Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Church of Christ worship
This was an interesting thought process for me. I realized I like much of what we do in worship. I am thankful and appreciative of much of what I think we got right. And I realized most of what I like I learned about for wrong reasons.
Our emphasis on attending worship is absolutly right on. It is Biblical and spiritual for God's people to meet together. The theology of the Lord's Supper is sound. Our emphasis on the Word is important. I like communal prayer and praise. I learned to give because it was part of our worship.
I like acapella singing. It can facilitate speaking to one another, and it can certainly make it easier to involve the entire congregation. And I think it is incredibly moving and inspirational for non-believers who visit our services. I have no problem asserting it as a right way to praise God.
But much of what I heard taught about worship was not how to do it right, but how not to do it wrong. And most of that was by interpretation and learned inference. It was not in Scripture. How we do traditionally serve communion was not just right... any other way was wrong. Scripture doesn't say much about how to partake of communion.
The "five acts of worship" became a checklist that had to be fulfilled. Very action oriented. And do not do them incorrectly. Even tho -- again -- there is little in Scripture about the mechanics of worship. And I could not figure out how preaching was an act of worship but not Scripture reading.
The reasons I love our singing are theological and practical. I'm not sure they are Biblical arguements. And to teach the Bible says instumental music is wrong requires a great deal of explaining what the text could mean if you already know that it is wrong. And of course, pitch pipes don't count because they are "aids", not worship. That's a tough sell Biblically.
But I am thankful I grew up in a heritage that values worship. And so did my kids. And their kids are. And I am glad. How can we claim to be a people of God and not gather together?
Our emphasis on attending worship is absolutly right on. It is Biblical and spiritual for God's people to meet together. The theology of the Lord's Supper is sound. Our emphasis on the Word is important. I like communal prayer and praise. I learned to give because it was part of our worship.
I like acapella singing. It can facilitate speaking to one another, and it can certainly make it easier to involve the entire congregation. And I think it is incredibly moving and inspirational for non-believers who visit our services. I have no problem asserting it as a right way to praise God.
But much of what I heard taught about worship was not how to do it right, but how not to do it wrong. And most of that was by interpretation and learned inference. It was not in Scripture. How we do traditionally serve communion was not just right... any other way was wrong. Scripture doesn't say much about how to partake of communion.
The "five acts of worship" became a checklist that had to be fulfilled. Very action oriented. And do not do them incorrectly. Even tho -- again -- there is little in Scripture about the mechanics of worship. And I could not figure out how preaching was an act of worship but not Scripture reading.
The reasons I love our singing are theological and practical. I'm not sure they are Biblical arguements. And to teach the Bible says instumental music is wrong requires a great deal of explaining what the text could mean if you already know that it is wrong. And of course, pitch pipes don't count because they are "aids", not worship. That's a tough sell Biblically.
But I am thankful I grew up in a heritage that values worship. And so did my kids. And their kids are. And I am glad. How can we claim to be a people of God and not gather together?
Comments:
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"...to teach the Bible says instumental music is wrong requires a great deal of explaining what the text could mean if you already know that it is wrong..." SPOT ON! This is true of SO much what we believe and teach and practice...but we either don't know it or don't talk about. I think we need to occasionally reduce our faith to the very basics - and let God work from there. Dave Wright
# posted by 
: 3:38 PM PDT
: 3:38 PM PDT
I am currently teaching some lessons with texts that we have historically used to demonstrate we "do it right" therefore they must do it wrong. It seems when we do that we fail to see the meaning the author, and the Holy Spirit wanted the reader to understand. Not that our historical position was necessarily "wrong" but how often I was blind to the intended meaning. It creates a new appreciation for the Word to ask the question, what did the writer want us the reader to understand from this particular writing? I know I have a greater appreciation for God's Word by asking the simple question, what does God want me to understand, instead of doing intellectual gymnastics to make scripture say what we think it should say. peace
philip sims
philip sims
# posted by : 7:12 AM PDT
: 7:12 AM PDT
Often during worship, I find myself concerned with the expectations of the people around me. Worship, in some ways, has become a source of conflict. And that conflict is a distraction to the purpose.
A few years ago, I taught Bible class at a Christian camp where they held a mock early Christian worship. As though hiding in a cave, we worshiped in total darkness. I've never experienced anything like it. All the distractions were removed and we could each praise God as we felt was appropriate. Surely heaven will feel even better!
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A few years ago, I taught Bible class at a Christian camp where they held a mock early Christian worship. As though hiding in a cave, we worshiped in total darkness. I've never experienced anything like it. All the distractions were removed and we could each praise God as we felt was appropriate. Surely heaven will feel even better!
# posted by : 8:26 PM PDT
: 8:26 PM PDT << Home
