As the human body requires food and drink, exercise and rest, so the community of faith we call the church requires worship and service. The Christian gospel has, from the beginning, had a rhythm. You might say it IS a rhythm — the breathing in and breathing out of God's Spirit, the gathering and sending forth of the Christian assembly. The heart of the Christian life beats in the rhythms of prayer and work in the name of Christ. This ancient truth becomes flesh and blood in every generation and in ever-changing cultural circumstances. The dawning of a new century brings a fresh perspective on the character and quality of how and why we worship God.
The Christian assembly gathers week by week to hear, to sing, to pray the biblical Word, and to celebrate the Holy Meal. We do these things to bring our lives before God. The rhythms of worship and the rhythms of life intertwine over time. Christian worship forms us in the way of Christ and brings the deep things of life to expression.
How can Christian worship form us in the way of Christ in the light of the challenges of a new century? How can we worship "in spirit and in truth" in a world of so much rapid and perplexing change? What will be the church's "new song unto the Lord" in our time and place in history? For pastors and musicians and all who design, lead, and participate in public worship, wrestling with these questions is crucial to the integrity and vitality of Christian faith development and mission.
Worship leaders and designers should bear in mind the following four points:
- Christian worship has always been culturally embodied. In every age and social setting, people use language, music, gesture, movement, visible signs and symbols, space, and time as means of worshiping God. The nonverbal aspects of worship are as important as the verbal. Christian worship engages all our senses as we receive the arts, which touch the deepest parts of our lives. The arts express human emotion; and in our worship, the arts serve the main portions of the Christian assembly: praise, thanksgiving, confession, forgiveness, joy, Holy Meal, and compassion for the world. In this new century, we have a marvelous opportunity to use the arts of many cultures in our worship services. God created a wondrous diversity of humanity. No single cultural language — whether music, poetry, or dance — can exhaust the glory of God.
- Christian worship requires a deep social memory. If worship is to form us in faith, it must be deeply biblical; and it must link us to all who have gone before. What we sing and preach and pray connects us with the whole of creation, with the liberation of the children of Israel, and with all who love God. The essential elements of prayer, Scripture, proclaiming Christ, eating and drinking the Holy Meal in his name, giving and receiving, forgiving and being forgiven, seeking justice and mercy, and practicing hospitality and healing must be kept alive in the hearts and minds of worshipers. The memory of human suffering and pain must be kept, along with the dangerous memory of Jesus and the communion of saints. At the same time, the practice of remembering must find ways to express the memory in ways that connect with new generations.
- Christian worship must learn from the human heart. What is it in people's lives and experience that yearns for a blessing, for healing and holiness, for an end to oppression and hatred, for a sense of God's mercy and compassion? The Christian community cannot be simply shut in to itself — a spiritual ghetto of pleasant, like-minded people. Christ is crucified and risen in the midst of all of life. Worship invites us to this great gift and offers it freely. At the dawn of this new century, we are more aware than ever before of the suffering of the whole world and of great gifts of healing and joy that human beings have been given. Then let our worship be open to the whole range of human experience. Bring joy, gratitude, lamentation, sorrow, sheer delight, hope, and great compassion to worship. God looks upon the human heart in all its ranges, knowing the whole human family more deeply than we know ourselves.
- Christian worship forms us in, and gives us expression to, matters of justice and responsibility for our neighbors. Worship is both priestly and prophetic. Jesus reminded us that we see and serve him in the needs of our neighbors (Matthew 25:35-40). To worship in the new century in spirit and in truth, we must offer hospitality to the stranger and the outsider. As we worship, so we will become. In this new century, we are called to be strong, loving, and wise in both liturgy and service of neighbor. So let new songs and poetry, new forms of movement and gesture connect us with all whom the creating, redeeming God of our faith loves. The vitality and integrity of our worship leads to our truthful witness to the world in deed and word. Then let praying, preaching, and celebration of the gospel go deeply into life, unafraid of solidarity with all God's children, whoever they may be.
We turn with new eyes, ears, and hearts to the means of grace received from God in Christ. Our worship needs a new generation's gifts in sight, sound, movement, and caring. These must be wedded to the deep practices of authentic Christian tradition. Then all our senses, physical and spiritual, will be awakened to participate in what the Spirit is bringing to life among us and in the whole of creation. Let us be expectant and joyfully restless for the fullness of God's wonder, love, and praise.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- At what places in your worship does the Christ-like way intersect with the deepest longings and expressions of life?
- How can we worship in spirit and in truth in an age of such rapid and unsettling change?
- What will be your church's "new song unto the Lord" in the coming decades of the new century?
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