Conversations on the future of worship
The Focus of Worship

Andrea Piejak writes: "I am not sure what you mean when you say that some churches (in their worship) foster 'romantic narcissism'."

Andrea's question can only be answered in the context of a larger question - what is the "focus" of worship. Who is worship for?

My friend Chuck Fromm, the editor and publisher of Worship Leader just recently put it this way in an email to me: "Worship is too often conceived as a performance that must satisfy the human audience."

He hits the nail on the head!

Too many people who lead worship do so with the "audience" in mind. Even using the word "audience" implies a wrong focus on worship.

So, how has the notion of a "worship audience" led to what I've named a "romantic narcissist" worship? First, narcissism means to be "self-focused." A narcisstic worshipper is one who asks as his or her primary question, "What's in it for me?" The "romantic" angle has to do with the current emphasis on worship as a realized emotional and even romantic relationship with God.

So, what is worship? Worship "signifies."

That is, worship represents through re-presentation the mission of God (missio dei) to rescue creatures and creation (for God so loved the world). God's creation has been dislocated by sin and the powers of evil. God chooses to "rescue" creatures and creation. God becomes involved in the history of Israel to foreshadow his salvation which is fulfilled in the life, death, resurrection, ascension and intercession and coming again of Jesus Christ to destroy all powers and set up his reign/kingdom over all creation.

Worship remembers God's saving actions through proclamation and enactment (in song, word and table) and anticipates the completion of God's saving work at the end of history. In other words, worship does the gospel. It signifies God's saving work for us and for all creation.

The personal or subjective side of worship is not a "love affair," but a life lived in the gospel in a complete obedience to God under the present reign of Christ. The one or two hour worship we do in church rehearses the missio dei and calls us to obedience.

Want to know if you have worshiped? Ask: Has my worship led me to live in obedience to God? If your answer is "yes," then you are a worshipper.

Thanks for the great questions that came my way! Some of them I'll still answer in a future column. Keep in touch. Write me at rwebber@northern.seminary.edu.

Tell all your friends to get online for a life changing, ministry-forming, conversation. If you are interested in where I'll be speaking next or how to contact me for consulting, click on www.ancientfutureworship.com/workshops.html

The Lord be with you,

I want in this column to encourage you toward a formal worship education at the Institute for Worship Studies, Florida campus, by telling you a bit about the school every month.

We do not offer skills classes. No classes on how to use the piano or guitar in worship. IWS is a content driven school. People who enroll in our doctoral, masters or certificate programs of study already have been schooled in skills and come to us for content education. We even have a number of students with earned doctorate degrees who teach in colleges and seminaries who enroll to get the content.

In the doctorate program, we begin with an eight hour course on the Biblical and Historical Foundations of Worship. One of the two professors who teach this course is Dr. Andrew Hill (Ph.D. from Michigan University), Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. Andy has written about a dozen books including Enter His Courts with Praise (Baker). The other teacher, Dr. Lester Ruth (Ph.D. from Notre Dame) teaches the History of Worship. Lester is a full time faculty member at Asbury Seminary and the author of a number of books including A Little Bit of Heaven on Earth (Abingdon).

If you want to understand more about the story of God which worship celebrates and how the church throughout history has or has not been faithful to this story in worship, then you will want to take this class.

We also have an eight hour master's course on the Biblical Foundations of Worship. This course is taught by Dr. Eric Bolger. Eric holds a Ph.D. from Trinity Seminary in Deerfield, Illinois and the D.W.S. from IWS. He teaches at College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri.

These are great courses in which you would be stretched and empowered in your ministry. To learn more go to www.iwsfla.org.