(See Part I here)
I’ve been suggesting that the modern worship leader is
set up in a number of ways to function in a mediatory role. As I don’t dismiss
the concept of mediation in the Christian life, I am willing to consider this
as a biblically sound possibility. But I think I need to back up. Before we consider
how the worship leader “leads,” what is it that they are “leading?” What is
worship?
I know there are shelves of books written on this. And I
could easily get sidetracked with all the fascinating information and opinion
out there. But in broad brushstrokes, this is what I see happening in the
Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. [Full disclosure: I am writing this in the
midst of the everyday mess of life with 2 preschoolers, so you may not see as
many direct Scripture references as I would ideally like to support my
arguments with! That said, I am aiming to be wholly biblical. If something
piques your curiosity, look it up for yourself!]
The ACTION of
Worship: Position and Proclamation
What we generally consider “worship” has two dynamics at
play, best expressed in by the two words “worship” and “praise.” There is
definitely some overlap here, but the concepts are distinct enough biblically
to treat them separately.
1. Worship – Right Position Before God
“To worship” in biblical language is usually associated
with someone bowing or falling down before someone who is greater, in
acknowledgement of their greatness, in supplication, or in praise. (In the New
Testament, the Greek word is proskyneo.) It’s a verb. It’s a physical
expression, though often accompanied by some form of speech. It’s essentially a
position.
In worshiping God we position ourselves rightly before
Him. It’s not just about our physical bodies, though they can and should be
used to express the reality of our hearts. In worship we fall on our faces
before God and acknowledge that He is the Creator and we are the creature. We
acknowledge our dependence, our submission, our absolute awe that He has
positioned us to receive His mercy. We can’t get a clear picture of God or
ourselves unless we’ve had that (figural, and sometimes literal) face on the
floor experience before Him. It’s only from this position that everything else
makes sense. It’s only from this position that we have anything worthwhile to
offer back to Him.
Worship is also closely tied to the idea of sacrifice.
What was Abraham on his way to do that dreadful day he went up the mountain
with his only son? Worship. What is the clearest New Testament description of the
Christian’s worship? To offer our bodies as living sacrifices. We look at how
Jesus laid his life down for us, and the only right and fitting thing to do is offer
our own lives in return.
Worship is the position of awestruck, wholehearted,
living sacrifice. It’s a whole life thing, not a Sunday morning thing. What our
mouths or hands express of this in a church service can go no deeper than our
hearts are willing to enact in everyday life.
2. Praise – Right Proclamation of God
Praise is a proclamation, made with word or deed, that commends and glorifies God. The Greek
verb aineo is used only 9 times in
the New Testament, mostly in Luke-Acts. The angels praise God at the
announcement of his birth, and the shepherds respond likewise as they leave the
scene of the manger. The lame man healed by Peter in Acts 3 praises God - walking
and leaping and praising God! The related
noun epainos pops up 12 times, and it means commendation or praise. Praise is
that which commends God. (I was rather surprised at the low frequency of the
word praise in the NT, but then again, as Christians we get to bring in the
whole exuberant tradition of Hebrew praise and psalmody, whose ultimate target
is the work of Christ, and whose epic climax we shall see later on in the book
of Revelation.)
When we praise God, we are usually making a verbal
declaration or expression of His character and deeds. While God is the object
of our praise, others within earshot are the subjects of praise. Sure, we can
praise God all by ourselves (sometimes it is our souls that need to hear the
truth again), but praise reaches its full intent when it has an audience. To
praise is to tell! And what more powerful means of telling than the
soul-gripping gift of music.
(Proclamation carries with it a certain weight of responsibility,
which we’ll look at later when we explore what it means to worship “in truth.”
I think praise can also fall into that category of
Spirit-inspired speech we see at work in Acts. “We hear them declaring the
wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11) Praise is one of the prophetic
speech-acts of the Spirit-baptized community. It is both an evidence of the
Spirit transformed life and a form of witness to the world at large.
So what we are actually doing when we come together for “corporate
worship” encompasses both of these concepts – placing ourselves in right
position before God, and making right proclamation of God’s wonders. This is
the core of whatever happens during “worship.” And this must be the basis for
understanding both the role of the worship leader/team and the congregation.
We’ll unwrap some of the implications of this for the
worship leader in another post…
Pentecostal
worship – a multifaceted sacrament
We’ve seen the core, and all the songs we sing and the
way we go about them must conform to this purpose. But one of the cool (and
potentially complicating?) things about Pentecostal worship is that there is
often so much more going on in the time of worship than congregational singing.
Woven in and around the music are other elements which contribute to the whole
sacramental experience of worship:
·
Songs of praise/worship
o Planned/formal
o Spontaneous
personal expressions
·
Scripture reading
·
Prayer
o All
kinds (adoration, supplication, confession, thanksgiving, intercession, dedication,
etc.)
o Corporate
(led by pastor or worship leader)
o Individual
(person-to-God, person-to-person, in the pews)
o Altar
call
o SIDE
NOTE: I think this aspect of Pentecostal worship accounts for much of the
repetition in songs that we like (or don’t!) to do. Repetition allows for the
words to move beyond praise/proclamation to be internalized in prayer. It’s
essentially a corporate form of biblical meditation. Repetition is one type of
meditation, and a way to open ourselves more fully to an encounter with God and
His Word to us. It is not mindless repetition (though to those unfamiliar with the
exercise, it surely can seem that way), but a movement into a musical realm of
meditation and prayer.
·
Prophesy
o Declaration/edification
for the body done by worship leader, pastor, or congregation member
·
Acts of response/dedication
o Physical
expressions of worship
o Altar
call
·
Spiritual Warfare
o Deliverance
o SIDE
NOTE: I’d love to hear what others think about the connection between worship
and spiritual warfare.
What other elements have you seen working in tandem with
worship?
In Pentecostal churches, worship is multifaceted. It’s often
a matrix for the operation of Spiritual gifts. It goes far beyond “setting the
mood.” At its best, it gives opportunity for the Spirit to move in ways very
particular to a congregation or situation.
With all of this in mind, the worship leader, especially
in the type of service I’m describing, does much more than lead songs.
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