Oh boy. Sometimes I forget that even though we all serve the same Lord, as Christians we don't always use the same words interchangeably. Beth specifically has asked for clarification of what my understanding of "worship" is. And she's right to ask because our respective understandings of what constitutes worship are informed by our different faith traditions.
Beth describes her understanding of worship thus: "...worship isn't about us...at all - it's only about giving thanks and praise to Him. It is due Him simply because of who He is. It is not about receiving anything other than being received into His presence."
In this model of worship (as I understand it) the purpose of worship is for the worshipper to bring praise and thanksgiving to God for who He is. A Lutheran would whole-heartedly agree that our God is worthy of honour and praise and that in all places and at all times it is appropriate to do so. Where we differ is that a Lutheran understands the worship service itself not primarily as a vehicle for us to give (our praise and worship) but as a vehicle for us to receive (God's gifts of forgiveness and salvation, by way of Word and Sacrament).
Here is how our hymnal Lutheran Worship describes it:
"Our Lord speaks and we listen. His Word bestows what it says. Faith that is born from what is heard acknowledges the gifts received with eager thankfulness and praise. ...Saying back to Him what He has said to us, we repeat what is most true and sure. ...The rhythm of our worship is from Him to us, and then from us back to Him. He gives His gifts, and together we receive and extol them. We build one another up as we speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."
The reason for this kind of an understanding is simple. We believe and teach that in establishing a faith relationship with the Father, God always acts first. Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
In fact we deny that man, spiritually dead in His trespasses, even has the capacity to choose Christ, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. This is important here - it's kind of the key to understanding all of Lutheran theology. We believe and teach that:
--> We are saved by grace (alone)
-->and we receive grace through faith (in Christ alone)
-->and that faith, which receives saving grace, is not of ourselves, but is itself a gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
In a nutshell,
God does it all. It's not surprising then, that our worship practises should reflect that understanding. Historically, the phrase used to describe Lutheran worship is "Divine Service". This helps us understand the rhythm of worship—that it is first and foremost God serving us with His gifts, and then our service to Almighty God in thanksgiving and praise for all He has done.T his rhythm of God giving His gifts and our giving Him thanks is conveyed aptly in the term, Divine Service.
This pattern of worship is not new, nor is it unique. The early Christians used this pattern as well:
Acts 2:42 42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine (the Word of the Lord) and fellowship, in the breaking of bread (the Sacrament), and in prayers."
I need to clarify a couple of other things as well to address Sara's comments:
It should be noted that Lutheran churches have a adopted a wide variety of worship styles - some are quite contemporary, others are traditional. In Nicaraugua they worship under wooden pavillions, singing hymns accompanied by a guitar. In Nigeria they worship in the open air and their worship music has a distinct African flavour.
This is from the LCMS website: "The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod believes that God's Word never changes, and that the church has no right to change anything clearly taught in or commanded by God's Word. At the same time, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod believes that the church has no right to make absolute commands that are not contained in Scripture. Where Scripture does not clearly speak, there must be freedom and room for change. Other issues, of course (such as varying sensitivities to change within the congregation, appropriate decorum in worship, the desire to avoid either giving or taking offense unnecessarily) must always be taken into account when a congregation is considering changes that are in the realm of Christian freedom. Since the Bible says nothing about "ushers" (as an example), the LCMS has never made any rules or requirements in this regard. Many congregational traditions have changed in the LCMS over the years for various reasons (such as women sitting on one side of the church and men on the other), but the LCMS is absolutely committed to changing nothing that is clearly taught in God's Word."
Me now: I'm not opposed to allowing contemporary worship, nor do I consider it less "valid" than other forms. I do question the wisdom of offering multiple worship styles in a single church if it's done in an attempt to cater to spiritual immaturity. I'll give you an example: my in-laws attend a church that has a "worship cafe". It's a VERY informal worship service that includes coffee and round-table discussions. My in-laws don't attend that venue themselves, but they speak enthusiastically about it: "it really brings in the twenty-somethings!" I personally think it's unfortunate that the twenty-somethings don't have the spiritual depth to be able to receive God's gifts and give him praise unless their surroundings are tailored exactly to their liking. I may have a
preference for a traditional worship style, but that doesn't mean that I can't worship outside of those circumstances. Like the author, I think that offering cafeteria-style worship services actually stunts our spiritual growth because it encourages us to fulfill our own desires first.
I know this is a touchy area. The "worship wars" have raged long before I decided to step in to the fray and have been argued eloquently - on both sides - by minds much greater than my own. But for what it's worth, the objections I have are held out of love and concern for my Brother. Above all, I long for the the day when we will worship as one - Pentecostal beside Lutheran! - before the throne of the Lord.
