Questioning Worship - Tim Phillips
About a decade ago I began reading John Jefferson Davis’ book Worship and the Reality of God. In the first chapter, the author tells of a couple of worship services he attended while on a research sabbatical in the Denver, Colorado, area, where he and his wife attended a variety of churches (for the record, the most noteworthy thing about the first church was that they offered earplugs for the music, and at the second church the unintended focus was images on TV screens instead of people). He writes that “in most of the evangelical churches with contemporary worship styles, the expository or topical preaching was often excellent, and the praise bands were generally performing at very professional levels … .” Nevertheless, three questions were raised in his mind regarding his experience:
Davis says that as he pondered these questions, he had to admit that an awareness of God’s presence at these services was missing. He then laments a fear that this has been lost in many churches during worship services.
Interestingly, though, he does not blame the usual culprits (the culture, megachurches, Hollywood, etc.). Instead, he blames himself: “I realized that evangelical seminary professors like myself … needed to look in the mirror and assume a heavy share of responsibility for the current realities … in American evangelical worship” (emphasis in the original). His rationale for saying this is that seminaries tend to place a great deal of emphasis on Bible, doctrine, and preaching (as they well should), but relatively little on worship.
In my own experience, I was required to take only one class on worship in seminary. I do remember the regulative and normative principles of worship being discussed very briefly during about 15 minutes of one class period, and I walked away with very little understanding of these terms (and I don’t think I had never heard either term before that day, sadly enough). Thankfully, a dedicated minister later took me under his wing and explained these things to me, including what the Westminster Confession of Faith had to say about worship. But I do agree with Dr. Davis’ point, as this presented a bit of a hole in my seminary experience.
I don’t know if I ever finished that book. I attempted to revisit it in preparation for this article, but it was nowhere to be found. It has either become misplaced or lost over the intervening years. I have read several books since then that have emphasized the importance of worship – not only how we worship, but why we worship. One of the best books on worship I have read over the years has been With Reverence and Awe, written by D.G. Hart and John Muether (I used this book as the basis for a Sunday School class several years ago). This book introduces the idea of the “Dialogical Principle” of worship, where worship is seen as reflecting the covenantal relationship between God and His people. “It is a holy transaction or conversation between God and His people. … [C]orporate worship is a time when the dialogue goes back and forth between God and His people. It is a time … when we need to hear that God is faithful and continues to be our God, and when we reaffirm our vows to be His faithful people.” We hear the word of God in worship, we hear the faithful promises of God, we hear what He has done for us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we respond to that with prayers and praise. This should be the “dialogue” of the worship service.
Why is it important to consider these questions? For those of us who are pastors (and therefore, the true “worship leaders” of the service), it is important that we direct God’s people to truly worship Him. Ian Hamilton notes, “In pastoral ministry, our calling and aim is not merely to help our brothers and sisters sink their lives into Christ, who is Himself the grace of God, and find all their need out of their union with Him. We cannot be satisfied until we see them worshipping God with all their heart, in Spirit and in Truth (Jn. 4:24).” This is not merely a matter of semantics or adiaphora or personal preference. Hamilton quotes Calvin’s 1539 reply to Cardinal Sadoleto: “There is nothing more perilous to our salvation than a preposterous and perverse worship of God.” It really does matter how we worship.