Worship

We live in a world void of theological understanding and it is becoming rampant within the Church. The tendency is to view the external world as predominantly ignorant concerning Christianity and its teachings, but evermore increasing trends have shown the Church to be equally confused. Blending of the two realms has led to the weakening of the Church by its surrounding culture. Rather than stand as the guider and protector of theology, the Church has softened its approach resulting in softened Christians. Unfortunately, it does not take a formal polling of a large demographic to reveal this. All one must do is simply visit a portion of American churches and it will be evident. Furthering this moving away from proper ecclesiology is the lack of character and intellect formation coupled with an anthropocentric mode of Church. We have turned worship into a therapy session that allows for the patient to feel better while still remaining spiritually dead. We must return the Church to the worship of God, resulting in the education and formation of community through the cohesiveness of all elements of the Church service.
God-centered Worship in Music and Word and Their Results
There should be no confusion concerning the object of our worship. It is the Triune God; always has been and forever will be. Among Christians, this topic would not be of much debate at a cursory level. However, the actual praxis and methodology behind this banal concept is quite lacking. The prevailing attitude, as seen in musical choice and sermon expectation, has replaced the Triune God with humanity.
The Triune God is both the object and subject of our worship. As the subject, God calls us forth to receive the gifts of worship. In a cyclical movement, we receive the gracious gifts of God and, in turn, or better yet, return, to God all that is of worth. Thus, it is the grace of God which enables us to, not only perceive of God, but also to ascribe praise and worship. Genesis of praise, therefore, starts with God and flows through the Church back to God. As such, we are not called to the passive apathetic body of Christ. On the contrary, worship involves our wills, emotions, and most importantly our hearts in constant movement towards God. We are not summoned to Church for entertainment but for the worship of God by God.
Christians do not, and should not, claim to worship a God of their own making. There is a tension that must be dealt with in regards to God. Our imperfect language is not sufficient in its description of God. However, this does not relegate our knowledge of God to speculation or subjectivity, but rather allows for the mystery of the Trinity to flourish. The revelation of the knowledge of God thus comes from the Word of God alone. This is our concrete foundation upon which we build our theology and ecclesiology.
With God as both the object and subject of our worship, the modes of worship must be questioned. Within the context of a worship service, singing praises through musical selections and the preaching of the Word are the main avenues of worship. These two primary modes of worship should not be randomly decided upon, but should be united in formative quality and content.
Musical selections must be theologically sound prior to any judgment on musical quality or popularity. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Cultural influences have crept into the Church and have turned music into a whimsical mode of praising God. With the focus shifted onto humanity, God is left in the periphery. This is not proper worship but idolatry. We cannot expect to form and edify Christians when the Christians we are producing are looking inward instead of outward for objects to praise. Theologically sound selections are thus found in every genre. By incorporating a variety of musical genres and traditions, congregants are exposed to differing emotions, divine attributes, and human responses. Properly used, music is an historical means of worship.
The word of God should kill us. It should not be a self-medicating mode of worship, but rather the truth of our sinfulness. Our culture has emasculated the worship of God so that there is no effective or affective response. People’s assumptions on the purpose of the Church are based on psychological and sociological needs. This concept, coupled with the subjectivity of the character and work of God, have led people to reject the transformational power of the Word. The Church needs to return to the preaching of God’s word with the Triune God as its subject.
Worship centered on God through the music and preaching of the Word must educate the Church. Through the power of technology, our culture has become hopelessly fragmented and disassociated, which has led to the loss of relational intimacy. Moreover, we no longer have coherent understandings of much information. Instead we have amassed trivial knowledge on a range of topics with no relevant context by which to bind them. Sadly, this trend has seeped into the pews of the Church. Laity, and clergy alike, have succumbed to the loss of systematizing and contextualizing their theology. We have become shallow people, whom, to a greater detriment, have created a shallow God. We must place the priority of correct worship over the entertainment qualities of our services. Our songs and hymns must be reciting biblical and theological truths. Our sermons must revolve around the character and work of the Triune God. For the benefit of the Church and the outside world, we must faithfully return to a biblical approach of ecclesiology. We can no longer afford to have thoughtless and incoherent Christians. It is ungodly to be theologically apathetic, for we are called to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds.
Conclusion
The end result of worship is a transformed individual through the grace of God. It is our duty to worship and through it we become more obedient and sacrificial. Furthermore, worship is the sole element that brings unity to the disunity of the body. Regardless of differing interpretations and methodologies, all Christians can come together in worship. For in eternity, the entire body of believers will join in unison to sing praises to the Triune God through the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.