The "re-story-i-zation" of worship
In the January 2003 issue of Ancient-Future Talk, I suggested that the next phase of worship development may be a return to a more biblical way of thinking. More and more people, especially the twenty-somethings and the upcoming millennial generation, are getting sick of the dominant showbiz worship and are looking for more depth.
They are asking for God-directed worship. But what does that mean?
Thematic worship that is practiced in many traditional churches is certainly God-directed. A theme about God—say God's righteousness, holiness, or love—is woven throughout the entire service. But isn't the appeal of thematic worship really to the mind of the worshiper? "Wow! I worshiped today! I understood something about God better." Is thematic worship ultimately God-oriented worship?
Another attempt at God-oriented worship is to take a verse or passage of Scripture and order a whole service or approach to worship around that verse. Take "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners. . . ." (Psalm 1:1, KJV). Build a whole service around this text. Sing it. Preach it. Is this kind of textual worship ultimately God-oriented worship?
I question the biblical fullness of thematic and textual worship. "But," you say, "don't both thematic and textual worship present truth?" They do. And thank God for that. But God-oriented worship is not primarily about an aspect of God's character, nor this or that verse. Nor is it about me, about what I learn, what I experience, or even about what I do. Yes, I do learn, I do experience, and I am affected by worship. So then, what is God-oriented worship? Worship that is God-oriented proclaims, enacts, sings, and prays God's mission to the world.
God's mission is the story of how God created and rescues not only creatures, but the whole creation. It is the story of God's involvement in history with Israel, and the story of the death and resurrection of Christ. It is about how God, through Christ, has conquered the powers, will vanquish them at his coming, and will establish the new heavens and new earth.
The earliest Eucharistic liturgy of the church, recorded in A.D. 215, expresses the story this way: "Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a holy peoples, he stretched out his hands when he should suffer, that he might release from suffering those who have believed in you. And when he was betrayed to voluntary suffering that he might destroy death and break the bonds of the devil, and tread down hell . . ." (Italics mine) Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition.
The emphasis of biblical and ancient God-directed worship is ultimately about the victory of God over all the powers of evil. In worship we remember God's saving acts in history, and we anticipate the consummation of God's rescue at the end of history. This theme is sung, proclaimed, and enacted in all the liturgies of the early church. To start, read the book of Revelation and let it test this thesis. Is this the God-oriented worship that will be revived in our churches? Write me at rwebber@northern.seminary.edu. I want to know if you are thinking this way and what you are doing to establish this kind of worship in your church.
Bob Webber
Myers Professor of Ministry
Director of M.A. in Worship and Spirituality
Northern Seminary—www.seminary.edu
(See Northern's M.A. in Worship and Spirituality and D.Min. in Worship by clicking on the website.)
