Two Approaches to Worship

I am indebted to Dr. Jon Duncan, the Music and Worship Specialist for the Georgia Baptist Convention for his insights in our recent “Crescent City Praise” Conference at the Seminary. Jon is a gifted musician, administrator, and theologian with keen insights into worship and how biblical principles play out in the local church. Of the many truths that he shared with our students recently, there were two that caught my attention and have begun to make the wheels in my mind turn and really begin to think through their implications. The first truth was the confusion of “Practice verus Performance,” which I will reserve for another blog, and the other was the difference between approaching worship from the standpoint of a consumer or a disciple. Jon’s thoughts became the seed bed for the following.

Matthew 28:18-20 clearly dictates that as we go that we are to “make disciples,” but listen to the difference the following change makes: “Go into all the world and make consumers, teaching to that God exists to cater to their every desire.” I don’t know about you, but as I thought about that statement, I wasn’t sure if I should laugh, cry, or scream in anger. The church is the Body of Christ through which those who have surrendered their hearts and lives to Christ as Lord fulfill His command to make disciples. Disciplemaking is part of the obedient response to surrendering our wills to Him, or as also can be said, disciplemaking is part of the obedient response we give to God as we worship Him. As we deepen and develop a vital relationship with Christ that transforms our character so that it reflects Christ’s own, we also as a fruit of that relationship begin to work with others to help them along in the journey and to introduce them to the Savior who can transform their lives. One key sign of healthy worship is healthy discipleship.

“Worship” by definition finds its center in God, and its unconditional surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As we grow in obedience to the will of God we must be involved in discipleship, that is, reaching those who do not know Christ with the Gospel and training them in the faith. The central focus of worship that is approached from the standpoint of discipleship is an obedient response to the revealed nature and character of God.

Contrast that with the “consumer” mentality of approaching worship: Worship is primarily the means to an end, to get the product [the Gospel] to as many consumers [the lost] as possible. Consumers’ tastes and preferences dictate what is sung, said and done. The “have it your way,” mentality of Burger King gets carried into the worship service and everything is pandered to the “consumer” in the way that pleases the individual. The pastor functions as CEO, more than shepherd of the flock. One result is the new convert is led to expect that everything evolves around their likes and dislikes, and if that changes, then they simply go somewhere their preferences are met. A consumer mentality approaches worship for what “I can get out of it,” and if “I don’t get what I want, I’ll just go a place where I can.” Worship for the “consumer” is approached like someone going to a vending machine, rather than the with the understanding that they are meeting with Almighty God, a God that loved so much that He sent His only Son to die in our place.

A discipleship approach is one that is committed to the teaching and training the demands of Scripture. A consumer approach produces growth by addition; a discipleship approach produces growth by multiplication. The goal of discipleship is reproducing the nature and character of Jesus Christ in ourselves and others by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father. It is slower and more difficult, and doubtless will draw less attention in the media, but carries with it the promise of hearing the words “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

There are many individuals that attend a church Sunday after Sunday as consumers rather than as disciples because they never received the proper followup, or for a host of other reasons. It is essential that we teach new believers [as well as everyone else in the church] the demands of following Christ and what worship is, as Paul told those in Thessalonica that they would face persecution and sure enough they did. [I Thes. 3:1-9] Persecution was no surprise to them, and knowing what to expect helped prepare them to remain faithful. As we teach these new believers what biblical worship is, we can help them confront the culture that tells them otherwise.

Discipleship and Worship

Would it make a difference in our churches if, as part of the discipling of new believers, we invested a significant time in teaching a biblical understanding of worship?

This question has been front and center in my mind recently, and I find myself mulling over its implications. I realize that there are many really good materials already in existence designed to help new believers in their daily walk. Many of these actually incorporate some basics of worship as part of the material on how to have a daily devotional time with God. I praise the Lord for them, but what I am talking about is a little more in depth. We tell new believers, and even those who are well established in church life, that worship is important. We encourage them to worship daily and to participate in corporate worship, but do we tell them how to do it and show them what it looks like?

Once someone accepts Christ as Savior and Lord, we must bring them along side another believer to help them learn how to have a daily walk with the Lord, to learn how to begin to discover for themselves the riches of God’s Word and how to pray; to help them become part of a local body of believers and be nourished in fellowship and encouragement; to help them learn to discern how Satan beguiles us with temptations; to help them learn the importance of daily surrender of the will, surrender of goals, to seek His direction, to give and to realize that part of the mandate of a relationship with Christ is to carry the Gospel to every tongue in every land. We must teach them. We have to. Not to disciple a new believer is like having a baby and leaving it in the kitchen to learn to feed himself. We must do these things.

As part of these essentials of the faith, shouldn’t we include a biblical understanding of what worship is and is not? Shouldn’t we include how to prepare for worship, both personal and corporate? Shouldn’t we show them how and model worship for them?

What would happen if we did include such training? Is it possible that we could raise up a generation of believers that base their worship experience on an obedient response to God and not emotions? Is it possible that we could raise a generation that is not dependent on a specific style of music, because worship has been confused with what is being sung? Would it be possible to raise a generation of believers that does not confuse entertainment and worship?

I think the worship wars could have been avoided in part, entirely, if years ago a deep overall understanding of what worship is and is not had been taught. As I look back at many of the worship controversies in church history, many of them might even have been avoided. Biblical worship unifies and brings together. One of the reasons that Rehoboam placed the golden calves at either end of the newly divided kingdom was to keep the ten tribes from returning to Jerusalem to worship, because he feared that worship would reunite the people. The picture of worship in heaven is people from every tribe and nation [multicultural] and all ages [multigenerational] around the Lamb on His throne [one central focus]. Worship in the church should be much like the spokes on a wheel, different yet all connected to the hub; true unity in diversity.

Worship is too important to hope that somehow new Christians will learn what to do, or that it is enough to tell people that they need to do it. Including the practical aspects of worship as part of discipleship would help us develop a more holistic approach in training new believers and aid in the stopping the spiral of dissension and splitting that has been so pervasive in our past. I firmly believe that when we get both our heads and our hearts right about worship, we will see both the growth in outreach and growth in unity among the members.