Values-Driven Worship

Values are the principles on which you cannot compromise

John Sproul

What is your favorite “flavor” of worship? Is it the intimacy of a softly-sung Vineyard song, or the familiarity of a good old Lutheran hymn out of TLH? Paint peeling guitars and the voice of Paul Baloche, or the intricacy of a Bach chorale? If we think of a worship style as a “flavor,” there are probably over a dozen distinct “flavors” of worship that are “consumed” every week in our Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Each of these “flavors” is actually a difference of style: A different feel, sound, structure, content, sight, and people, yet they are all still worship. All have more similarities than differences. Think about it in terms of ice cream, and you’ll get it: There may be 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robbins, but it’s still all ice cream, with common ingredients, temperatures, and (sadly) calories.

I’m asking you to think about your favorite “flavor” or style so I can introduce you to this concept: Though the styles of worship are different, they all originate from the same values. Values are non-negotiable beliefs and principles which support the vision and mission that God has given His Church.

Having been a Lutheran all my life and in renewal for the last ten years, I’ve formed values about worship which I’d like to share with you, with the prayer that this will make us better worshipers: People who are more eager to receive what God has to give in worship, and thus people who are able to respond to God with thanksgiving, praise, and a life of ever-growing sanctification.

Value 1: God’s Word is the only foundation upon which true worship is celebrated.

The word “true” is a vital word. Our Lord said “...true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth...” (John 4:23) There is much worship conducted in the world; most of it is false worship of a false god, or false worship of the true God. An example of the former is worship found in a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall, and the latter can occur when our tradition or heritage or culture becomes the foundation rather than God’s Word. We cannot base our reasons for doing what we do in worship on what our forefathers did, nor can we bend to every whim and current fad, nor can we rely on our intellects and emotions to worship in truth. Rather, we build with what the Lord has told us in Scripture. God’s Word is truth. (Jn. 17:17) It is the truth that sets us free to worship.

Value 2: We have a Sacramental understanding of worship, which involves the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper and the faith-bringing activity of the Holy Spirit in

baptism.

“Why do we have to have an altar?” “Why do you serve Holy Communion so often?” “Why do you baptize babies?” These three questions which I’m asked rather frequently are related to my very favorite thing about being a Lutheran: because God shows up in worship.

God shows up. Which is to say: We have a sacramental understanding of worship. When you receive the bread and wine/grape juice, God is really there; when you see an infant baptized, before your eyes God is doing the miracle of bringing the dead to life, of imparting saving faith. When you see the altar, no longer bloody and mounded with heaps of burning animal carcasses, (there’s an image I hope you don’t lose) you remember that the One Sacrifice once made is now risen and reigning and offering himself to you for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

Value 3: In worship, God is truly present with us and active among us; thus, as he is giving himself to us, we speak and sing TO him more than we do ABOUT him.

Try to imagine how excited you’d be about going to a football stadium to hear an announcer talk ABOUT a football game, instead of actually witnessing one. How about sitting down in a four-star restaurant to WATCH a video of a marvelous meal being consumed, while you sit there salivating. Sound appealing?

Thus, as the value states, “we speak and sing TO him more than we do ABOUT him.” Both ways of expressing ourselves are vital, of course. When we speak and sing ABOUT the Lord, we have a tremendous teaching opportunity; a relating of what He has done to bring us into a relationship with himself. But what the Lord most loves to do is show how what he’s done and is doing through the means of grace will have an impact on our “now” and our future, so we’ll use active verbs to describe his works and personal pronouns like “you” to testify to his actual presence among us.

Value 4: In worship, God acts and we react. He creates faith and also strengthens faith and we respond with praise, thanksgiving and humility.

I remember being on the playground, trying to stand in the middle of the teeter-totter. It was hard to keep my balance and not end up falling toward either extreme end. So it is today with churches with regards to this value. Some Christians define worship as entirely what we do for God. Other Christians, many of whom I share a denomination with, define worship as entirely what God does for/to us. These are extremes to avoid. One of the ministry skills I found toughest to learn after my formal education was the art of calling people to respond to what God has done; to have a reaction to his action. True: God moves among us first, with his grace, his Word and Sacraments; but then it’s our turn to, as Luther said, “pray, praise and give thanks.”

Value 5: Excellence and high quality is to characterize our worship; we seek to give God our best, and witness to all people through the value we place on our relationship with him.

Remember the meticulous detail the Lord gave Moses regarding the construction of the tabernacle, and to Solomon regarding the building of the temple? Remember skipping over all those sections that go on for pages about the sacrificial system and worship? Does God expect the best? Hmm? When the Lord calls for “the whole tithe” to be brought into his house (Malachi 4), He is speaking of the first and the best of all we are and have. Yet, we endure organists who should have retired years ago but who are members of the founding family, after all; we put up with PA systems that were state of the art when Kennedy was president and with messages that may well be true but are transforming no one because of their lack of vitality. Why? Doesn’t God deserve the best? When guests show up in your worship services, what does your excellence or lack thereof tell them about the value you place on your relationship with the Lord of the universe?

Value 6: We are called to participate, rather than spectate, in worship.

Churches that care about reaching out to guests are struggling today with two models. One counsels us to not put any pressure on the guest to sing or participate in any way, and so advocate a very “presentational” style of worship which features solos, few congregational songs, and the goal of “impacting” the worshiper rather than having him/ her “interact” with God.

The other model seeks to worship God in a way that is “sensitive” to the seeker yet is highly participatory, demonstrating what real worship is all about, so that the guest may have the 1 Cor. 14:25 experience of exclaiming: “God is really among you!”

I have found the latter model to be more effective in enabling guests to become conscious that something important is going on around them. After all, guests don’t come expecting to be entertained or impressed by us – face it, we can’t outdo Hollywood anyway. What they’re asking for is answers to life’s toughest questions and some kind of indication that God really is among us. As I lead worship in our congregation, I occasionally tell the assembly something to this effect: “It’s OK with us if you came here today to observe, to just check things out. You can be a spectator in worship; that’s fine. But I don’t think you’ll be able to be a spectator for long. Stick around and the God we worship is going to turn you into a participant.”

Value 7: We make a distinction between style and substance in worship. The style of worship may change according to the “heart language” of our culture; the substance of worship does not change, as God has ordained it in his Word. We show people that we value their “heart language” by offering many different styles of worship which will communicate the Gospel to their generation and culture.

We pause for a commercial: Log on, don’t walk, to order Dave Luecke’s new book “Apostolic Style and Lutheran Substance.” In our congregation, we celebrate worship in seven different styles during the course of a week, while maintaining and cultivating what we hold to be an orthodox Christian and Lutheran theology. One of the heroes of the faith we learned from is mentioned above. Do yourself a favor: learn the heart language of your people and worship with it in a biblical/Lutheran way, and use Luecke as one great resource as to how to do so.

Value 8: We seek to meet the worship needs of the next generation or people group which the Lord is bringing into our future.

It’s so tiresome to try to play “catch up” with the culture; however, it is exciting to anticipate how the Lord desires to impact the changes that are coming before they actually happen. We ought to be students of the generation now in grade school, so as to know how we might experience the timeless gospel in a way that will make their hearts throb for love of their Savior. Recently, the Lord convinced me that the last generation I’ll be effective with as a worship leader and musician is the group we know as “Gen X.” Past that, I’m selling my guitar and passing the torch. Are we asking the tough questions: How has God equipped and gifted me and for success with whom? And who is he calling to lead worship for the sake of the Vietnamese folks north of town or these little ones growing older?

Values are vital. They are the principles on which you cannot compromise and the foundations upon which you build. A major reason why our congregations are experiencing such challenge with regards to worship is a lack of clear values. Can you articulate the values God has given about worship? Is it time to try?

Rev. John Sproul

Director of Music and Worship

King of Kings Lutheran Church

17411 Y Street

Omaha NE 68135