What are the Fundamentals of Corporate Worship
Corporate worship is the proper response of a gathered church to the person of the triune God
and to his past, present, and future works, especially as they pertain to reigning and redemption.
This response requires an accurate understanding of God’s greatness and goodness informed by
Scripture and is characterized by an earnest attitude of awe, devotion, confidence, and
submission that results in obedience and service. Key elements include: (1) public prayers, (2)
vocal singing and instrumental music, (3) public testimonies, (4) financial contributions, (5)
public Scripture reading, (6) expositional preaching, (7) observing the ordinances (baptism and
the Lord’s Table), (8) confessing faults, and (9) words of spiritual encouragement.
In the year 365 a council of church leadership met in the city of Laodicea to discuss various
problems that had arisen in the churches of the region and decide what to do about them. The
fourth century was a time of theological controversy and unrest in the church. Church meetings
had become disorderly; heretics like Arius were spreading their false doctrine through the use of
propaganda hymns that denied the full deity of Christ. And so this council, among others, made
some decisions to bring order and prevent heterodoxy. But while some of what the council did
was good, what ultimately resulted was that in order to prevent problems worship was taken
away from the people. The council decided that in order to prevent disorder and heresy, only
ordained priests were permitted to read Scripture in the services, and only the approved guild of
professional singers would be allowed to sing. This was only a local council, but it illustrates a
trend that developed among most churches over the next thousand years—worship became the
work of priests and professional musicians instead of the whole congregation.
Eventually the language of worship was restricted to Latin, a language fewer and fewer
laypeople understood, and worship degraded into a performance of a few select individuals such
that they would perform the worship acts even if no one was in attendance. A strict distinction
between clergy and laity developed wherein the clergy did not trust the illiterate, uneducated
masses to worship God appropriately on their own; the clergy offered “perfected” worship on
behalf of the people. The quality of worship became measured by the excellence of the music
and the aesthetic beauty of the liturgy, and while this facilitated the production of some quite
beautiful sacred music during the period, it resulted in “worship” becoming mostly what the
priests did in the chancel, which eventually was often distinctly separated from the nave where
the people sat by high rails or even a screen. Church architecture deliberated kept the nave dark
and the elevated chancel bright.
By the end of the fourteenth century, members of the congregation rarely participated in the
Lord’s Supper, and even when they did, the cup was withheld from them lest some of “Christ’s
blood” sprinkle on the unclean. Roman worship had moved from the “work of the people”
(leitourgia) to the work of the clergy. As even Roman Catholic liturgical scholar Joseph
Jungmann notes, “the people were devout and came to worship; but even when they were present
at worship, it was still clerical worship. . . . The people were not much more than spectators.”
Worship had become the work of priests on behalf of the people, a belief called sacerdotalism.
Hopefully from what we have already seen from Scripture in this series you can recognize the
inherent biblical problems with what developed. As we saw in Ephesians 2, all believers, not just
a select few, are brought near to God through Christ in one Spirit; all believers are being joined
together into a holy temple in the Lord. And as we saw from John 4, all believers are able to
commune with God, hearing him speak from his Word, and responding with our spirits to him.
And all believers can nurture and cultivate that communion with God through what we do in
corporate worship, this covenant renewal ceremony where we once again rehearse the realities of
the gospel and renew our vows to the Lord.
In the next couple of posts, I would like to draw our attention to two important New Testament
principles about the nature of the church that emphasize the fact that the whole congregation
must actively participate in corporate worship.
First, in 1 Peter 2, the apostle uses the same metaphor of a temple to describe the church that
Paul did in Ephesians 2, but he extends it further to make a point that explicitly contradicts the
sacerdotalism that would later develop in the medieval church. He says in verse 4, “As you come
to him”—that phrase “come to him” has the same root as what we saw in Ephesians 2 and
Hebrews 10, the idea of drawing near to the presence of God through Christ in the Spirit for
communion with him. “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of
God chosen and precious”—like Paul, Peter is using the metaphor of a cornerstone to describe
Jesus Christ. The cornerstone of what? Keep reading: “you yourselves like living stones are
being built up as a spiritual house”—there’s that phrase again that refers to the church as God’s
dwelling place, God’s temple. So here Peter is developing the same theological truth about the
church as Paul did in Ephesians 2: through Christ in the Spirit we have access to the presence of
God for communion with him, in fact, we are being built into a sanctuary of his presence.
But then notice how Peter extends the picture further than Paul did: “to be a holy priesthood, to
offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Not only are we a spiritual
temple where the worship of God takes place, we are also a holy priesthood. And notice that he
is not describing a select group of people, he is not designating church leaders only as a holy
priesthood but “you yourselves,” all of you, all who have been brought near by the blood of
Christ, who are being built into a temple for the Lord, all of you are a holy priesthood who offer
spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. As Martin Luther said in response to the
sacerdotalism of the Roman Catholic Church, “all we who are Christians are priests.”
The worship that takes place in God’s temple is not reserved for ordained clergy who worship on
behalf of the congregation as mediators between them and God. All believers are priests who
have full access to the presence of God and who offer spiritual sacrifices to him.
All believers are priests, but notice that we offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.
We have already looked briefly at Hebrews 10:22, which says, “let us draw near,” that idea of
coming into the presence of God for communion with him. But the previous verse identifies the
basis for being able to draw near to God as priests: “since we have a great high priest over the
house of God.” Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that makes communion with God possible, but he is
also the great High Priest who leads us into God’s presence. No merely human priest serves as a
mediator between God and man; “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). Jesus Christ is the worship leader who brings us into the presence of God,
where we all as priests offer spiritual sacrifices to God through him. Therefore all who are in
Christ are priests who are able to draw near and offer those sacrifices.
How to convince a pastor that worship and music are important
In the past couple weeks I have tried to suggest two reasons (among many others) problems in
worship exists today. The first is that pastors are untrained in worship and music, and the second
is that church musicians have little theologicalCcompetency.
I have observed a growing trend in recent years to try to solve the second of these problems.
More and more church musicians are recognizing their role as a pastor in the church and along
with this the need for robust theological education. Individuals desiring to be worship pastors are
increasingly giving themselves to a seminary education, and the curriculum in many church
music degrees has a good theological foundation.
Unfortunately, the perception remains, however, that “music guys” are theological illiterate. In
addition to this, the problem of lack of education in worship and music still remains among many
pastors. Thus many pastors continue to see worship music as little more than entertainment, or at
best “spiritual stimulation.”
This reality is seen perhaps best in the fact that fewer churches are hiring full-time worship
pastors any longer. I regularly receive requests from church musicians for suggestions of
churches looking to hire, and yet I regularly come back empty handed. Church that once housed
robust church music programs now have little in that area.
So what can a thoughtful, well-educated, ministry-minded church musician do to convince
pastors that there is more to worship thanCjust preaching (although preaching is important and
central to worship) and that music in worship is more than entertainment or “stimulation”? Here
are a few suggestions:
1. Invest yourself in a robust theological education. If church musicians want to be taken
seriously by those more theologically educated, then they must be conversant in basic
biblical and theological issues. And this is not merely a concession to “get a hearing.” As
I argued last week, worship is a profoundly theological matter.
2. Spend time with pastors and theologians. Sometimes church musicians get into their own
littleCenclaveCof other church musicians, and it’s no wonder they have no voice. Attend
pastors’ conferences and theological meetings. Demonstrate that you believe theology
and ministry are important.
3. Fully equip yourselves with an understanding of the history and theology of worship. If
pastors are not educated in these areas, then it will be largely up to the church musicians
to help them understand their importance. This means that you need to have a full grasp
on them and on the best ways to articulate the ideas.
4. Make the effort to instruct pastors and others in your church in the importance of
worship, the nature and purpose of music in worship, etc. This is something that will
certainly take time, but if you know of open-minded pastors who are willing to give you
time for a hearing, spend that time patiently explaining historical, theological, and
philosophical issues that inform a more robustCunderstandingCof worship and music.
5. Finally, invest in children. Children will one day be pastors, and if we take the time at
early ages to shape their affections and sensibilities, perhaps some of the problems that
exist today will be more easily solved later.
Biblical Authority in Worship Practice
One important principle articulated in several places in the New Testament was an emphasis
upon the importance of biblical authority for worship practices. Usually these kinds of
discussions came in the context of confronting the legalism of the Jewish religion. During his
ministry, Jesus had already condemned the adding of religious practices not prescribed in the
Scriptures; the same problems continued with the “Judaizers,” Christian converts who taught that
it was necessary to adopt Jewish religious practices from the Law of Moses. The church first
encountered this when some Jewish Christian converts traveled to Antioch and insisted to the
Christians there, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be
saved” (Acts 15:1). This resulted in the formation of a council of church leadership in Jerusalem,
including James, Peter, and Paul, to debate the matter. The council concluded that requiring such
religious practices not prescribed for the church was “a yoke on the neck of the disciples” (v.
10).
Paul also explicitly contradicted this teaching in his epistles, insisting that any religious practice
not explicitly prescribed by Christ or his apostles for the NT church should not be forced upon
the corporate body. These rituals were merely “human precepts and teachings” (Col 2:22); they
have “an appearance of wisdom,” but they are nevertheless “self-made religion” and “of no
value” (v. 23).
Paul’s discourse in Romans 14 directly addresses issues related to corporate worship such as
ceremonially unclean food and sacred days. Some “weaker” Jewish Christians in Rome evidently
still honored the Mosaic dietary restrictions and therefore abstained entirely from meat or wine
out of concern for their ceremonial purity. They also continued to observe the Jewish Sabbath
and holy days. Within the context of “what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (v. 19),
Paul insists in verse 5 that “each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” concerning
observing sacred days, and in verse 23 he warns that “whoever has doubts is condemned if he
eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
In other words, one must be careful not to impose upon his own conscience or another person’s
conscience a religious practice of which he is not fully convinced based on biblical prescription.
As individuals, Christians are free to observe religious practices as long as they do not contradict
Scripture or consider such practices necessary to salvation; as a corporate body, however, no
religious practice may be imposed that has not been prescribed for the church. Paul’s goal is that
members of the church “live in such harmony with another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that
together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:5–6);
his goal is a unity of the body in worshiping God that can only be obtained by carefully
submitting to what the Bible prescribes for Christian worship.
Worship in the church has been a topic hotly debated over the past few decades. There has been
fight after fight concerning the so called Worship Wars that debate over the style of music. CIn
addition there is a regular debate about the Regulative Principle. Yes, Scripture should guide our
worship practices, but what about the things Scripture does not speak on like projectors for
lyrics, fog machines, and even microphones? With all the variance that accompanies church
worship, it is vital for churches to define scriptural principles that help them in planning their
Worship time together. One of the reasons churches argue so much over worship is because the
theological principles driving their worship are never clarified or communicated. As I continue to
think through this issue, here are some Scriptural principles that guide me as I think about
worship in the church.
1. Worship Should Center on The Word of God
The preached word of God should be the center point of our worship. In most churches,
preaching takes up the dominant amount of time in our worship services. The church has a
message to be proclaimed and a message that needs to be heard. The Gospel of Jesus Christ must
be taught weekly from the Bible. The best method of preaching is Expository Preaching, a
method in which the content of the sermon should match up to the content of the Scripture
studied. Topical preaching has its occasional place, but the steady diet for corporate worship
should be the robust expository teaching of the word of God.
Many think that worship stops after the singing, but no, worship is just beginning. As the
preacher stands before the people and heralds Gospel truth and as the people engage with God's
word, they must rejoice over the truth along with the preacher. Christians are people who have
had their lives transformed by a truth: the good news of Jesus. Therefore our worship must not
only be an emotional experience, but a time grounded in the solid foundation of the truth
revealed in God's word.CHowever worship centered on the word of God is more than preaching
but should be a part of everything we do in worship. CWhether it is influencing the content of our
songs, having corporate scripture reading, or even in our prayers, scripture should be pervasive
in our worship time together.
2. Worship Should Be Participatory
It is easy for worship to become a spectator sport. A huge crowd gathers into the room to come
and watch the show. CWe often think of church like coming to a football game where you cheer
or criticize the team that is playing, but never participate in the game by stepping on the field. As
you sit in your chair, you watch the people on the stage worship but you are just there to
spectate. A lot of times churches design their worship services to encourage spectator, consumer
Christians by including so many "showy" elements that foster a culture of sitting on the side
lines.
This might make me a little bit odd, but this is one reason why I'm not a big fan of special music
in churches. I grew up in churches that made this a weekly practice and I've even done a few
special musics myself in my day. The special music is when every one sits down, gets
comfortable and watches a soloist, a choir, or a musician perform. More often than not, the
special music rather than encouraging participation facilitates a distant watching.
Worship should be participatory, seeking to get the people engaged in worship. Participatory
elements include corporate singing, corporate scripture reading, the Lord's Supper, prayer, or
even sermon notes to help people engage with the sermon message. Worship services should be
structured to encourage the worshipers participation in worship rather than encouraging them to
be spectators while the "professionals" worship up on stage.
3. Worship Should Be Evangelistic
A key component of worship must be evangelism. There has been vicious debate over what
worship should be for, believers or non believers. Well I suggest that the issue is a false
dilemma. Worship should seek to both reach the non believer and edify the believers. Every
worship service should have a clear, explicit presentation of the Gospel message. Any lost person
who happens to visit your worship should be able to walk away knowing how he or she can be
saved.
This means that often you have to watch the Christianese that can alienate non-believers. Things
must be explained, including the worship order so they can understand what is going on in the
service. The non believers should be publicly welcomed and thanked for coming and even
addressed specifically in the sermon message. This includes making your church welcoming and
hospitable to outsiders, helping them to feel at home when they first come to your church.
4. Worship Should Edify Believers
A key component to worship should be discipleship. The majority of those who come to worship
tend to already be believers. They come every week to be encouraged in their walk with Christ
and to be fed the word of God for their spiritual growth. Worship should seek to empower and
equip believers to live for Christ boldly and confidently. They should leave both challenged and
stirred to turn from their sin and live for Christ.
This often comes from the sermon component that seeks to not only evangelize to the lost but
also encourage the saints. It is hard to do both simultaneously and some sermons will be catered
to one purpose over the other, but we must always try to equip the saints for the work of
ministry. This comes through the teaching of the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:16-17). Christians might
leave challenged and convicted, but they should always leave in the hope of the grace of God
that covers their failures and empowers them to live on mission.
5. Worship Should Be Contextual
Worship should be contextual. Worship will look different in different cultures or in different
places. To deny that culture does not influence your worship services is to be a liar. The fact that
our worship is in a specific language already contextualizes our service which by default reaches
out to a specific culture and alienating others. All of our worship has some cultural expressions
that are mingled into our time together. This is not always a bad thing, but it is something we
must realize happens.
As a result different parts of our country and even different types of people will connect better
with different worship styles than others. It is easy to elevate our personal preferences to THE
way people must worship, but we must realize that our preferences are just that – preferences.
They are not absolute guidelines to be imposed at all churches in all ways.
The question is how far is to far when it comes to contextualizing our worship? Can worship
become showy and worldly? Can you over-contextualize in which you actually sacrifice the
message of the Gospel? Yes, all those things are very real dangers. There are lines that can be
crossed, often dealing with music, which leads us to the next point.
6. Music Should Have Solid Theological Content
The songs we choose for worship should have robust, rich doctrinal content. One of the great and
true criticism of the Contemporary Christian Movement is that the lyrics could be very well
about their boyfriend or girlfriend rather than Jesus. They often repeat vain ambiguous phrases
over and over that could be about anything. CSo often these lyrics emphasize emotionalism but
not doctrinal truth. When Christians get together to sing, they should sing about the Gospel. Even
the early Christian hymns we have in the Bible like Philippians 2 or Colossians 1 have highly
rich doctrinal content.
Thankfully many are moving back to singing songs that have doctrinal depth such as many of the
modern hymns such as "In Christ Alone". These are powerful songs, done in a modern or
contextual way that engages people in worship while still instructing people in truth. The singing
portion of worship can also be a time of great teaching. The people of God should sing the
Gospel together, which means we need to make sure we are singing about what Jesus has done
and not how much we love of our boyfriend or girlfriend.
7. Worship Should Bring God Glory
The focus of our worship should be about God. We are there to bring him glory, honor, and
praise. It is so easy to turn our worship times into moments about us. "What can I get out of it?"
is a question many ask when they think about worship. Yet, worship is not about us, but about
God.CAs we read in Scripture about those moments of extravagant worship, it is clear to see who
the focus is on.
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come" (Rev 4:8)
Their attention is totally focused on God and his glory. We come to worship together not to have
our ears tickled or to be entertained, but we come to engage in worship with the triune God of the
universe. We are there to worship the Father for his wonderful redemptive plan he put in place
before the foundations of the earth. We are there to worship the son, for his servitude and
humility by taking up the cross and dying in our place. We are there to worship the spirit, which
opens our eyes to the truth of the Gospel and empowers us to live for the one true God. This is
the worship we must strive for, rigorously God-center and bringing our gracious King glory.
