excursus: Worship in Light of Christ

You may have noticed that much of what I have cited is Old Testament passages. This is because the Old Testament is far more detailed and lucid about what God requires in worship. Old Testament worship was centered around sacrifices, and theologians have long recognized that Christ’s sacrifice was the epitome and completion of those sacrifices. Calvary was the epitome and fulfillment of Israel’s worship, as a whole.

Hence, it is, at first, reasonable to assume that our worship today need not be as detailed and exact. There is merit to this, especially, since there is no New Testament equivalent of Leviticus or Exodus. Nevertheless, I would argue that there is more reason to worship and praise God now that the fulfillment has come and King Jesus has taken His place at the right hand of the Father.

The fact that we have no divinely inspired Book of Worship only means we need to work harder with the Books He has given, in order to understand how our God wants us to worship Him now. The commands (or principles) are there; we just need to find them.

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Matthew 22:34-40 and 1 Corinthians 10:31: The Purpose of Worship

We end here for good reason; this reminds us why we do what we do on Sunday mornings. In our age of self indulgence, we are naturally drawn to do things the way we want and desire. If it doesn’t make us happy or suit our needs, then we quickly dismiss or change it.

However, as we have seen, worship is about God, not about us. The greatest commandment Christ has given us is to Love God will all our hearts, souls, and minds. By definition, love is not self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13:5). Rather, it seeks to serve and to please another; in this case, God. We don’t typically give our wives bowling balls or our husbands ballet tickets, because that is not what they want; that’s what we want.

Likewise, when we gather to worship God, and hence, love Him completely, we should make sure we’re not giving God what we want. We worship God because we love Him, and show our love by doing what He desires.

Finally, Paul tells us to glorify God in all that we do, even eating and drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31). If this is true of our daily lives, how much more so when we gather together, as Christ’s Body, to exult Him above everything else. Our goal, our purpose, and our passion in worship is to glorify Him above all. That is why we do what we do, especially in worship.

Conclusion

When we come to worship God, our hearts, souls, and minds must be centered on loving, serving, pleasing, and glorifying Him alone. This is what it means to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). That is what it means to worship. Loving and glorifying God need to be the main priorities of our worship services, not style.

In order to accomplish these goals, we need to turn to what God says about Himself and how He desires to be approached. We turn to to the Bible, for that is where God reveals Himself (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Remember it is about Him, not about us.

Therefore, next time we will look at some key elements of worship – those things which are non-negotiable. We will also look at some things which are important, but perhaps not necessary. We will examine passages, mainly in the New Testament, which discuss how we should worship the King.

Until then, please leave your comments…. That is assuming you’re still awake after reading this major rambling. May the Lord be with you!

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about worship. What I wanted to accomplish with the first two posts was to show that the motivations underlying both sides of the issue (contemporary and traditional) are solid and commendable.

Today, I want to look at some of the negatives of both sides. Neither side is perfect, and by pointing out the flaws, we can start to deal with them. I admit that these critiques won’t apply across the board, and some churches will be immune. Nor is this meant to be an exhaustive critique.  These are just some of my general observations, and I look forward to your comments in the combox.

Common Problems

First, let’s look at problems common to both camps:

1. Out of Touch with Church History. This is more obvious in the contemporary side. By removing ancient hymns, architecture, order of service, etc., many modern, contemporary churches have forgotten where they came from, and they are disconnected from the church of yesteryear.

However, this is also a problem for the traditional camp. By only focusing on ancient hymns, etc., many modern, traditional churches have forgotten where they are now. They are disconnected from the church of today.

2. A Tendency Towards Exclusion. This is probably more obvious in traditional churches. Younger generations often don’t feel accepted in churches where slow hymns are the norm, and dressing up is the code. They often feel ignored and not ministered to.

However, this is also a problem for contemporary churches. Older generations often don’t feel accepted where fast-paced praise songs are the norm and suits are out of place. Indeed, they too often feel ignored and miss out on the benefits of ministry.

3. Imbalance of Milk and Meat. By focusing mainly on seekers and young believers, the contemporary side tends to feed its congregation only milk. This is great early on, but as believers mature, they starve.

Likewise, by focusing mainly on believers and those mature in the faith, the traditional side tends to feed only meat. Hence, as non-Christians or new believers come to worship, they choke.

4. Think, Feel, Do. The contemporary side often gets blasted for being overly emotional. They appeal only to emotions and forget about doctrine and holy living. Unfortunately, the traditional side often forgets about emotions altogether, and focuses either only on doctrine or only on holy living. Thus, whereas the contemporary side can become happy-clappy and superficial, the traditional side can become intellectually snobbish or legalistic. The Gospel affects the mind, will, and emotions. We shouldn’t emphasize one to the exclusion of others.

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Contemporary Worship Problems

Now, let’s look at problems more common to the contemporary side:

1. Wrong Focus. As admirable as evangelization is, worship is not about that. Worship is about God. The focus should be on loving, honoring, and glorifying Him. If we order our services around evangelism, then we have ordered the worship of God around the standards of people, but God is the one who needs to accept our worship, not the seeker.

2. Over Identification with the Culture. The worship of God is distinctly different from the rest of our lives. What we do on Sunday mornings, we don’t do any other time of the week. Thus, it makes sense, for worship to be different. In fact, this is a good thing. Being in the presence of God shouldn’t look just like our jobs, hobbies, or times with friends. Contemporary worship, however, often attempts to make things so that everyone feels right at home.

3. Forgetting Some Essentials. Public confessions of sin, the offering, and the sacraments are crucial aspects of Christian worship. They shouldn’t be removed, neglected, or pushed to the margins, even in the interests of reaching out. God has commanded them, and we should obey.

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Traditional Worship Problems

Finally, let’s look at the problems of traditional worship:

1. No Connection with the Culture. We need to communicate the Gospel in ways that people understand. A missionary in China wouldn’t speak in English. Likewise, a minister here shouldn’t only communicate in old, archaic, irrelevant ways. The Internet, iPods, and affluence have influenced the way people think. It is very important to understand and connect with today’s culture so that the Gospel becomes understandable to people who live in the 21st Century.

2. Ritualism. Because things are often done the same way week in and week out, parts of the service can lose their meaning and vigor, regardless of how well chosen they are. Thus, worship can become rote, and people can easily fall into the, “This is the way we’ve always done it” routine. The worship of God should never be hum-drum.

3. Bad Definition of Reverence. The concept of reverence, as important as it truly is, usually is not well defined. What is inherent about reverence that excludes the joyful, fast, and innovative? This is rarely explained. Too often it seems that reverence is equated with tradition, but reverence is not past tense. There is a lot in modern culture that shows honor and respect, and there is no reason to exclude appropriate, modern reverence.

Conclusion

So what’s the solution? A blended service? Perhaps, but blended services are usually either contemporary services with a hymn or two thrown in OR traditional services with a guitar and drums. It is rare to see a truly blended service. Plus, adherents to both sides are normally turned off by blended services. It’s not reverent enough for the traditionalists and its not relevant enough for the contemporary worshipists. How easy it can become a lose-lose situation.

I think the problem is that the whole argument is focused on style, not on substance. Next time, I want to look at some biblical passages that should be considered when planning a service. I want to try to present substantial principles that should guide our thinking.

Until then, feel free to leave some comments. If you have other critiques of one side or the other, or both, then please let me know. Likewise, if you want to critique me, you’re free to do so. Regardless, may the blessings of God be with you, as you seek to worship and honor Him with your lives.

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We have already seen some of what motivates contemporary worship, namely evangelism As I have said repeatedly, both sides want to do very godly, biblical, and solid things. This should not be forgotten.

So, now let’s look at traditional worship. Why do traditionalists do what they do?

These Christians see worship as the time to come before the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and God of Gods. This is a highly important and solemn event, not to be taken lightly. In approaching the throne of the most holy God, we are to enter His presence with reverence and awe. Thus, those espousing the more traditional worship style usually do so out of reverence for God. Verses such as Deuteronomy 6:24 – “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day” – take primary importance.

“Fearing the Lord,” means to give God the highest respect and honor imaginable. Therefore, nothing in the worship service should be disrespectful, disorganized, improper, or self-centered. The goal of traditionalists is to order all things as if a king were present; for God is The King, and God is present!

Now, contrary to frequent opinion, traditional worshipists do not (or at least, should not) do things simply because, “That’s the way things have always been done.” Indeed, there are a lot of songs, commentaries, methods, and insights from today’s culture that are reverent, biblical, and helpful. To reject these things would disrespect the current work of the Holy Spirit, who is still at work, leading and teaching His people today. Thus, it is freely admitted and understood that godly, reverent worship elements can be and are produced by modern Christians. It is not the “new” that is inappropriate; it is the trite and disrespectful.

So how does approaching worship from the perspective of reverence affect style?

First, they believe our songs are to show all glory, laud, and honor to God. Thus, songs are chosen for two reasons. 1. Words must be deep and meaningful. They need to reflect the teachings of Scripture and even use biblical quotations. Hence, words of praise, confession, thanksgiving, and adoration are offered to God based on what He has revealed to us. We show Him respect by singing what He has spoken. 2. The tunes need to be both beautiful and appropriate. It is OK for the songs to be complex and difficult to sing, for we should offer God our best, not just what is easy or preferable. Also, the music needs to follow the tone of the lyrics. Thus, a song of lament will be slow and sad; a song of praise will be joyful and peppy; and a song about God’s majesty will be regal and triumphant. Indeed, it would be highly disrespectful to confess our sins happily, or sing praises to a dirge.

Second, sermons need to present the glory of God and teach the congregation to revere Him. Thus, the main purpose is to proclaim accurately what God has spoken. The Word of the Lord must be taught and understood in its entirety – both the joyful and the fearful sections. The Bible discusses deep, theological concepts, and sermons must follow suit. Words like “justification,” “portion,” and “circumincession,” can be used because they are either in the Bible or are terms traditionally used to explain the Bible. This shows respect to the language and concepts God has used in revealing His will to us.

Furthermore, because God and His Word are complex, difficult to understand, and require time to fully grasp, it is not a problem for sermons to be long. It takes time to understand the majestic, holy, and perfect God. Therefore, the overall purpose of a sermon is to lead people to understand who God is and what He desires from our lives (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Westminster Shorter Catechism #3). In this way, the pastor(s) and the people participate in and learn how to revere, worship, and honor their glorious God and King.

Third, prayers should be done with reverence and respect. Like with hymns and sermons, prayers should use biblical language or quote passages directly. Through the Psalms and prayers of Scripture, we are taught how to properly confess our sins, sing praises to God, give thanks, and make requests. Furthermore, God has shown us that our spiritual needs are most important. Thus, the spiritual needs of the people feature prominently in the pastoral prayers. Physical and felts are important, but Living Water is better than drinking water. Therefore, we revere God by praying the way He has taught us to pray and for the things He sees as most important.

Finally, the whole service should be ordered with reverence towards God in mind. There is an order and place for each aspect of worship. Worship cannot be done haphazardly or on the fly. It requires prayer, thought and planning in order to please the Lord. The Sacraments, the offering, the confession of sin, etc. are usually kept unashamedly because God has told us to do these things; we are not at liberty to remove them. That would disrespect the very command of God. Furthermore, Bible reading often takes a place of its own, apart from the sermon. God has spoken and we should listen intently and respectfully to what the King desires us to hear without interjecting our own thoughts. Thus, even the order of the service leads the pastor and congregation to fear, respect, and honor the Lord of life.

Therefore, we have seen that traditional worship is motivated by wanting to revere, honor and respect God. He is our friend, yes, but He is still the Creator, King, and God. He is more than just a pal. The worship service is about worshiping and respecting God, the King of Kings. It is not about us and what we want. Thus, we must approach Him appropriately, in the way He desires, and His Word, the Bible, shows us how to do that. Songs, prayers, sermons, and the whole service incorporate much biblical language, for that is the language of God Himself.

There is a lot more that can be said, but this seems sufficient for now. Those that espouse traditional worship want to honor and glorify God as much as possible, and anytime somebody wants to show the holy God the reverence He deserves, that person is to be highly commended. Hence, whether or not you enjoy traditional services, old hymns, or long sermons, you must admit that traditionalists have solid motivation. Don’t forget that in the worship wars.

For quite some time, I have been intrigued with the “Worship Wars” going on within Evangelical churches, especially as concerns style. The debates, while usually civil, can become heated and hurtful. Indeed, churches have suffered divisions and parishioners have been hurt over the debate about which style, contemporary or traditional, is more appropriate for the worship of God.

However, I want to point out that the underlying motivation behind both sides of this argument are to be highly commended. Both sides of the issue have very godly motives as the foundation for what they do. To varying degrees, both camps desire to both love God and love neighbor. Too often this is missed, but it should not be.

Therefore, given how very easy it is to write off one’s opposition as apostate and unchristlike, I think it is very important to start with the positives of each side. Both sides have a very strong desire to please Christ; they simply approach it in very different ways. This must not be forgotten.

Those espousing the more contemporary worship style often do so for very evangelistic reasons. Yes, there are other reasons, but this seems, to me anyway, to take priority. They see our Lord’s command in Matthew 28 to preach the Gospel to all men as tantamount to the Christian mission. Their goal is to attract vast numbers of non-Christians to church on Sunday mornings, or whenever the service actually occurs, with the hopes that by coming, enjoying, and even participating, the truths of the Gospel will sink in. The goal is to see non-Christians come to know and love Jesus. Hence, they pick music that appeals to unbelievers, new believers, and even those diametrically opposed to all that is Christian. It is usually upbeat, short, easy to understand, and in everyday language.

Contrary to frequent opinion, contemporary worshipists in no way suggest that the Gospel be compromised or sacrificed at any cost. In fact, to do so would stymie the contemporary movement, for their whole purpose is to proclaim the One Gospel to unbelievers. If the Gospel is compromised, then their mission is a failure. You cannot share the Gospel and distort it at the same time. In a common illustration, they keep a closed fist around the essentials and an open hand upon the unessentials. Style, order, time, length, dress, etc. can be changed, but the truth of the Gospel cannot. The contemporary side understands this, and normally they comply.

It also needs to be noted that the contemporary worship movement is not all about music. Their philosophy and theology penetrates much deeper than that. Oftentimes, the whole service is organized under a rubric of evangelization. For instance, the offering is either removed or made more subtle because unbelievers may feel uncomfortable or that the church is trying to milk money out of them. Also, like the music, sermons are normally easy to understand. They often incorporate illustrations from modern culture and are short (Mark Driscoll a noted exception). The Sacrament is rare, removed, or transported to a different day/time because it would appear quite bizarre to the average non-Christian.

Furthermore, much of the service is ordered under the banner of “Relevance.” If the goal is to bring people to a saving knowledge of Christ, then why would be talk about perichoresis, supralapsarianism, aseity, or even justification, sanctification, and glorification? These words have no meaning to anyone outside the Church; they are simply never used in everyday speech. Thus, the assumption is that using this terminology will encourage people not to return. Again, music should be up beat and “poppy” because this is what the average non-Christian is used to. We can’t expect them to come, stay, and be involved in a place that has no interaction with their culture. St. Paul calls this difference milk and meat. Feeding unbelievers meat will drive them away.

Finally, “felt needs” become a major issue in contemporary worship services. Helping the poor, feeding the hungry, encouraging the hurting, and teaching people to organize their lives, deal with difficult situations, and developing meaningful relationships are major topics in these churches. This is because these are major concerns of today’s society. Far from being a mere “social gospel,” the point here is to scratch people where they are itching with the intent of sharing salvation that only comes through Christ at the end. Felt needs are an important concern because once someone has had their felt needs met, they will probably be more open to discussing spiritual needs. They are a way to get the Church’s “foot in the door.”

Thus, we can see that a good bit of the underlying motivation behind much of the contemporary worship movement is to reach the world for Christ, or at least the immediate community. Souls are on the line, and they need to hear the Gospel. The life, death, resurrection, and return of Christ must be proclaimed to those that do not believe. Those that promote contemporary worship are convinced that the old methods and styles don’t work in the modern world. The archaic husk must be shucked away and replaced, without harming the succulent core of the true Gospel. Rather than being all about rock music, happy-clappy emotions, and shallow theology, this movement is bent on sharing the Gospel with those on the road towards Hell. Indeed, it is quite difficult to argue against that sentiment, and anytime one wants to share the Gospel, his or her motivation is to be highly commended.

Sure, there are lot more motivations lying behind contemporary worship, but this seems to be the major common denominator. I start here because it is so important to recognize our allies, and all Christians desire the salvation of others. Whether or not you agree with this style, we can all agree with and commend the desire to share the Gospel.

I am sure that everyone by now has heard about or fought in the ongoing worship wars. From traditional frozen chosen services to the holy rollers, everyone has an opinion on how things should be done during worship. Normally, the discussions focus on music. Should our church sing contemporary praise songs or only traditional hymns? Perhaps some sort of via media is possible in a “blended service.” What should our church do?

Well, obviously, as with everything else, I’m going to solve everyone’s problems! Ha! Yeah, right. Actually, as with everything else, I do have some thoughts on the matter so I want to start a series of posts on Sundays that address the issue of worship. I don’t for a minute suggest that I have the final, infallible say on this matter at all. All I hope is that this series will give some food for thought and be useful to anyone attempting to organize a worship service.

I want to address several different aspects of worship beyond just the music styles. Over time, I hope to address issues of motivation, sermons, Sacraments, order/liturgy, and a variety of other topics. If you have suggestions, you can email me at stupidscholar [at] gmail [dot] com.

For the record, I am defining worship to be much larger than just the music portion of a Sunday service. Of course, worship includes music, but it is much greater than that. As we go, I hope that we will all get a better picture of what worship is and what it is not, why it’s important, and how we should approach it.

So I hope you find the discussions helpful, and I certainly look forward to hearing your feedback. May the peace of Christ be with you, always.