What can we learn from our forebears?

Recovering the lost ground of worship (5)

If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.
- 1 Corinthians 14:37, 38

Would Paul recognize us?
One of the really serious problems plaguing contemporary churches is a failure to take seriously the teaching of the apostles about some very basic things.

When it comes to how we organize our churches for ministry, carry out the work of shepherds, gather for worship, and equip the saints for ministry, our tendency is to give mere lip-service to the teaching and examples of Scripture and to seize the latest trend, program, or resource from the liturgical and disciple-making mills of the evangelical world. We are like Moses on the mountain with the Lord, as the Lord explains to him how the tabernacle is to be built, and says over and over, “Make sure that you build it according to the pattern shown you on the mount.”

When Moses went down from that mountain to announce that the Lord was planning to dwell with them and that He wanted them to build a tabernacle, he didn’t create a committee, ask for people’s ideas or advice, or consult with those who “knew about such things” in order to do what the Lord commanded.

Why, then, when we hear Paul saying so plainly, this is the way worship should be conducted, do we listen politely and then do whatever we think will draw in the most people and keep them coming back for more?

Perhaps we think we’re prophetic in so doing, or at least, extremely spiritual. Paul says he doesn’t even recognize us. So maybe we should look for some lessons from 1 Corinthians 14 to help us in evaluating and reconstructing the services of worship we sponsor in our churches today. Let me suggest a few.

From Corinth to our day
First, worship should be highly participatory, with men taking the lead to offer the different elements of the service as the Spirit leads, and everyone else following along and joining in as is appropriate. If we don’t encourage our men to lead us into the presence of God, they won’t – which is approximately where we are today. I can think of no more important role for pastors in the local church today than teaching the men of their church how to worship and how and why they must lead in worshiping the Lord.

Second, while worship should be orderly and according to a pattern revealed consistently throughout the Scriptures, there should be room for spontaneity, movement, silent reflection, and an open-ended liturgy that doesn’t necessarily end right at noon.

In addition, we need to get rid of anything in our worship services that actually stifles worship – such as bands that are so loud they’re the only thing we can hear and liturgies that are so scripted or bound by constraints of time that they leave no room for the Spirit to prompt individuals in new directions.

Third, and most important, we need to teach people how to prepare for worship. This involves three things: first, teach them to keep in mind that worship is about coming together before the Lord. So they’ll need a clear and compelling vision of Christ exalted on His throne at the Father’s right hand. They’ll need to know how to nurture that vision throughout the week through the practice of spiritual disciplines.

Second, we’ll need to teach about the various elements of worship and disciple the men of the church so that they know how to use or lead in them properly. They can help their families prepare for worship at home by instructing and leading them in the elements of worship as preparation for the Lord’s Day together.

Third, we’ll have to instruct everyone on the rudiments of church growth so that we’re all on the same page concerning what it means for our church to be increasing in unity and maturity (Eph. 4:11-16). If we don’t teach the people of our church about worship – what it is, why we do it, how to worship, and what the goals are – how will they ever offer up worship that is acceptable to God and edifying to their neighbors?

Finally, we need to increase the opportunities for worship, moving into homes on different days of the week to meet with the Lord there, as well as on the Lord’s Day.

We can recover some of the lost power of the worship of the early Church. It will take time and perhaps be a bit of a bumpy ride, but when we get there the journey will have been worth it. And we’ll have the satisfaction of know, with respect to our worship of God, that we followed His revealed pattern and put all our own best ideas aside.

For more insight to this topic, get the book, Tozer on Worship and Entertainment, by A. W. Tozer, from our online store.

Or read the article, “Improving Worship,” by T. M. Moore.