Liturgy
Forms and practices are significant when we meet as God’s people to worship Him. Everything must be done decently and in order. (1 Cor. 14:40) However, God has been vague (painfully so) in His Word regarding what that “order” actually looks like. How many songs do we sing and when do we sing them? What words should we use when we pray? When and how often should we celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Christians throughout history have argued about and divided over such issues, claiming to offer a liturgy that was truly biblical.
Of course, church splits are not always wrong, as some of the biblical truths and doctrines we treasure most were purified through the fires of conflict. However, there is no “liturgical perfectionism” we can achieve that will ever make our worship more acceptable to God than it already is in Jesus Christ. The sad fruit of this idolatrous mentality is churches that have a form of godliness but lack true spiritual power.
Our goal is to do in faith what magnifies God’s glory in Christ most effectively and scripturally. We can and should use biblical elements and proportions in corporate worship. But liturgies should serve us, not rule us. Since God has seen fit to allow freedom in form, so should we.
Biblical Knowledge
I hesitate to include “biblical knowledge” as a potential idol. The reason I do is that we can wrongly pursue a knowledge of doctrine that is distinct from a knowledge of God Himself. We have to acknowledge this possibility or we easily fall into the error of the Pharisees, who took more pride in their “rightness” than in their relationship with God. We too can be more impressed with the accurate theology in our songs than the fact that God has shown us mercy in Jesus Christ.
Doctrine and theology, humbly studied and applied, always lead us to fear, love and worship God more, not less. For that reason, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for pursuing a knowledge of Scripture that didn’t lead to Him. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5.39-40″>John 5:39-40, ESV)
As we grow in our understanding of and love for God’s Word, it should always produce a corresponding humility and godliness in us. How tragic that those who defend certain ways of worshipping God most vocally often disgregard the humility God esteems most highly. (Is. 66:2)
Biblical Ignorance
On the other side of the coin, we can exalt our ignorance of Scripture as we worship God, claiming that “words get in the way of worship.” At some point in the future, I plan to share on the primacy of God’s Word in our worship. For now, it’s enough to say that when we don’t intentionally value God’s Word as the controlling influence and primary substance of our worship, other authorities rush in to fill its place.
We are not more spiritual, nor closer to God, nor more mature, if we think we don’t need words to communicate with God. God has always placed His Word at the center of our communion with Him, whether that be through song, prayer or preaching. Through God’s Word, we best come to know Who He is, who we are and how we are to relate to Him.
Musical Excellence
Offering God our best has biblical precedent. (Ex. 23:19; Num 18:29-30) In today’s culture, that “best” is often defined as music marked by skill, complexity or even sophistication. So four-part harmonies edge out unison melodies, orchestras trump upright pianos and full bands with choirs replace solo guitarists. We become more concerned with making corporate worship bigger, better and more involved. We balk at the thought of someone without extensive musical training and study leading congregational worship. In the process, we lose sight of what makes our offering acceptable in the first place.
Reggie Kidd, in his book With One Voice, pinpoints the problem:
In some churches ,the quest for “excellence” is an idol, regardless of whether “excellence” is defined by standards of so-called “classical” culture or of pop culture. Such “excellentism” needs to be replaced with the quest to pursue the likeness of Christ crucified and him alone. As good as it gets this side of Christ’s return, we’re never going to get it completely right. There will always be a flat tenor, a broken guitar string, an overly loud organ or a poorly placed hymn. But it’s OK. The cross means it’s covered. (p. 101-102)
Does that mean we don’t need to be concerned about how we play, whether we’re in tune or what songs we use? Of course not. God commends musical excellence (Ps. 33:3; 1 Chron. 15:22; 2 Chron. 30:21-22). Years ago, my degree in piano performance taught me (painfully) something about the value of musical skill and excellence. But in congregational worship, excellence has a purpose—to focus people’s attention on God’s wondrous acts and attributes.
In corporate worship then, excellence has more to do with issues of edification and encouragement than simple musical standards. Pursuing excellence wisely means continuing to grow in my skill so that I won’t distract those I’m seeking to serve. It means I might play fewer notes to allow more space for people to hear the words.
It means I may have to sacrifice my ideas of musical “excellence” to make the truth more musically accessible to my congregation. It means I might not play at all sometimes so that the congregation can hear their own voices clearly ringing out in praise to God. Musical excellence, defined rightly, is a worthy pursuit. But like all idols, it makes a terrible god.
