Biblical Views On Modern Church Services
July 10, 2010 by rob
Filed under Articles, Open Thoughts
Biblical Views On Modern Church Services
(Or Modern Views on Biblical Church Services)
By Robert Lewis
I. Introduction
So I walk in the church, it’s a Sunday morning, I take out my Hip-Hop blaring earphones and turn off the music. I’m greeted by two young women smiling uncontrollably and shown the way to the seating area, I don’t know their names, nor do I see them again.
During the service a middle class woman is talking about what’s going on today, after a few minutes she invites the band up to play their take on the latest pop worship song, everyone jumps in to singing. I stand so as to not look out of place, and sing along, I agree with the words but haven’t felt like bursting into song since that party 2 weeks ago.
After service, I grab a biscuit and sit down, a few attempts are made at conversation, and then I leave.
This is a typical setup for a modern church. It is not to say that I cannot get anything out of a service like this, God can, and will, use anything to get himself glory. But I feel we are only scratching the surface, and can go a lot deeper with the time we have together.
So I want to put under the light the way we put on a Sunday service in a multi-cultural, fast paced city like London. It is my desire to know and understand what is the most beneficial way for the Church to meet, to understand why we do the things we do and considering all these aspects of a big part of my life were unknown to me 3 years ago, I wasn’t accustomed to the tradition of church services And am quite taken aback at some of the things we do as a church, with no thought to why. So I want to know where we have the freedom to add & take away and find the most effective way to meet.
Seeing, during this time, there are probably thousands of ways to conduct church meetings, especially in London…
- Why is that, shouldn’t we all be doing the same thing?
- Shouldn’t we have the same practices considering we are all in the same area, during the same time period, serving the same God?
- Doesn’t the Bible tell us exactly what to do?
Questions like these need to be addressed to understand why we do what we do.
Coming from the point of view that the church is God’s prized possession, he must have an opinion on what we should be doing when we meet & why, and on what is acceptable & what isn’t.
II. Biblical Views on Formal Meetings
There are two distinctive views on how to conduct church in a Biblical way, the Regulative & Normative Principles.
The Regulative Principle is the idea that only what the Bible explicitly states may be included in a worship service, and everything else is prohibited. This view is commonly held by Calvinists, Anabaptists, Presbyterian and other Reformed churches
The Normative principle is the idea that anything is permissible in worship service, as long as it is not prohibited by scripture. This view most widely used by Anglican churches.
My first thought was to side with The Normative principle, but after only a small amount of thought & study, I came to the conclusion that having so much freedom could make it very easy to have a worship service and not actually do what God asks. We could have a whole service without doing anything constructive or working in people’s lives & stand on that Biblically. I believe it has more to do with an aim to do what we want rather than what God wants.
But I do believe we have freedom to do more than just what the Bible says & no more. Because the Bible doesn’t actually give us a many details on what a service should look like. It gives us the principles of what we are trying to achieve, and what we should be doing, but not how.
We cannot look to 1 Cor to tell us how long the sermon should be, or Ephesians 4 to find out if we should use a projector or not.
This is where it gets complicated. How do we do these things that God asks of us? The Bible doesn’t talk much on technology & time schedules.
Orthodox Christians see the Bible as the final authority on all things, being one of God’s direct communications with us about what he wants to say, it makes sense to start there before we go anywhere else.
So before looking at the elements of organized meetings, I would like to make a quick point.
I want to make it clear that we should be meeting together. We do not become a church when “2 or 3 are gathered in Jesus name” [1]; It is un-biblical, and we are called to organized meetings. Looking at that verse in context, it is clear that Jesus says that the two or three should “take their case to the church” if the offending person doesn’t repent. But if two or three people are the church, then this text becomes incoherent; so two or three cannot be the church. They are simply a part of it.
So back to organized meetings. The NLT says not to “neglect” meeting together [2] & the KJV says not to “forsake” the assembling. But why? If we back track just one verse we get – “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds”. Coming together is a common theme throughout the whole bible. One of the main reasons for meeting together is to help each other mature & grow. This can really only be done face to face, as then it is easier to open up to someone, and then get needs met.
1 Cor 14:26 – 33 – “What shall we say, Brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue of interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church….”
Church is a place to use (not just speak about) the gifts of the spirit. Worship meetings should have space for sharing testimonies & prayer requests and directly praying for miracles and healing and for God’s will to be made known.
When Paul talked about the most important gifts[3], he said prophesy was the most useful in a formal meeting because it strengthens the whole church.
We can all bring something to the table when coming to church; the people leadership are not the only ones who have the ability to hear from God.
But let it be in order, if someone is speaking, let them finish, it’s important that you can listen, as well as trying to get ones point in. (So all may be instructed & encouraged [4])
There are great ways to strengthen the church without preaching! The previous passage doesn’t even mention preaching; now isn’t that interesting…
III. Teaching Methods
A preach nowadays is basically a spiritualized lecture, but lectures are not the only way to teach.
Research has shown that students prefer lectures when parts set aside for discussion.[5]
“The findings of a study by de Caprariis, Barman, & Magee (2001) suggest that lecture leads to the ability to recall facts, but discussion produces higher level comprehension. Further, research on group-oriented discussion methods has shown that team learning and student-led discussions not only produce favorable student performance outcomes, but also foster greater participation, self confidence and leadership ability”
Many prefer to have an active learning environment, where they feel free to ask questions.
This can become a distraction, so having set time for discussion is best.
Church could even have times where you split the group into smaller groups of 3/5/10, with a mature christian/leader in that group (to make sure things are being structured & directed) to discuss the topic & then share their thoughts. Or make use of time after service or mid week for this.
On top of breaking the information down into more manageable sizes, well managed times of discussion can improve confidence to share thoughts to others, to understand different aspects of the topic and fosters relationships between the group members.
IV. Worship & Music
There are many different styles of worship, but when most people say “worship”, they think congregational singing. If the church was singing like the band at the front, then I would call that congregational singing. Unfortunately that is not the case. We can lead people into worship without leading people into singing. We need to rely on the Spirit to prompt us when to sing and when not to. But to many times, we force ourselves to, when we don’t need to.
We have to ask the question, do I actually want to sing to God. Now before you answer, let me give you an example. I went away to visit a friend at university recently. At 7 o’clock in the morning there was a prayer meeting. My friend came to my room and woke me up, and sleepy eyed I walked towards the building. Straight after a cup of tea we were asked to stand and worship, during this time most people stood up to sing. I stayed sitting down, not singing.
After the meeting I was questioned by my friend as to why I wasn’t worshiping, I replied that I was. “So why was you not singing?” came the reply. “Listen” I said “I have only just woken up, I’ve hardly said two words to you this morning and I’ve known you for years, that doesn’t reflect our relationship. It’s 7:30 in the morning, I just don’t feel like bursting into song”
We have to realize that worship is more than songs, it is a state of heart. Tradition has it that we have a few songs at the beginning of service. But if the Spirit isn’t leading you into singing, it’s OK. What God wants is a heart that is giving him thanks & praise. As long as that is the main focus of the heart, we can worship God through music, dance, songs, psalms and prayers. Psalm 150 talks about giving him praise with all kinds instruments, but without singing, even music jams can be congregational worship.
But music and songs have been one of the most used ways to communicate something in the Bible & in life. Looking at songs such as Moses’ song in Exodus 32 just highlights the point of singing to the congregation.
You are also more likely to remember a song than recite a verse word for word. Unless someone is a really good speaker, music can stir up so much more emotion & atmosphere.
These things are being caught on by teachers even; in some schools staff have been using background music to set the atmosphere, and songs to help children learn.
We also have to look at our church members:
- Are they mostly male or female?
- How old are they?
- What sub-culture are they from?
Personally, for someone that listens to hip hop and drum & bass, indie rock music is not exactly
the first thing I would choose to listen to. Only last week I was invited to see Hillsong, I said I
would go because I wanted to hang out with the people inviting me, but that I didn’t really enjoy
the music…which was then followed by an awkward silence & weird looks all round.
I went to a seminar for urban Christian musicians once, attended by mostly young men, a few young women & some older members of the urban music industry. Held in a bar/music venue, people felt comfortable.
If you are trying to reach street gangs or punks, they do not want to sit in Starbucks & sing a love song to the sweet plucking of guitars.
But during the worship time, something interesting happened; a DJ got up and started playing Drum & Bass. Now there is something I can dance to! Worship is something as that we should do naturally. And naturally for me I can personally praise God to a faster tempo.
Everything, the venue, the genre of music, the way we present ourselves, should reflect our personality. If not, we are putting on a show, and that could only mean people will not get to know our true selves.
V. Culture in London
Considering all this in London, how can we tailor or meetings to reflect our culture?
I think now, that in a culture like London, if you don’t grab people’s attention from the get go, they will not be interested. You only have to look at the nearest bus stop or Post Office to see how impatient we are. Video website YouTube, have close to 100 million viewers a day! And nearly all of the videos are less than 10 minutes long.
I believe that we should really consider how much time is being spent on preaching, and then we can have a lot more time to spend on the other aspects of church (gasp! – Yes there are other important aspects to church other than preaching & singing!)
After service, leave it a few hours, then ask around and see how many people remember the bulk of your sermon. David Murrow, founder of Church for Men says “Instead of making 3 points 1 time each, make 1 point 3 times.”
Sometimes a slow atmosphere can be boring. The slower & more serene something is does not make it holier. Taking chances and shortening parts of service may just pay off.
Repetitive teaching is a good way to learn. Having everything under one theme, like having your preach tie in to a small group or weekly reading will have a great effect on learning.
Or having a weekly email can be a good way to remind people what they learned. You can include notes, videos and resources. You can now show your whole church your notes & references for those that want to dig in more!
This brings me on to technology and how it can be used in church.
In the past few years, we have so much more access to information than ever before, and we need to adapt and adopt if we want to keep up.
Things are now readily available and free: Email, Mp3, YouTube, Blogs and Skype.
Now we can pass on information so much easier than ever before that there is no excuse not to.
The famous preacher Charles Spurgeon was reported to have preached to over 10,000 people in a Sunday service & Jesus preached on mountainsides to the multitudes. Now imagine that without a PA system! Just this alone should be enough to give thanks for technology, but it shouldn’t stop there.
It used to be that Sunday was the only time a person could hear a preacher and read the Bible . But now the congregation can hear your sermon all day long, on the train, at work, at home, etc. We can use videos to show updates of ministries being supported.
Technology has a big part to play in church, and will continue to become more important.
This isn’t even looking into the missionary side of technology, but just for the congregation.
Because I believe we are not meant to be seeker sensitive or visitor friendly on Sunday..
The Sunday service is primarily for believers, thinking too much about how non-Christians perceive us is not constructive.
This should be the last thing on the leaders mind. Sunday service is for God, it is (or should be) a time of openness, confession & worship. Non-Believers have no part in this; not to say they should be excluded or banned, but their presence doesn’t have to dictate how we act. But even so, it always will.
Missionary Brandon Munoz, talking about when he first planted his church, once said “Due to my insecurity, during a Sunday service, if a visitor used to arrive I would automatically tweak my sermon to make it more applicable to that one person”
I am proactive in inviting visitors to church, but Sunday service is not the best part of church for them to visit. Focusing solely on getting people in will only neglect the reason we meet in the first place.
When we do have visitors maybe we should rethink how we treat them. London is a lonely place despite the hustle & bustle. For nearly 40 years, London has ranked No. 1 as the loneliest city in the UK [6] and the church needs to do something about it.
God’s Church is about real relationships. We need to make this a priority again, but unfortunately, it can get sidelined unintentionally. Obviously the pastor or leaders can’t talk to everyone at once; people in church need to start picking up their responsibility in an authentic Spirit leading way.
People can tell if someone is putting on a face or acting out of obligation, this is a big turn off.
Instead of ushers, maybe we should have guides, someone who would volunteer to befriend that person during that visit. If a regular member of the church went to a visitor and spoke to that person, in a friendly and sincere way that would leave a much more lasting impression in that persons mind than 100 smiling ushers put together.
This also would be the first person they would speak to when they come back; no one likes feeling out of place with nobody to talk to.
VI. Conclusion
Remember, we are called to organized meetings; during all the planning and chaos of directing church culture, we need to have structure in what we do for things to move forward. Having no structure all the time is unsettling. People need a stable environment to grow.
We just get to define that structure.
With a city like London, as well as it being huge is really diverse, there is definitely a need different churches to tailor to different people groups if we are to build real relationships, only then we can open up to each other, and start making some real headway in lives.
I call out to leaders to really scrutinize their work, and see how well our methods work, remember Einstein said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
We need to look at what we are trying to accomplish before we start to plan, in prayer, choosing the best methods to reach outwards to the community & inwards towards the church. In London things are always evolving, so also, the church should be. When the Church is out of touch with the rest of the community, there is a problem.
And for the congregation, let your leaders know what’s going on; how can they expect to change if they are oblivious…or do we have to resort to forms. Constant openness can only help them lead you well.
Above all, every plan should be Holy Spirit lead. Whether God speaks to you in a dream or through the Bible, that is the best option. These are only a few thoughts to provoke you into putting forward your prayers to Jesus about what to do when we meet.
“…Sometimes people say “Here is something new!” But actually it is old;nothing is ever truly new…”
[1] Mat 18:20
[2] Hebrews 10:25
[3] 1 Corinthians 14
[4] 1 Cor 14:31
[5] Perkins & Saris, 2001; Yoder & Hochevar, 2005, pg 6 paragraph 3