Which Way Are We Oriented?

Ask the average churchgoer who is being most honored each Sunday morning, and I dare say, one will get a response very close to this opening line of a Joshua Hedger blog post:

It’s a worship service at church, so of course it celebrates Jesus… right? Or does it?

That is the question, but what is the answer?

I have been in enough American Evangelical services to tell you they follow the same basic format: singing with varying accompaniment and a 45-minute sermon. The only differences are in general attire and stage presence. Yes, I used the word stage purposefully. Forty years ago, whomever led singing did so with the intent of ensuring the congregants and accompanist were open to the same hymn, singing in the same tune, key, and rhythm. Now, the worship leader is a performer engaging the attendees with rhetoric, song, and occasional theatrics intended to stir the soul. The congregants feed off of the energy and respond inciting more passion from the leader building a rush akin to merry-go-round riders pumping each other more and more for the excitement of the ride.

Some will object to this characterization, pointing out that the soul should be stirred when in the Lord’s presence with His people. I agree, however, contemporary church-growth and worship methodology places experience above truth as the goal for meeting. Why else would someone sing “Missouri River” songs? You know the kind: a mile wide (full of biblical-sounding phrases) and an inch deep (effusive emoting with no content). If I want to sing about someone to be close to and have arms put around me, I’ll play Michael Bublé love songs rather than Hillsong or Bethel Music.

Preachers handle the Word of God with varying success. I applaud those who are able to consistently deliver Law and Gospel in a way that delivers Jesus as the only satisfaction for my sin. However, there are others who develop a well-organized talk laced with engaging object lessons but continually end up delivering a self-help plan or a Jesus who just wants to make you feel better. In between the extremes are preachers who are able to accurately explain the Scriptures yet leave the listener with no sense of how Christ is present or what He is doing. Instead of Christ crucified, the message is style, effective delivery, and application drawing attention to the preacher rather than the Savior.

Who is actually celebrated in the above congregations? With the entire program geared to elicit a response, we must conclude that it must be the celebrants themselves. Yes, God and Jesus are mentioned using Scripture, but every aspect has been an outgrowth of the same theology of worship: I, in my own way, will tell God how I feel about Him, and those around me are welcome to join. But is that a legitimate theology of worship? Charles Finney thought so as he promoted outward measures to elicit responses in order to stir the hearts of sinners as they sat on the anxious bench. While novel at the time, 180 years later this basic form has become a Sunday morning staple. But the question remains: is it correct?

Which way are we to be oriented?

The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship defines worship as “the general idea of offering to God adoration and service; the concept can be extended to include offering prayers to God including petition and intercession, and it can also refer to obedient listening to God speaking.” This definition is accurate in that it is derived from the lexical definition of the Greek (to prostrate or kiss the hand toward) and neatly fits the worship described in the beginning paragraphs of this post, but comes short of a full understanding.

The center of our attention and celebration determines our orientation, and ultimately, our practice. During a podcast interview (The Gottesdiendst Crowd, Episode 1), Pastor Burnell Eckardt offered a poignant observation of Old Testament worship:

The priests, the Levites—those who worshiped—entered the worship of God, they entered the temple, they entered the Holy Place with a clear understanding that God was in charge, that they were not, that this was the worship of God, that they were facing Him.

The Lord gave Moses detailed instructions in Exodus and Leviticus for proper worship. An examination shows that the first purpose for gathering was not to give God something (i.e. praise and adoration) but to receive something—atonement. Whether the daily sacrifice or the Day of Atonement, before anything else occurred, blood was shed for my sin. Only then would a proper response begin. Additionally, as the people then heard God’s Word, they responded as they recounted His faithfulness. Note the sequence: receive, then respond. Our Sunday mornings should have a similar dialogical form: receive Christ through absolution, through the reading of His Word, through baptism, through the Lord’s Supper, then responding accordingly and appropriately to each.

How do we get properly oriented?

The solution to the dilemma is singular yet two-fold: orient both our personal and corporate lives in the liturgy of the Church. Placing ourselves willingly under a form designed to celebrate God above all impedes the desire we might have to take liberties and turn attention to ourselves. Luke Childs has described it this way:

A regular day and time of worship forces one out of oneself and into something greater – yes I have needs, but the needs of others are often greater and are always infinitely more important. The rhythms of daily prayer, where we begin by confessing our sins, meditate on the Scriptures, and end with prayer for all the needs of the world and church, keep me constantly a part of the great cloud of witnesses in Christ. A liturgical style of worship, meaning a set pattern of written prayers and readings to guide us, remind me that I am not the centre of the universe – God is. The prayers written by some of the most saintly Christian men to have ever existed fill me with hope in the darkest of times. The Scriptures we read on a given day are Scriptures I might never have chosen to reach for given that freedom, often encouraging, but often challenging to the core.

We reorient ourselves by willing being molded to a standard and plan outside ourselves. Instead of celebrating ourselves (whether intentional or not), and celebrate our Lord who alone is worthy.