What Is Worship For?

The obvious answer – worship is for worshiping God! – is not my answer. Not exactly, anyway. I think the real trouble is we’ve misappropriated the word “worship” to apply to regular church gatherings, of which worship was only part. I’ll keep using “worship” to refer to church gatherings because it’s familiar language, so please just bear that in mind while you read.

I believe there are three distinct kinds of worship we can find in the New Testament. Unfortunately, I find only one – or at best two – in modern churches. We have a lot to learn from our past.

Regular Meetings

We have to start at the regular weekly gathering of the early church, particularly because the other two won’t make sense without this foundation. 1 Corinthians 11-12 give some specific images of these gatherings. They’re small, intimate, and most noted for their participatory nature. Everyone is involved through their gifts to make the concept of a unified Body of Christ a legitimate reality.

The central purpose is expressing Christ as his Body. The main event is the Lord’s Supper, which for them is a genuine feast. Everyone comes together to share the meal equally. The meetings are also marked by a mutual sharing of spiritual gifts. All the believers are gifted, and all are exhorted to use their gifts in the meeting, as led by the Spirit. Paul is clear this shouldn’t be chaos – Christ guides the church in its meeting with unity, as one guides their own body. Sometimes the early churches messed it up, but were always encouraged to continually seek to be more faithful.

This kind of meeting is absent from modern churches, and I mean entirely. There are ways to use one’s spiritual gifts in various ministries, but not in any communal setting like this. If a brother or sister is gifted for teaching, they can either teach a class or (if they’re either clergy or in a particularly open church) preach a sermon. Other gifts, like prophecy or tongues, in these settings would be disruptive.

Preaching

The second kind of worship we can talk about is marked by preaching sermons, large crowds, a mix of believers and non-believers, and (if it’s successful) baptisms. This is most familiar to us, because it looks almost exactly like a modern worship service.

The central purpose here is evangelism. We can see the marked absense of spiritual gifts and sharing. There is generally one preacher talking to a large crowd. While it isn’t described as such, I can easily see other brothers and sisters leading songs or prayers for the group. It’s also likely brothers and sisters were mingling in the crowd, talking one-on-one with non-believers or new converts, praying with them, baptizing them, and connecting them with a local church.

While we see leader-to-audience services with a focus on teaching the gospel, there’s usually a greater expectation that members attend than newcomers. Not that visitors aren’t welcome, but they’re only part of the puzzle. Members going deep in faith – however that happens at each church – are expected to get their primary spiritual experience from what is intended as a sort of newcomer’s seminar.

Church Planting

The last kind of worship gathering is when an apostle is planting a church. The church isn’t ready to be led exclusively by the Spirit, so an apostle mentors them – usually for a handful of months – in functioning properly. The work is never truly completed, as the epistles show us, because the apostle continues communication and coaching in Body life. However, a point always comes when a church is mature enough to function independently, without constant supervision.

The central purpose here is discipleship. Newly converted Christians are guided into the full experience of Christ’s church through his Spirit. They find their gifts, learn to express them in an orderly, Spirit-led way, and comprehend living Christ as a group instead of as an individual. They are also taught in how to live all of their lives in Christ, how to serve the poor, and how to spread the faith and make more disciples.

This kind of meeting happens in some modern churches, but not all. In the ones it happens in, one or more facets are still missing. It’s usually done as a small group ministry, but may be a bible study, outreach or service mission, or membership class. Small group ministry is most akin, and most effective, as a small group can practically function as an early house church. The trouble is, there’s never a separation from apostolic leadership. The church is never allowed to truly mature and grow up; they’re trapped as spiritual children, or perhaps even teenagers.

The Full Measure of Christ

We’ve lost focus on why we do the things we do, what the purpose is. All three kinds of gatherings are vital to the whole church, but church leadership needs to reclaim the apostolic traditions of evangelism and planting. We also need to acknowledge each other’s spiritual gifts, and create space for their proper use.

Spiritual matters don’t come naturally to our sinful flesh, which is why it takes time to learn. Since the apostolic traditions are so lost among most of our churches, it will be a messy process.

I don’t want to discourage anyone reading this, especially those part of an institutional church. I believe we are a long way off, but rather than condemn I want to help shed light on the Way of Christ. We Christians have a long and famous history of making mistakes. Rather than fall prey to guilt, instead we must affix fresh eyes on Christ. His Spirit is a guide to us, guiding us ever closer. There are small steps you can take at your own church now to pursue Body life. Seek them out always, and pray in the Spirit constantly.

The Dwindling Power of the Sermon

The more sermons I hear, the less impact each new one has on my life.

Consider going to a motivational seminar and hearing a compelling keynote address. Now consider if you heard a keynote once a week for the rest of your life. They’d have less and less impact the more you heard.

The Body of Christ is meant to be built up through ‘one-anothering’ with spiritual gifts. There’s a wide variety of gifts, and the church is intended to worship through all of them regularly. Sermons are at best two gifts (teaching and prophecy), and at worst a mere human-crafted speech.

Most institutional churches revolve around Sunday morning worship, which in turn revolves around the sermon. It’s okay to keep it, so as not to alienate existing members. Change your focus to intimate small group experiences. Train small group leaders in worship, encouragement, and especially using and discerning spiritual gifts. Each group should feel like a New Testament church, with members ‘one-anothering’ each other weekly in the group, and also regularly throughout life.

With most of your congregation living into their spiritual gifts and experiencing the depths of Christ among each other, leadership will be freed from management to discern Christ’s mission and movement, and truly lead their flocks to God’s kingdom on earth.

But What Do Clergy Do?

I’m leaving my job as a church secretary.  My pastor impressed me with his directness asking why I was leaving.  We had a great conversation and touched on a number of big issues for me, albeit lightly.  I mentioned my desire for a church without a clergy-laity distinction.  His reply was interesting:

I don’t know how [an all-laity-led church] would work.  If I go to a doctor I want to know he’s been to medical school – that he’s a professional.

The statement on the face of it is perfectly sensible – you’d never trust a doctor who just had a good feeling about medicine (although some people even do that).  Medicine is a highly technical field, as well as a very relational one.  We know why a doctor needs training, because they do something that requires it.

But what do clergy do? I’m from a Presbyterian background – about as mainline Protestant as you can get. There is exactly one thing only an ordained clergy-person is allowed to do and no one else: administer the sacraments.  Any elder can preach.  A layperson can be appointed moderator of the session (the board). Anyone can do caregiving like hospital visits. Laity can even perform weddings!  (Reformed sacraments only include communion and baptism.)

Seriously, why bother with clergy? The only decent argument I’ve heard is to maintain good teaching, ensured by seminary training. First, we have to admit there’s wild divergence in theology among pastors even within the same denomination.

That aside though, Christ has sent his Spirit to qualify us for our callings through its gifts. The bible hammers home the downfall of placing trust in human doctrine, so powerfully evidenced by the Pharisees and Sadducees.  They added to or took away from God’s law (respectively), to the demise of their faith. I see no compelling evidence to deny that we’ve done it all over again.

Clergy don’t do anything that can’t be done by any other Christian. Seminary is no substitute – or even suppliment - to the gifts of the Spirit. It just muddies the waters.

The Christian Ghetto

Most Christians – especially pastors – spend all their time with other Christians.  The culture created is called the “Christian ghetto.”  We’ve got to get out.

Pastors

It’s especially insidious for pastors, who get caught up in “tending the flock” – hospital visits, counseling, conflict mediation, and generally managing ministry.  If you’re a pastor, I have bad news and good news.  The bad news is: stop it!  The good news is: stop it!

In a nutshell, you’re wearing all the hats, which goes against what the bible teaches us about the various members of the body carrying out different functions.  You’re the leader, the visionary, the prophet.  Hand off what amounts to deacon’s work to those gifted for it.  It’ll take time, sure.  Whenever you’re heading to do one of these pastoral duties invite someone gifted and passionate for that kind of ministry along.  First they observe, then they might pitch in with a prayer, and eventually you sit back and let them do the work.  Talk to them each time about how they felt.  After a couple smooth sessions without your input, ask them to do one without you. If it works out, release it entirely to their care.  (Make sure they recruit and mentor someone else, too.)

With all the spare time you find, become a regular at a coffee shop or something.  Learn all the staff’s names, tip generously, and strike up conversation whenever possible.  Read spiritual books (or just bring them with you).  Get a laptop and do some work if you need to.  Eavesdrop.  Get to know people outside your church.

Laypeople

First, there’s no such thing as laypeople in Christianity!  You’re priests, for Christ’s sake!

Second, it’s easy to spend all your social time at church functions, or with Christian friends.  You’ve got to break the habit.  Stick with the one or two major groups in the church that are helping you expand your boundaries and devote your newfound time to getting to know folks like yourself who aren’t Christian.  Join a club, find a hobby store or hang out with co-workers more.  Anything to connect with non-Christians.

It’s Not About Evangelism

It’s not about tactics.  It’s about learning and listening.  Get to know these people.  Love them!  They’re not targets for recruitment or even salvation, they’re people.  By all means, bend over backwards for any of them.  We’re Christ to non-Christians, and he died for their (and our) sakes!  Just don’t sweat sharing your faith.  If you live a life worthy of the gospel, you’re planting the seed.  God will make it grow.

Committees Will Be the Death of Us!

The website I’m designing (read: finished designing months ago) for my church has been sent to another ad-hoc review committee.  I’m to give them my full cooperation.  The goal of this committee (which is really only myself and one other person) is to do whatever needs to be done to implement the website, and bring it to session for discussion and a vote at that time (assuming session doesn’t refer it to another review committee).

The only thing that needs to be done is for a decision to be made!

Committees encourage dithering.  Dithering essentially means not making a decision, or making an interminable number of baby-steps towards a decision without ever having to get all the way there.  How does this work?

The real point of a committee is to displace authority, but what also happens is they displace responsibility.  Without responsible people, decisions can’t be made.  No one is willing to stick their neck out far enough to claim an idea.  What’s worse, you often have non-experts voting on matters of expertise.  Displaced authority means the people who know best aren’t allowed to act without permission.

A better solution is to create boundaries based on congregational values, beliefs, mission and vision.  A very small set of leaders focuses on clarifying and refining these.  Any new idea is tested against them, and if it falls within the boundaries it’s allowed.  The ones doing it (always teams, never individuals) are resourced and trained for excellence, and work based on their own mission statement and goals.  The mission is evaluated regularly based on these goals, as well as the original boundaries.

Of course, a mission should only emerge out of a person’s sense of calling and giftedness, in regular spiritual fellowship with other Christians.  It’s vital to act together – one of the high points of a committee – but not to absolve responsibility, rather to maintain accountability for spiritual growth, health, and action.

Spectator Worship

I’d guess nearly all American churches – mainline, orthodox, charismatic, evangelical… whatever – do worship as a group of professionals (paid or volunteer) leading a group of spectators, possibly with occasional guided crowd participation.

The kicker is, that’s not how Christians are supposed to worship.

New Testament worship was done is small cell groups (averaging around 35 people, I think).  It was done in homes.  Everyone participated using their spiritual gifts.  Several people read and interpreted scripture, and the group judged for themselves if it was good.

Sometimes the New Testament church gathered all the groups across a city for important matters, and sometimes they’d do big crowd spectator worship.  These were relatively rare, however, and primarily geared toward evangelism.

Weekly spectator worship conditions congregants to be passive, and supresses expressing spiritual gifts.  You can’t even see other worshippers’ faces without turning around!  No wonder members feel like volunteers instead of owners.

Modern churches can return to New Testament worship by focusing worship in small groups and promoting gifts discernment and use.  Read scripture, pray, sing, meditate… whatever works with each group’s makeup of personalities and gifts.  If you can, scale back crowd worship to monthly or bi-monthly and market themas large public evangelism events.

Programs Won’t Bring People to Your Church

Spiritual depth (especially among leaders) will.

People are overwhelmed by advertisements promising a better life by subscribing, purchasing, participating in, or some other way buying into a product or service.  Church programs are exactly the same thing, they just happen at church.  People aren’t just not looking for programs, they actively hate them.

What people really want is a capital-T Truth for their lives.  They’ll know it when they see it.  Spiritually mature people are the clearest sign of this.  It not only gives people a lifestyle to emulate, but demonstrates the church has something worthwhile.

Don’t have spiritually mature people, who live instantly recognizable lives of holiness, in your church?  It’s probably because of all the programs! (And committees, meetings, clubs, fund raisers, social events, and other time fillers.)  Don’t keep people busy, keep them growing.  Find out where they are on their spiritual journey, what their gifts and calling from God are, and help them on their way.  When someone is gifted and called to help others find these things, train them and release the ministry to their care.

It doesn’t matter what your chuch is doing, it matters that people are discovering their God-given purpose in life and being nurtured to fulfill it to its utmost potential.