When I was younger life seemed to be more black and white than it is today. I liked the world a lot more when things were in black and white. The good guys were completely good and the bad guys did not even have a hint of a redeeming quality. In that world it was easy to make choices. Like when we played army as kids, no one wanted to be the Nazis, everyone wanted to be the liberating Americans.
Don’t get me wrong, I still
believe that some things are right and righteous and always will be. I believe that some things are wrong and
nothing can ever make them right. But
not everything can be easily and simply identified as wholly one or the
other. Sometimes there is a continuum in
which only the extremes need to be avoided.
Our tendency to press everything into categories of right or wrong is
unwise and counter productive.
I have learned, however, that the world is not always so black and white. In many important areas there are legitimate shades of gray and sometimes wisdom is often found somewhere in the middle. By looking at the polar opposite, we can help understand where on the continuum we are or where we need to be. I would also suggest that the answer in not a fixed point, but may change from time to time.
Worship
For example, let us consider the character of worship. Worship wars are nothing new. If we look carefully in church history, we can find conflicts that are merely conflicts over personal preference. Even the great Johann Sebastian Bach was at the center of musical and liturgical conflict in Leipzig. We have at the moment seen a decline in the worship wars that were a very large part of the American church in the last years of the 20th century. I do not believe that those wars have settled the issue of church music. The relative quiet we now enjoy may be a lull like what happened between World Wars One and Two. What a happy thought.
At a deeper and a more serious
level, beyond musical preference, the question needs to be asked: "What is
the role of the public worship of the church?"
Worship that is Seeker Driven
At one extreme end of the continuum we find that the worship of the church is designed to facilitate unchurched people in their search for God and truth. The worship of the church is intentionally attractional; it cries out, “Come and see.” In worship, the church takes on the role of a missionary and begins to learn, adopt, and use the culture of the people it is attempting to reach. An assumption is made that non-Christians, not just non-members, will be in attendance and the worship service needs to be understandable to them. The public worship of the church is expected to be the primary point of contact between the Kingdom of God and the non-Christian. Every church that uses an "invitation hymn" or “altar call” is, in a small way, operating under that assumption.
Worship of the covenant People
At the other end of the continuum, the worship of the church is understood as the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional connection between God and the people who are in a covenant relationship with Him. Worship, by its very nature, cannot be participated in by non-Christians. How can a person worship a God to whom they have not submitted their lives? For a non-Christian to participate in an act of worship is, at best, an ignorant parody and, at worst, a blasphemy. Worship only has meaning in the relationship between Savior and Saved. Only upon entering the covenant can a person worship. Any church that offers the Lord's Supper is, in some way, expressing worship as something of the covenant people.
Most church worship services today are neither evangelistic meetings comprised mostly of non-believers, nor closed communions. In the early church, there was an intermission in the service. Before that intermission there was reading of scripture, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. At the intermission, those who were not yet baptized believers were dismissed, after which the people of the covenant shared Communion with the accompanying prayers and songs. Unless we are prepared to restore that ancient practice, we need to find our place on the continuum somewhere in the middle.
Worship that is Seeker Driven
At one extreme end of the continuum we find that the worship of the church is designed to facilitate unchurched people in their search for God and truth. The worship of the church is intentionally attractional; it cries out, “Come and see.” In worship, the church takes on the role of a missionary and begins to learn, adopt, and use the culture of the people it is attempting to reach. An assumption is made that non-Christians, not just non-members, will be in attendance and the worship service needs to be understandable to them. The public worship of the church is expected to be the primary point of contact between the Kingdom of God and the non-Christian. Every church that uses an "invitation hymn" or “altar call” is, in a small way, operating under that assumption.
Worship of the covenant People
At the other end of the continuum, the worship of the church is understood as the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional connection between God and the people who are in a covenant relationship with Him. Worship, by its very nature, cannot be participated in by non-Christians. How can a person worship a God to whom they have not submitted their lives? For a non-Christian to participate in an act of worship is, at best, an ignorant parody and, at worst, a blasphemy. Worship only has meaning in the relationship between Savior and Saved. Only upon entering the covenant can a person worship. Any church that offers the Lord's Supper is, in some way, expressing worship as something of the covenant people.
Most church worship services today are neither evangelistic meetings comprised mostly of non-believers, nor closed communions. In the early church, there was an intermission in the service. Before that intermission there was reading of scripture, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. At the intermission, those who were not yet baptized believers were dismissed, after which the people of the covenant shared Communion with the accompanying prayers and songs. Unless we are prepared to restore that ancient practice, we need to find our place on the continuum somewhere in the middle.
The challenge is for us to find
the place that honors God in every aspect of our gatherings, declares His Glory
to the non-believer, and is consistent with our covenant relationship with Him. Finding that space will not be easy, but the
very process of having the discussion will force us to ask and answer important
questions.
Questions:
What are the tools that you use
to insure that both believers and non-believers are fully engaged in worship?
Does your church tend toward
Seeker Driven worship or Covenant People worship? Why do
you think this happened?
What do you think the reaction would be, if, near
the end of the service, non-Christians were dismissed to leave?
Is an invitation time at the end of the service a
superfluous tradition handed down from the age of the revivalist? When was the last time someone responded to
the invitation without prior teaching or conversation?
Evangelical churches can learn a great deal from liturgical
church services, and liturgical churches can learn a great deal from
evangelical churches. Why do you think
we never step out of our own traditions?
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