There are many different kinds of church. One unique form has been dubbed the Missouri Church. Here is how you can tell if your church is a Missouri church.
You might be in a Missouri country church if...
1. The doors are never locked.
2. The Call to Worship is "Y’all come on in!"
3. People grumble about Noah letting coyotes on the Ark.
4. The Preacher says, "I’d like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering", and five guys stand up.
5. The restrooms are outside.
6. Opening day of deer hunting season is recognized as an official church holiday.
7. A member requests to be buried in his four-wheel drive truck because, "I ain’t ever been in a hole it couldn’t get me out of.
8. In the annual stewardship drive there is at least one pledge of "two calves."
9. Never in its entire 100-year history has one of its pastors had to buy any meat or vegetables.
10. When it rains, everybody’s smiling
This is the ninth sermon in our series based on Bob Russell’s book “When God Builds a Church.” Today’s topic is worship. For those who are beginning to wonder, the series ends next week with “Evangelism.” You might take a look at you bulletin cover which has all of the topics listed and think about how many of those you remember. The last eight sermons in the series are posted on the web site if you want to fill in any gaps.
Russell considers the issue of worship style to be the most divisive issue facing the church today. I’m not sure that is true, but worship style discussions can be passionate.
I remember the most abrupt change in worship style that I ever experienced. Once I filled in for a couple of weeks at Hill Street Christian Church. That is an African American congregation in Louisville. Now, I don’t normally sound anything like a black preacher, but with the congregation shouting “Amen” and “Preach On Brother” my sermons came out differently than they ever had before or have since. All I can say is that the Spirit came over me.
People sometimes act as if changes in worship style are a new thing. They aren’t. There have always been differences in style and practice among various groups within the church.
The first major split that the church ever faced, the split that separated the Roman Catholic Church from the Eastern Orthodox Church, was driven in part by political issues. Still, for the average church member the impact was mostly about language and style.
Five hundred years ago, one of the reasons for the Protestant Reformation was the desire to conduct services in the language of the people instead of Latin. In fact, the Catholic Church did not give up on the Latin Mass until Vatican II which lasted from 1962 through 1965.
Our own heritage includes a major split over worship style. During the latter part of the nineteenth century, progressive, upper class, liturgical churches largely in the north were characterized by their use of organ music. Organs became a real status symbol for a church, like having a steeple. Rural, informal, predominantly southern churches turned their lack of instrumentation into a badge of honor and became the “Non-Instrumental Churches of Christ.” The presence or absence of an organ told you immediately what the church was like.
I remember back In the 70’s when people were doing folk services with flutes and guitars. Those were different. Long hair, flowers, and beads everywhere, and that was just the guys
There have always been different styles. When I was in college I attended a little church in View Texas. That was where Linda and I got married. It had a completely different style from the more sophisticated church that was across the street from campus and was attended by many of the university professors.
In the late seventies I moved on to leisure suits and white shoes. Do you remember those wild print shirts with the oversized collars? Those collars were worn over the top of the coat lapels. Do you remember those? That was what the well dressed young preacher was wearing. I even had a pair of those clunky shoes with three inch heels. They must have weighed a couple of pounds apiece and were almost impossible to walk in. One of the local churches had theater style seating with an inclined floor. I had to side step down the aisle because I couldn’t face forward without falling over.
One of the most striking displays of differences in preaching style I ever saw was when I was in college. I went to a Southern Baptist College in West Texas. I had a double major, Math and Biblical Literature. Probably about a third of the Biblical Literature students had come to college straight from high school and were headed directly for seminary. The rest were people who would be going directly from college into the ministry. Actually, many of them were already pastors of churches while they worked on their BA’s. One of the required classes was a sermon class. Most of that class was spent listening to my classmates preach short sermons (ten to fifteen minutes) and critiquing them mercilessly. The range in styles was amazing. Imagine me wearing a black robe and delivering a cerebral meditation on the implications of Bertrand Russell’s critique of the modern church followed immediately by a classmate who was a Baptist evangelist from Muleshoe. You might not believe it, but my good friend Paul, the future seminary professor, was even more highbrow than I. I remember one sermon in which he described people who had no purpose in life as, and I quote, “grey gossamers of blasé nonentity.” Did you catch that? I bet he spent at least an hour coming up with exactly the right words for that one phrase. “Grey gossamers of blasé nonentity.” Has a ring to it, doesn’t it? I couldn’t help it. As soon as he said it, I shouted out “Amen Brother.” The class started laughing so hard that people were falling out of the pews. Paul, who was a redhead anyway, turned as red as a beat. I apologized profusely for ruining his message, but I don’t think he ever really forgave me.
The most recent debates about worship styles – something that has been called “The Worship Wars” – actually had its origin in the early 1970s. Do you remember the Jesus Freaks? They were essentially a group of hippies that found Christianity to be more fulfilling than “tuning in, turning on, and dropping out.” They were not tied to any denomination. They were theologically conservative, but otherwise counter-culture. There was often a significant charismatic element. One of the things that they developed was a new style of music. They took folk and later rock, kept the beat and the instrumentation, but changed the words and created a new style of Christian music. They were a challenge to the established church. Would the church find ways to embrace these odd characters and their unusual tastes, or would the freaks have to change to fit into the church? The battles that started there have been raging for 35 years. Churches across the country have had to think about what style of worship is best for their members? What style will reach their children? What style will connect with the community?
I have my own preference, of course, but part of the reason that the debate over worship style has been so difficult is that the answers are not simple. There are two legitimate aspects of worship. Traditional, liturgical, or high church worship styles emphasize awe and respect while low church, charismatic, and contemporary styles emphasize celebration. Which is worship supposed to be? Is it awe and respect or is it celebration?
Take a simple thing like dress. If you were going to meet the president or a movie star or a member of royalty, how would you dress? You would put on your best, wouldn’t you. In fact, I bet many of you would go out and buy something for the occasion. I know Linda would. You are coming here to meet the king of kings. Why would you do less? On the other hand, God is with us at every moment of every day. He knows our lying down and getting up. He is not a respecter of persons. He looks, not at the outside, but at the heart. God wants us at worship. Why would He care about our clothes? Do you see the problem? Both sides have a point.
As I have said, I have my own preference. Still, I don’t think that there is any one right style for every one in every place at all times. The question is really as simple as what is best right now for both the members of the church and for the community that we serve? Bob Russell gives us five questions to ask to decide for ourselves if our church’s approach to worship is effective.
Question One. Does it inspire awe?
Psalm 47 says, Worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire
Worship is not a performance put on by the readers, minister, and musicians for the entertainment of the congregation. Worship is each one of us, those on the platform and those in the pews, coming into the presence of God. If a service does not remind you that God is here among us - that God is great, and that God deserves our respect - than the worship service fails.
A service can fail because it is too theatric and transforms the congregation into spectators.
Vance Havner has put it this way. Today, much of the church has gone in for theatrics, running a showboat instead of a lifeboat; staging a performance instead of living an experience; having a “form of godliness without the power thereof.”
A service can fail because it is flippant and disrespectful.
A service can fail because it is done so poorly that it distracts from the meaning of the event. Those leading the service communicate that nothing important is going on.
Finally, a service can fail because it has been hijacked for another purpose. Maybe it has degenerated into a political rally or into a lecture on current events.
The service of worship has to focus on who God is. It is about God, not us. We are in His presence. We forget that at our peril.
Question Two. Does it make us aware of our separation from God?
When Isaiah was confronted with the presence of God, he responded like this. (Is. 6:5) Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty
Question two is a proof of question one. Whenever we actually experience God for who God is, we become painfully aware of how far short we fall. The sense of separation permeates everything.
That is why liturgically oriented services often include a formal prayer of penance, seeking God’s forgiveness.
Question Three. Does it communicate God’s grace and invite a response?
That same passage from Isaiah 6 that we quoted earlier goes on to say (Is 6:7) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.
Even when there is no specific prayer of forgiveness and promise of absolution, true worship must communicate that God forgives them through the sacrifice of Christ.
Within our tradition, our services always include the service of the Lord’s Supper. It is our way of remembering in every service that Jesus came and gave is life in order to restore us to a relationship with God. That service of communion must never become a mindless ritual. It must always be a remembrance, actually a reenactment, of that divine gift of grace.
Worship is not about our striving to reach God. Worship is a recognition that God reached out to us when we were far from who we were created to be.
Question Four. Does it Celebrate God’s Gift?
Psalm 5 says, Let all who take refuge in God be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Let those who love your name rejoice in you.
No one can experience the gift of God’s grace and not respond with thanksgiving and celebration. Unfortunately, that is an element that is frequently missing from our services. We are willing to be awed. We are willing to somberly acknowledge our weaknesses. We accept forgiveness. And we go on.
Do you remember the story of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus? Only one stopped to thank the Savior for the gift that was given. That ratio seems to be far to common.
One of the great changes in worship has been a renewed emphasis on celebration and thanksgiving. It is a reaction to real failing in the church. Whatever styles of worship that we embrace, they must include thanksgiving and celebration as a prominent element.
Question Five. Is it attractive to outsiders?
That passage from m Isaiah goes on to say (Is 6:8) God said, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Sometimes churches get exactly the wrong idea. They believe that the services that are most attractive to outsiders are services full of political correctness. They put on services that barely mention God. They water everything down.
The truth is that people outside the church respect the church most when we act like the church.
Sally Morgenthaler wrote a book called “Worship Evangelism” in which she said the following. The most powerful thing that non-Christians can see is people worshipping. Worship shows people who God is… I can’t tell you how many times non-Christians have said, “I don’t know what this is – something’s going on inside!” Like God’s knocking on their heart’s door! He’s breaking down the walls. That’s the anointing and I’m afraid we may be taking it out of our services.
Worship shows that we are serious and it encourages us to reach other and widen the circle of worship itself.
One of the implications is that the nature and style of worship should be a bridge to those seeking God, not a barrier. When our style of worship is too foreign, it is viewed by outsiders as irrelevant and distant.
God bridged the gap, becoming human to reach us. We have an obligation to bridge the gap to our community and go at least halfway to reach them. We need to view our practice, not through the eyes of a person raised in the church, but through the eyes of one struggling with loneliness and separation and seeking an answer from the faith.
These are the questions.
Question One. Does it inspire awe?
Question Two. Does it make us aware of our separation from God?
Question Three. Does it communicate God’s grace and invite a response?
Question Four. Does it Celebrate God’s Gift?
Question Five. Is it attractive to outsiders?
What is your answer? Is our worship all that it needs to be? What should we change? How can we be more faithful?
The answers are difficult. That is why Bob Russell calls this the most divisive issue to face the church. Yet, worship is what the church is about.
Park is committed to being a church that practices true worship. We will be awed by God’s presence. We will acknowledge that we fall short of what God intends us to be. We will recognize that God is reaching out to us, more than we are reaching out to God. We will accept the gift of God’s grace. And we will make the grace of God available to others. That is what we must do because we are God’s church in this place.
