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At this juncture, I would like to re-visit an older post in regard to 'worship practises' in the church today. Many of our regular readers have (I hope) been persuaded, that our times of gathering together, would ideally reflect certain New Testament characteristics - such characteristics would include:
(1) Christ as the central focus and reason for gathering - not worship as is predominantly the case today.
(2) Holy Spirit-directed gatherings.
(3) Mutual edification, encouragement and fellowship as the natural fruit of the above.
(4) Interactive, participatory and open gatherings rather than those predominantly given over to lecture-style teaching.
(5) Small groups rather than large congregations.
(6) Mutual accountability and responsibility outworked in informal but agreed plurality of leadership i.e. elder-led not elder-ruled.
(7) A community-based 'ekklesia' that can easily experience daily fellowship, as well as times of corporate (regular or semi-regular) gathering.
(8) Equipping [of ALL 'the saints'] for the 'work' [service] of the 'ministry' - through the ministry of those individuals, so gifted by Christ; i.e. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors and Teachers. Note these are NOT the local leaders of the Church!
However having provided a 'snap shot' of what could constitute a New Testament 'Church' or 'gathering of the saints'; one might ask:
(1) Christ as the central focus and reason for gathering - not worship as is predominantly the case today.
(2) Holy Spirit-directed gatherings.
(3) Mutual edification, encouragement and fellowship as the natural fruit of the above.
(4) Interactive, participatory and open gatherings rather than those predominantly given over to lecture-style teaching.
(5) Small groups rather than large congregations.
(6) Mutual accountability and responsibility outworked in informal but agreed plurality of leadership i.e. elder-led not elder-ruled.
(7) A community-based 'ekklesia' that can easily experience daily fellowship, as well as times of corporate (regular or semi-regular) gathering.
(8) Equipping [of ALL 'the saints'] for the 'work' [service] of the 'ministry' - through the ministry of those individuals, so gifted by Christ; i.e. Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist, Pastors and Teachers. Note these are NOT the local leaders of the Church!
However having provided a 'snap shot' of what could constitute a New Testament 'Church' or 'gathering of the saints'; one might ask:
"Why is it, that the majority of Church gatherings seem to have taken on the nature of 'Worship Services"?
This, is a particularly good question and one that I want to begin to address in what follows, before moving on to address the points raised above in more detail.
Firstly then, lets take a look at what Steve Atkerson has to offer on this question - I would advise our readers to listen to Steve's examination of 'Interactive Teaching 1' and 'Interactive Teaching 2' as a prelude to this examination of "Worship Services".
"Worship service" is a term we often use to refer to a church meeting. But is worship the primary reason why Christians should meet together?
Firstly then, lets take a look at what Steve Atkerson has to offer on this question - I would advise our readers to listen to Steve's examination of 'Interactive Teaching 1' and 'Interactive Teaching 2' as a prelude to this examination of "Worship Services".
"Worship service" is a term we often use to refer to a church meeting. But is worship the primary reason why Christians should meet together?
It is common for people to refer to a church meeting as a “worship service.”
Articles appear regularly in evangelical publications explaining how to experience true worship in church. Some regard the Sunday morning worship hour with a fear and trembling similar to that felt by Israel at Mount Sinai. Others understand the worship service to be a time of celebration, joy, and praise.
Which approach is warranted by Scripture? What should take place in a church meeting? Just what is a “worship service”?
All the Hebrew and Greek words for “worship” reflect one of two basic ideas. The concept of worship most commonly held today is seen in the word proskuneo. Pros means “toward” and kuneo means “to kiss.”
According to the lexicon of BAGD this word designated “the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garment, the ground, etc.; the Persians did this in the presence of their deified king, and the Greeks before a divinity.” Thus the word means to “(fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully.”
Which approach is warranted by Scripture? What should take place in a church meeting? Just what is a “worship service”?
All the Hebrew and Greek words for “worship” reflect one of two basic ideas. The concept of worship most commonly held today is seen in the word proskuneo. Pros means “toward” and kuneo means “to kiss.”
According to the lexicon of BAGD this word designated “the custom of prostrating oneself before a person and kissing his feet, the hem of his garment, the ground, etc.; the Persians did this in the presence of their deified king, and the Greeks before a divinity.” Thus the word means to “(fall down and) worship, do obeisance to, prostrate oneself before, do reverence to, welcome respectfully.”
As can be seen, proskuneo is an attitude of humility, reverence, appreciation, fear, adoring awe, and wonder. The emphasis is on inner love and devotion.
The second concept of “worship” is reflected in the word latreia, which essentially means “service” or “work.” This word originally referred to the labor of slaves or hired servants. In contrast to proskuneo, latreia is an action word.
Thus, Biblically, to “worship” God is to “work” for Him in an attitude of “adoring awe.” Furthermore, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “a time is coming when you will worship (proskuneo) the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem . . . God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24).
Worship has nothing to do with any particular location or time; it is to be done every place the believer happens to find himself and at all times. So why do we primarily associate worship with church buildings at 11:00 on Sunday mornings?
Surprisingly, the NT never refers to a church meeting as a “worship service.” Romans 12:1 does make mention of a “service of worship” (NASB), but this refers to offering our bodies to God as a living sacrifice; it has nothing to do with the church meeting!
Certainly there is nothing wrong with worshipping God during the church meeting (1 Corinthians 14:22-25; Eph 5:19; Colossians 3:16), but is this to be the primary objective of the meeting?
Many Christians go to the OT to justify making worship the chief reason for a church assembly. Under the Mosaic Covenant God’s people were required by divine law to make several annual pilgrimages to the one and only temple site (the “house” of Yahweh) and there to present offerings and sacrifices.
Their worship consisted of sabbaths, feast day rites, and performances done by prescribed Levitical mediators; it was scheduled, localized and ritualized. By contrast, the New Covenant introduced a radically different manner of worship. The “new” way made the Mosaic Covenant (and its worship) “old,” obsolete, and ready to disappear (Hebrews 8:13)
1 Corinthians 14:26 clearly states the prerequisite for anything that goes on in a church meeting: “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”
The word “strengthening” is from oikodome and means “edifying, edification, building up.” Certainly as we worship God corporately we are indeed strengthened. However, the ultimate focus of the meeting is to strengthen the church. It is not the Lord who stands in need of strengthening, but the Lord’s people.
In this sense, the 'weekly' assembly is for the benefit of the people present. A church gathering is to be designed to edify believers and to this end it is to be man-centered as well as God-centered.
Notice how this concept of strengthening is supported by Hebrews 10:24-25: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
Once again, the reason for “meeting together” is to “encourage” one another. We are to think of ways to “spur” one another on toward love and good deeds. In this sense the church meeting is to be designed to equip the believer to go out and worship during the week.
As Francis Scott Key wrote,
Thus, Biblically, to “worship” God is to “work” for Him in an attitude of “adoring awe.” Furthermore, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that “a time is coming when you will worship (proskuneo) the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem . . . God is spirit, and His worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24).
Worship has nothing to do with any particular location or time; it is to be done every place the believer happens to find himself and at all times. So why do we primarily associate worship with church buildings at 11:00 on Sunday mornings?
Surprisingly, the NT never refers to a church meeting as a “worship service.” Romans 12:1 does make mention of a “service of worship” (NASB), but this refers to offering our bodies to God as a living sacrifice; it has nothing to do with the church meeting!
Certainly there is nothing wrong with worshipping God during the church meeting (1 Corinthians 14:22-25; Eph 5:19; Colossians 3:16), but is this to be the primary objective of the meeting?
Many Christians go to the OT to justify making worship the chief reason for a church assembly. Under the Mosaic Covenant God’s people were required by divine law to make several annual pilgrimages to the one and only temple site (the “house” of Yahweh) and there to present offerings and sacrifices.
Their worship consisted of sabbaths, feast day rites, and performances done by prescribed Levitical mediators; it was scheduled, localized and ritualized. By contrast, the New Covenant introduced a radically different manner of worship. The “new” way made the Mosaic Covenant (and its worship) “old,” obsolete, and ready to disappear (Hebrews 8:13)
1 Corinthians 14:26 clearly states the prerequisite for anything that goes on in a church meeting: “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”
The word “strengthening” is from oikodome and means “edifying, edification, building up.” Certainly as we worship God corporately we are indeed strengthened. However, the ultimate focus of the meeting is to strengthen the church. It is not the Lord who stands in need of strengthening, but the Lord’s people.
In this sense, the 'weekly' assembly is for the benefit of the people present. A church gathering is to be designed to edify believers and to this end it is to be man-centered as well as God-centered.
Notice how this concept of strengthening is supported by Hebrews 10:24-25: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
Once again, the reason for “meeting together” is to “encourage” one another. We are to think of ways to “spur” one another on toward love and good deeds. In this sense the church meeting is to be designed to equip the believer to go out and worship during the week.
As Francis Scott Key wrote,
“And since words can never measure, let my life show forth thy praise.”
The church meetings revealed in the NT were interactive, informal and small.
Simplicity was the rule of the house-church meetings. Somewhere along the line (about the time of Roman Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan) we moved out of homes and into awe-inspiring, majestic “sanctuaries” (which formally belonged to pagan religions). We exchanged interaction and mutual encouragement for monologue.
Intimacy was lost as the masses gathered in huge lecture halls called cathedrals. Informality gave way to liturgy, pomp and ceremony. Church meetings became a spectator sport with the congregation watching a performance by the spiritually elite.
In such an atmosphere, fulfilling 1 Corinthians 14:26 became increasingly difficult. About all that could still be fulfilled was Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, so “worship” became the primary focus of these performance shows.
At the other extreme, just as church meetings are not fundamentally to be “worship services,” neither are they to be therapy groups for the wounded. A church meeting is not supposed to be a counseling session focused on the needs of one person. For instance, to center primarily on healing is to violate the “prime directive” of 1 Corinthians 14:26.
“All” must be done for the strengthening of the entire “church.” Yes, the whole church can be edified through the miracle of healing, but as with worship, this must not be an overemphasized channel through which all strengthening is routed. This would be like plucking a one string guitar!
In conclusion, all things that occur in a church meeting must be “unto edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:26, KJV). As long as we label our church meetings “worship services,” people will tacitly assume that worship is the chief reason for the meeting.
If edification does occur, it will be incidental or at best haphazard. It is an axiom that institutions drift away from their original purpose for existence. Could it be that such is the case with our church assemblies?
Simplicity was the rule of the house-church meetings. Somewhere along the line (about the time of Roman Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan) we moved out of homes and into awe-inspiring, majestic “sanctuaries” (which formally belonged to pagan religions). We exchanged interaction and mutual encouragement for monologue.
Intimacy was lost as the masses gathered in huge lecture halls called cathedrals. Informality gave way to liturgy, pomp and ceremony. Church meetings became a spectator sport with the congregation watching a performance by the spiritually elite.
In such an atmosphere, fulfilling 1 Corinthians 14:26 became increasingly difficult. About all that could still be fulfilled was Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, so “worship” became the primary focus of these performance shows.
At the other extreme, just as church meetings are not fundamentally to be “worship services,” neither are they to be therapy groups for the wounded. A church meeting is not supposed to be a counseling session focused on the needs of one person. For instance, to center primarily on healing is to violate the “prime directive” of 1 Corinthians 14:26.
“All” must be done for the strengthening of the entire “church.” Yes, the whole church can be edified through the miracle of healing, but as with worship, this must not be an overemphasized channel through which all strengthening is routed. This would be like plucking a one string guitar!
In conclusion, all things that occur in a church meeting must be “unto edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:26, KJV). As long as we label our church meetings “worship services,” people will tacitly assume that worship is the chief reason for the meeting.
If edification does occur, it will be incidental or at best haphazard. It is an axiom that institutions drift away from their original purpose for existence. Could it be that such is the case with our church assemblies?
2 comments:
John,
This was a very timely post for me. I attended an NTRF conference with Steve Atkerson this weekend. I enjoyed meeting him and hearing some of his thoughts about the church, many of which parallel mine. Thanks for the post.
-Alan
Alan,
Good to hear from you. Thanks for your comments. I have returned to this particular theme after about a year.
I am not completely satisfied that I have a 'handle' on it as yet and my own experience has now broadened somewhat and may prove beneficial to others.
I read a lot of Steve's work early last year; and like you, found it resonated quite well with me.
John
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