With an estimated 2 billion people across the globe claiming to be Christian, the way Christians worship every week is a big deal, says one Seattle pastor.
So when churches bring in drums and guitars to accompany singing, when Christians read lyrics off of giant screens, or when they lift their hands and shout praises, they won't go without scrutiny.
The basic question many continue to debate today is: "What is a Christian service supposed to look like?" posed Mark Driscoll, founder and pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, during a sermon on Sunday.
As author Gary Douglas Wright writes in Worship Awakening, worship is a fuzzy topic.
"It's fuzzy in the sense that there are so many views and philosophies about what worship is," Wright said in the recently published book.
According to Driscoll, who's opening a sixth church campus in downtown Seattle this month, the elements of worship that are described in the Bible include: the preaching of God's word, communion, prayer, public readings of Scripture, praising, and giving financially.
But "the Bible doesn't tell us exactly how to do church," the 37-year-old pastor said. "It tells us what to do, what not to do principally."
Thus, it leads to questions such as what time services should be held, how long sermons should be, what kind of instrumentation is allowed, or if the pastor has to wear a robe.
"What are all the rules?" he posed.
Driscoll was responding to the most popular question over 300,000 people voted for him to preach on in the "Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions" series – which kicked off the first Sunday of this year. The No. 1 question: "Do you believe that the Scripture not only regulates our theology but also our methodology? In other words, do you believe in the regulative principle? If so, to what degree? If not, why not?"
The regulative principle says corporate church worship must include all elements which Scripture commands and whatever is not specifically set out by God in Scripture should not be included in the worship service.
Praising the principle to some extent, Driscoll said such churches that follow this seek to define worship by God and His word, try to honor the Bible and plow a nice ditch between the world and the church.
Listing the weaknesses of the regulative principle, the Mars Hill pastor said it separates "gathered" worship – corporate worship at church – and "scattered" worship – worship outside of church through lifestyle.
"What I don't understand is why we would treat one hour a week by a certain set of rules and the other 167 hours a week by a different set of rules," he told Mars Hill attendants, who are mainly twenty-somethings and include many unchurched persons.
The regulative principle is also not sufficient in that it doesn't answer all the questions Christians typically have about what's allowed in worship service. And it becomes legalistically applied, he added.
What does deal with the questions is the normative principle. While this principle also states that church worship services must include all elements which Scripture commands, it allows other elements as long as they are not prohibited by Scripture.
Calling this the "green light principle," Driscoll said, "We are to do everything the Bible says and we're free to do whatever else the leaders, according to their biblical conscience, feel is right providing it's not in violation of Scriptures." Continue >>
RSS
what is this supposed to be?
The bible tells us that we must worship God in 'spirit and in truth'(John4:23-24) meaning that it must be genuine and come from our hearts and that it cannot be contrived or just for show ie not manipulated by the rythem or beat of music or the excitement generated in the service, and also 'with reverence and awe' (Hebrews 12:14-29). This I believe we can only do adequately when we realise the holiness, majesty and glory of the almighty sovereign God and his hatred of our sin, ''who is of purer eyes than to look on evil' (Habakkuk 1:13) and that it was our smallest sin that needed the sacrifice of his only son to rescue us from Hell and that this was only made possible by His grace and the incomprehensible love that he has for the lost, rebellious sinners that we are .It is interesting that throughout the bible, when men meet God and get a glimpse of His glory and majesty and realise the sinfulness they fall on their faces before Him. I am not advocating this for our services but when I realise who God is and what I am, I understand why they reacted in that way. What we need in our churches is to gain a glimpse of Him as he really is, that will bring out true worship from our hearts.
@ servant: noooo, I´m not a seventh day guy, I´m a simple believer of Jesus Christ.
The Text in Kolosser is absulutly capable and I appreciate that you quotet it.
This is a big help for today, becasue people simply don´t know how to keep the sabbath, even if they wanted., most don´t even keep a sunday holy. But this text doesn´t excuse twisting Gods word, does it? Making Sabbath from the commandments that we don´t have to, but want to follow to the day of the sun - a day that even is named by a different God, worshipping the sun. Jesus calls those who love him to keep his commandments, BUT we are free to do so. But does that change facts? Does that justify Catholic Church? well well spoken don´t let us twist the word - God may bless you servant!
Yeah my church on the mission field sometimes uses drums and electric guitars. However, I was visiting a deaf church in Chiang Mai last week, and it was great ! No music, and for those of us who could hear, just the peaceful background sounds of jungle birds, and wind through the trees, along with the visual beauty of deaf people praising God with their hands and smiles.
Now that was a time of worship -- having nothing, they possess everything needed in such a peaceful, reverent worship service !
Inspite of some of the new lingo we're learning here, I have to applaud Driscoll for keeping his word and addressing the questions.
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23, 24)
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col 2:8)
prodriver,
I'm guessing you are a 7thday adventsit. What do you say about the following scripture. Please don't twist, as ALL scripture is "God Breathed"
Colossians 2:16 (King James Version)
"16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:"
have to correct myself,
not WE change the Word of God,
THEY (the RC Church) did -
we just consume and follow blindly, accepting instead of obeying.
"On the day we call the day of the sun, "
well, wasn´t that said to be the Sabbath? But WE change it to the day of the sun, very interesting and this is where the discussion starts.
How about the 4th commandment then?
Worship service? The Service we do on this earth is poor compaired to what the angels do in heaven and what we will do then.
It´s about to celebrate God the Father and to prepare ourselves for missions spiritually and go.
We are to go, this is the only thing we can not do in heaven.
I agree with FullGospel. It has been clearly defined for 2000 years now.
It is a Universal Christian responsibility to go on a 'Mission' every Sabbath, and when possible daily.
We need as much replenishment we can from the banquet feast from the table of the Lord.
Martyrdom is the sacrifice of man to God, while the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.
Only God centered. must be focused only on God not past sins, not past afflications or any other distraction. by focusing on god those things will be taken care of.
I flagged myself below to include stuff I forgot to include.
I believe a worship service should include the following
1) prayer time for the needs of those in attendance and for their burdens
2) praise and worship time through music
3) time for those in attendance to share a song, a testimony, a teaching, a prophecy, or a tongue and interpretation of tongue
4) worship through preaching of the Word
5) observance of the Lord's Supper
6) water baptism for those who have received Jesus as Savior and Lord
7) invitation time and prayer for salvation, recommitment of life to Jesus, healing, deliverance, baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, etc.
I don't think the offering plate should be pass during the service. Recepticals should be placed in various locations of the Church for those who want to give according to the dictates of their hearts.
Normative? Regulative? This makes my head hurt. Let's go back to the writings of the early Christians. There's nothing "fuzzy" about what a "worship service" is supposed to be. It's still being done every day (Mal. 1:10-11) by Jesus' Church:
St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) around the year 155, explaining what Christians did:
On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits. When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers* for ourselves . . .and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation.
When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss.
Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: Eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: 'Amen.' When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the "Eucharisted" bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.
The liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure which has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. It displays two great parts that form a fundamental unity:
- the gathering, the liturgy of the Word, with readings, homily and general intercessions;
- the liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecratory thanksgiving, and communion. The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form "one single act of worship"; the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord.
That doesn't seem "fuzzy" to me. It's a matter of historical record, from the Christians who gave us the Bible.