Worshipful Snobbery

In the battle between worship styles there is often an air of superiority on all sides. Each camp feels they're doing it the right way. Otherwise they would change and do things differently.

The liturgical focuses on the meaning and significance of the gathering. The kinesthetic and contemporary focus on the experience of worship. Both are valid but both can also lead to a negative side. One can become dreary and meaningless while the other can rely on spectacle and materialism.

It is important to maintain humility as we seek to lead the kingdom in worship. Whether it is through hymns or rap music, in old dusty cathedrals or hip cool locations complete with smoothie bars, we are all just scratching the surface of what it means to worship.

"[...] a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem[...] Yet a time is coming and has now comewhen the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." 
John 4:21-23

(Priest Adam walks in to his newly madeover church the Sunday a guest pastor is speaking on BBC's Rev.)

Jesus and Smoothies

Often it seems that the difference between aesthetic or liturgical services is that aesthetic services are all about pomp and circumstance. Newer fresher worship is getting at something deeper than mere traditions. There is a case to be made, however, for the opposite.

Paul Zahl in his chapter on liturgical worship  in the book Exploring the Worship Spectrum says that theology must precede worship. This axiom is the core of liturgical worship, the focus is right thinking in worship. The new and fresh, simply for the sake of new and fresh comes off as fake and manipulative.

(An Anglican Priest agrees to let a hip young pastor use his building for a Sunday in the BBC comedy Rev.)

Experience with Aesthetic Worship

I would like to share from personal experience concerning Aesthetic (Traditional) worship service. I have been blessed to pastor four churches. I have to admit that each service plan has been the same. I am not saying that I did each service the same, but each had the same worship format when I arrived there. The challenge that I have faced is trying to move them to a worship style that combines something for all. Unfortunately, the worship styles thus far have been lacking. 



I have to admit that this class has been helpful in trying to lead the church I am currently pastoring toward a more worshipful experience with the Lord. I ask all who read this blog to join me in prayer that I can be the instrument God needs me to be to lead His people to a more genuine and loving worship with Him.

Aesthetic Components

Adding to the blogs concerning Aesthetic worship, I would like to share some components used in Aesthetic worship. One component is seeking to see God high and lifted up. The would be similar to Isaiah's perspective of God in Isaiah 6:1-8. When looking at Aesthetic worship there is four movements associated with an Aesthetic service. First there is what is recognized as a call to worship. During this the worship leader is aiming to alert the congregation of the holiness of God. Secondly, there is a time of confession, where there is a recognition of the worshipers need for God. Thirdly, the service offers time for recognition of God meeting the needs of the worshipers by giving thanks in a time of giving. The fourth stage or movement includes the sermon and invitation where a call to service is given with an opportunity to respond.**

In Baptist life, the Aesthetic service could basically be called a traditional style. This style is most likely used in most Baptist churches today, especially those with an older congregation or one that is very involved with tradition. The music service would most likely be hymns performed with a piano and/or organ with some using an orchestra today. These services do not offer much variation from the norm.

** These movements of Aesthetic worship are from Dr. Woodward's concerning Aesthetic Worship.

Typical vs. Possible Aesthetic Worship

There's a lot of confusion around the terms in use here. Aesthetic worship does, of course, have it's most typical examples around the world—but the examples themselves don't define what Aesthetic worship is. Just like the term "Baptist" brings to mind many of the traditional Baptist connotations, like 3-piece suits, southern accents, and altar calls, that doesn't mean that someone has to have those things to be a Baptist. Those are just some things that most Baptists happen to have in common.

Likewise, Aesthetic worship can take all different shapes and forms besides the traditional format outlined below:

1. Prelude
2. Call to Worship
3. Invocation
4. Praise
5. Scripture Reading
6. Offertory Hymn
7. Offertory Prayer
8. Offertory
9. Special Music
10. Sermon
11. Invitation
12. Benediction
13. Postlude

To learn more about what exactly constitutes Aesthetic worship design, check out our other post What Does it Mean to be "Aesthetic?"

Understanding Liturgical

In a day time when worship seems to be geared toward emotion, some people may have a difficult time understanding the concept of Liturgical worship. Sometimes, this worship can often be seen as boring to some believers today. However, we must understand that everyone has different tastes and worship desires. While one may not get as much out of this type of service, another may feel very compelled to draw closer to God in the formal atmosphere that Liturgical worship offers. Additionally, the concept of the Liturgical worship could have come from Paul's concept of things should "be done in order" within the church. 

Furthermore, Liturgical worship is a style of worship that has a very formal type setting and atmosphere. The idea behind the Liturgical worship is to help the worshiper to look upward in order to reach outwardly toward others. The purpose is to draw the congregation to understand the transcendence of God. With this in mind, it is important to grasp this concept while maintaining the sense of formality that this worship style offers. In observing a Liturgical worship service, we can see that there is much planning and detail within the service. Most likely the idea is to spend time preparing beforehand so distractions will not hinder and to have the congregation focused on worship. 

However, some may see this type of worship hard to grasp because of such formality. Some may see this style with such formality as a type that may not allow much room for the Spirit to move. But, in a day when more emotionally geared worship seems to be desired (and I for one do enjoy these type services), we must still be open to the formal type worship setting because this may speak to others differently. We must understand, before criticizing, that the church is made up of different cultures and generations. The idea is that we should put Ephesians 4:2-3 into practice, where Paul encourages the church at Ephesus to "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

People Worship Differently

Younger generations—those that prefer interacting and learning something "hands-on" rather than through lecture or linear instruction—often find it easy to criticize liturgical and formal styles of worship. I'd like to suggest, though, that these forms of worship can be just as meaningful and impactful for the elder generations as our more kinesthetic worship styles are for us.

Elder generations were raised in an entirely different culture. For them, there is a clear distinction between the professional and the layman. Be it though it may, this mentality is brought into the worship setting. This means that this generation feels at ease and comfortable being told what to do. They enjoy receiving instructions and following them because it lets them relax and enjoy the experience, knowing that someone with more education or skill is guiding the situation. To step outside of this is quite distracting for them, and so experiencing more kinesthetic styles of worship can actually be quite disorienting and stressful for them because they do not feel comfortable guiding themselves through the worship experience.

Granted, often we criticize because, to us, their form of worship seems dreary and dead. But when you're tempted to blame their lack of expression or zeal on their style of worship, I challenge you to consider two things:

1. At some time or place, their form of worship was the most zealous and passionate of all. If it is that way no longer, it is not because of the style, but because of the people.
2. People are good at looking like what they know they're supposed to. Even worship services that are highly kinesthetic and expressive from an outward appearance can still be filled with people who are not genuinely worshipping, but are only looking like it because they've been trained to do so by that particular church "culture."

Following is an article written by a Catholic on this subject. Do you agree or disagree with him? Post your interaction in the comments.

http://www.ancient-future.net/dead.html