In a church that is made up of older people, older
hymns are probably appropriate. In a very young church, songs
that are in a style they are familiar with is more
appropriate. However, most churches are mixed pretty well, so
the line can't be drawn easily.
In a mixed church, which do you think is best?
Do you agree with either of the arguments that hymns are out of date
and choruses are only fads and focus too much on the singer and not
on God?
Do you feel that your
current worship style suits most of the church members?
yes
no
Do you believe that it
causes church members to worship God in Spirit and in Truth?
yes
no
What is done that may
not be suitable for some based on the makeup of your congregation?
(i.e. louder music when much of the congregation is older, hymns
with words that mean nothing to a younger generation)
I have one rule for
worship - it is to focus on God. Apart from that, I am open to many
different ideas. Some Christians are strongly against
Christian rock because they believe that rock music is evil.
However, I am unaware of any biblical passage that states a certain
type of music is evil. In fact, the lyre and the cymbals used
in Old Testament worship are largely equivalent to the guitar and
drums used in many churches today.
Hands in worship are
another issue today. Many churches raise hands or clap during
singing. There are some references to raising hands as an act
of worship. It is interesting to note however, that when the
body is used in worship, lying prostrate is a far more common
occurrence in the Bible than the use of hands are. However,
even in churches that are comfortable using their hands and
reference biblical passages to support this - they do not lie
prostrate.
Do you feel that the
church restricts you from using your hands in worship or makes you
feel out of place if you do not lift your hands?
yes
no
The use of hands, I
believe is a cultural act. While it was used in Israel,
dancing was also a part of worship at that time. Some people,
myself included, simply do not feel lead by the Holy Spirit to raise
their hands. In other churches, it would be very out of place
not to raise their hands. As an African-American classmate
noted, in his church, it is hard to keep their hands down because
they want to move. I believe that raising of hands should not
be expected of anyone, nor anyone be kept from raising their hands
if they feel led. As David danced before the Lord, most
churches do not. Many of us would be offended if it was suggested
that we were not as godly as other people who danced during their
worship. It should be the same with the use of hands, that it
is up to the worshiper to decide.
Does your church follow
a set schedule every week with everything taking pretty much the
same amount of time every week? Or are your services open to
the movement of the Holy Spirit and can go longer if the people are
moved in such a way?
There needs to be some
order to a church service but there also needs to be
flexibility. A number of churches fall to one side or the
other. Some churches know that they are behind schedule if the
second hymn starts at 10:18 instead of 10:16. Other churches
may go for an extra hour if the Spirit of God moves and the people
are feeling the power of God. If schedule closes the door to
the Holy Spirit moving within the church, there is little reason to
expect a reaction from the congregation. If the pastor
preaches a convicting message and people are moved and then quickly
dismisses them because it is 11 o'clock a great injustice has been
done. Likewise, Paul warns about disorder in worship in 1
Corinthians. God is not a God of disorder and should not be
worshipped in such a fashion.
Hinging on this idea is
that of speaking in tongues, miracles and other things that may
occur in charismatic churches. I personally do not believe
that tongues are for today, however if they still do exist most
churches do not follow what Paul says about the speaking of tongues
in worship. For more on this issue, I've written an entire
article that I will not rehash here. You can read it on the
website at
tongues .
Are performers used as
part of the worship service?
yes
no
Do you consider performers to be entertainment, something used to
focus on God, or partly both?
Some view performers as
entertainment while others see them as another instrument that may
be used to draw one's focus onto God. There's nothing in the
Bible that says we cannot be entertained during worship. I
respectfully submit that this is a byproduct of performances however
and should not be the reason for them.
Whether dramatists or
bands, every aspect of worship should be focused on God. A
drama can be funny, but it should still have a biblical point.
Song lyrics should cause the listeners to think about God.
Likewise, the performer should not be the one being praised. A
blanket statement cannot be made concerning this but it must be
looked at on an individual basis. Some performers, even within
the church, do what they do because they want the attention of
people. Some performers become showy and draw focus away from
God. In such instances, they should not be a part of the worship
service.
As I stated above, I
have held a Christian concert as a youth outreach. This,
however, should not be confused with worship. While the band
was Christian and sang Christian songs, this was not designated as a
time of worship. The goal of the event was to witness to
non-Christians and expose them to the gospel. It was not a
time for Christians to gather to worship God, even though this may
have occurred with some people at some time during the
night.
There are many churches
that are missing this point and have confused Christian pop culture
music with worship. Some churches wish to use music to reach
the lost. What they end up doing is not worshipping but
singing Christian pop culture songs that do not cause the Christian
to grow and often do not reach the unsaved because they are still
too "churchy" or are inferior to the secular alternative.
I do recognize that
there are some very good Christian bands and some churches can put
on a great production that rivals secular shows. However, most
churches do not have this ability and simply cannot compare to what the
world has to offer the unsaved. In any case, caution must be
used as often this is simply not worship for the believer and should
not be masked as such.
With all of these things
in mind, is there any part of your worship service that isn't
worship? If you had to cut everything that wasn't bringing
glory directly to God, what would have to be cut?
This lesson was more instruction than questions and
I hope that I gave a few ideas for you to think about. A
worship service is meant to bring glory to God. There are no
guidelines as to how this is to be done. The only thing that
should affect our decision is whether the congregation can worship
with a particular style.
The final class will look at worship in the early
church and will wrap things up with how to apply everything that
I've been talking about and you've been thinking about.
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