Why and How to Worship

Worshipping

Worship is an integral part of our relationship with God and Yeshua. John 4:24 (CJB): conveys: “God is spirit, and worshippers must worship him spiritually and truly.” Today, I would like to discuss why and how we worship. We will examine whether there is a best method of worship and how to reach people for Yeshua. Again and again, we constantly face format issues when it comes to worshipping. Is my goal to set a uniform method of worship? Of course not. However, worship is important in terms of our relationship with Yeshua. I do not believe there is a one-size-fits-all approach to worshipping.

Who, What, When, Where, Why, & How

Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship by Thomas G. Long, speaks to the issue a lot of churches and places of worship struggle with and are plagued with. The question of: “How should we worship?” is experienced by all places of worship. Questions that arose for me as I read the book included: 1) Is there a right way and wrong way to worship? 2) Can change be detrimental? 3) If we change the worship service format, will we lose parishioners and/or seekers of Yeshua?

Relationship Matters

Being lost in God’s wonder, love, and praise is advanced by Long over format. Similarly, Romans 12:1-2 states: “I exhort you, therefore, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer yourselves as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please Him.” Many churches Long relates go to great lengths to be inclusive in many instances but often fail at pleasing everyone. I contend that it does not matter how we worship God, just that we do!

Necessity

However, the reality of changing to meet the community’s needs is vital to the life of the church. As the world around us is constantly in flux, so places of worship must evolve too. The struggle with having a traditional service and a contemporary service is experienced by some churches within the body of Christ Long opines. Using the terms traditional and contemporary worship service is at times problematic.

Long Methods of Worship

Today, through the lenses of Long, we will look at three distinct approaches to worship. Singing and worshipping in one voice is described as the “Hippolytus force” by Long whereas the “Willow Creek force” is described as the seeker-oriented church. Reaching everyone became a goal of the Willow Creek force. Both the Hippolytus force and the Willow Creek force ended up at odds with one another and ended up on the battlefield. Long relates that: they both missed the mark. Long continued his search and arrived at a third approach to worship. Long’s third search for a church that could meet everyone’s needs is referred to as “Vital and Faithful Churches.”

Summing Up Long

One concludes from Long that while the Vital and Faithful churches are not perfect, they provide a good service for both the seeker and the believer, albeit not necessarily reaching 100% satisfaction. Churches must provide a ministry that includes all people. The minister must empower both seekers and believers to be a vital part of the worship service and render their talents for the glory of God. The focus must be on God.

Self-Examination

Many churches are dying out. Near-empty churches are prevalent in my town and across the land. However, there are some Mega churches in my town as well as within the nation. How do churches reach the place of being vital and faithful? Is there a healthy median? If so, how can the church reach it? After reading Long’s book, I had some lingering questions: Is my church vital and faithful? How can one tell? Do the numbers in the pews reflect whether a church is vital and faithful? Not necessarily, as we have seen, God is more concerned with our having a relationship with Him.

Inclusiveness

The church must make every effort to involve and engage everyone in some aspects of the ministry. However, that does not mean giving an ultimatum, but rather providing an opportunity for people to come to Yeshua, serve, and worship Him. When the body of Yeshua unites in mind, body, and spirit, we can achieve the goal. We should strive to be on “one” accord.

Forward Ever

As “one” in mind, body, and spirit we should work to achieve and inspire our church to be vital and faithful. Rendering our talents as part of the church service will aid in reaching the goal. This participatory approach could help in the quest to be a vital and faithful church. We should reach in while reaching out.  It is essential for the life of the church.