Grace Worship Philosophy

Our worship:

• Is Spirit powered and Christ centered.
• Must issue forth from sound theology.
• Is not seeker driven, but a seeker should see Christ in our worship.
• Is not music alone, but our music is worship.
• Should be both individual and corporate.
• Is flawed, and will always be such on this side of heaven.
• We are diligent in our worship to not allow idols to enter in.

Our worship is Spirit powered and Christ centered.

Ephesians 2:13-22 shows us a picture of Christian community and our oneness in Christ. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Our worship must issue forth from sound theology.

This is quite possibly the most important point in our philosophy of worship. What we do in worship will invariably be determined by what we believe. This has deep implications for our worship. How many folks join in worship without understanding? Ours is a culture where too often, the text passes by without any consideration for the meaning. Responsibility is twofold.

First, the worship, whether in song, offering or word, put forth on Sunday morning must be based on solid theology. This is not to say that every song must be wordy. Sometimes the deepest theology can be communicated with very few words. This is to say that the text of the song, or the meaning of the practice, or the message of the sermon must be based on solid theological ground. It falls to the leadership of the church to ensure that confused theology is not present on a Sunday morning.

The second area of responsibility falls to the individual in the congregation. The layperson must have a growing understanding of the tenants of faith. The person sitting in the pew must be diligent to pursue the truths of the Bible. This is the area where we fall short often. The word theology has become a scary one, with the connotation of years of study at a seminary somewhere. Erik Thoennes defines theology, “... learning to think the thoughts of God after Him.... Knowledge of God is the goal of theology.” Theology needs to be the concern of every member of the Kingdom. For example, if the pastor is preaching on the subject of Christian Endurance, the congregation is responsible to not simply listen or not listen to the Pastor, but rather pursue understanding on their own. This means that the congregation needs to be a reading congregation, a studying congregation, a discussing congregation, and above all, a praying congregation. If we sing a song on Sunday morning about the supremacy of Christ, it falls to the individual to pursue an understanding of Him. Not to say that on this side of heaven we will truly understand the incarnation of Christ or his sacrifice on the cross, but we certainly can be drawing closer to that understanding with each passing day.

Most importantly, as knowledge of theology increases, so does the desire to worship. The more someone understands the Grace found in Christ, the more he/she will fall at the foot of the cross in worship. The more someone understands the majesty and power of the Father, the more he/she will shout praises to a holy God! \

Let us resolve to be a Body of Christ delving into the Word so that our worship might be a sweet offering before the Lord.

Our worship is not seeker driven, but a seeker should see Christ in our worship.

A popular movement in the late 20th and early 21st centuries was the “seeker-sensitive” movement. Churches around the country made the conscious or unconscious decision to make themselves nonthreatening to outsiders to the Kingdom. This is not to be confused with the contemporary worship music movement, although the “seeker-sensitive” churches used contemporary music. Rather, the churches tried to take anything that might turn away an outsider. Things like talk of Hell, or blood on the cross were deemphasized. Talk of God's judgment was lessened, while talk of God's mercy was emphasized. The result was a watered down Gospel out of balance. The resultant believers were spiritually shallow, with no root.

Worship should be not aimed at the outsider, but rather at the believer. Seekers, by their very nature, are not capable of God-honoring worship, as worship is possible through the work of the Holy Spirit, not through the work of the flesh. The Body of Christ, therefore, is the true worshiping entity. Therefore, all aspects of worship, including the music and the preaching must be aimed at the Body of Christ.

That being said, the Seeker should see Christ clearly in our worship. As the Body of Christ, we should always be returning to the cross. A seeker in our midst should see a congregation wholly dependent on Grace. As the Holy Spirit softens hearts and brings people to new life, their eyes should be opened to the truths that they had already been exposed to in the midst of the Body of Christ.

The result of this view of worship puts the responsibility for evangelizing the lost on the whole Body of Christ. Another result of the “seeker-sensitive” movement is that people believed their evangelism was to bring friends to church. The attitude seemed to be that if a person brought their friend to church, they would hear the Gospel and believe. That's not to say that a person might not come to church and see Christ for the first time, but this should not be the primary method of sharing Christ!

Let us resolve to be a Body so focused on Christ our Lord that the world around us can't help but take notice of the cross.

Our worship is not music alone, but our music is worship.

It is important to clarify what we mean when we say worship. In the past couple of decades, worship has come to mean the music that happens on Sunday morning. Music is a part of worship, but not all of worship. Many people have defined worship throughout the ages. One such definition is written by William Temple is his Readings in St. John's Gospel.

He suggests that “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His Beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”

What is worship for us then? Worship needs to permeate our lives. How can we show love for God in all that we do? On Sunday morning, this means that worship needs to be present in all that we do. As we enter the building and interact with believers and seekers, how do we show praise to God? As we enter the sanctuary, how do we draw near and prepare our hearts in worship to the Father? As we listen to the Word recited, how do our hearts respond? As we sing praises to the Father, how do we magnify His name? As we draw near to the cross, how do we respond to Grace? As we bring our monetary offerings, what does our giving say about what we believe about God's sovereignty? As we pray as a congregation, how do our hearts pour out for the hurting around us? As we hear the Word preached, do we seek to apply the message to our lives, so that we might draw closer to God? As we close in song and prayer, how do our hearts respond to the Spirit in that place? “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Rom 12:1)

That being said, music is a Biblical response to God in worship. The Bible is full of commands to sing to the Lord. Throughout there is a picture of God's people praising Him through vocal and instrumental song. Like all worship in the Bible though, the song is about the heart. Worship is a heart response to God. Simply singing a spiritual song isn't worship. Are we going through the motions in our music? Do we but sing empty words, in effect bringing a lukewarm offering to the King? Jesus calls us to love the Lord will all our heart, soul, mind. The music is but a vehicle for us to praise. Are we allowing prejudices to get in the way of our sacrifice of praise?

Let us resolve to be a Body of Christ focused on worshiping in all that we do and say.

Our worship should be both individual and corporate.

Worship must be balanced. On one side, we are called as a complete functioning Body, and as a Body, we must worship together. On the other side, we see the example of Christ drawing near to the Father alone. As worshippers, we need to strive towards this balance in worship. We need to be cultivating a routine of private worship, yet we must be taking part of worship in the Body of Christ, whether as a small group, a service, a whole congregation, or even as a part of the universal church of Christ.

Let us resolve as a Body to worship alone and together.

Our worship is flawed and will always be such on this side of heaven.

What does perfect worship look like? We get a glimpse in Revelation 5:11-14 where it says, “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!' And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!' And the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' and the elders fell down and worshiped.”

We have no idea what that might sound like, and so we acknowledge that we don't know. As a result, we don't define one worship style or sound as being “true” worship. The spectrum of sounds from an African choir, to a Chinese house, to a Lutheran cathedral, to a college ministry in America, to a cantor in Catholic church, to hymns on Sunday morning are all attempts by humankind to worship their Savior in song.

That being said, we recognize that one of the results of worship in song is the edification of the Body of Christ. To encourage edification, we worship in a traditional hymn style during our first service and a blended contemporary style in our second two services. We also see that as the decades roll by, those styles may change.

Let us resolve to pour our hearts out through these flawed forms, looking forward to the day when we are before the throne of God, worshiping with the myriad of angels!

We are diligent in our worship to not allow idols to enter in.

Bob Kauflin defines idols in worship as follows, “Whenever I think I can't worship God unless 'X' is present, I'm making a profound statement. If 'X' is anything other than Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I've moved into idolatrous territory.” As we come to worship, we must examine our hearts and ask God to reveal to us things that we have put ahead of Christ. When something doesn’t go the way we think it should on Sunday morning, we must be a people that worship anyway. Worship is not about us, it’s about Him!