Have we got worship wrong?
Christian worship is more than a religious activity, it's now its own industry! The below videos by Tom Wadsworth investigate the early history of Christian "church" Gatherings and how their manner of 'worship' relates to modern churches.
He lands on what he calls two undeniable facts:
#1 The Worship Anomaly
The NT does not use Greek 'worship' terminology to refer to the Christian assembly or to its activities.
#2 Church Gatherings are Commanded to be Edifying
Paul expressly directed: "When you come together...Let all things be done for edification." 1 Cor 14:16
This first video is an introduction to, or summary of, the following 7.
The 7 lectures in the series, "The Assembly: How We Got Worship Wrong".
My initial reflections on Tom's Videos:
There is a LOT in here, but some of the simple takeaways for me are below. I need to work it through a , "what's practical", framework, but this is what has stood out to me so far.
1. The issue isn't about "church" (gatherings) or "worship" (singing/music), but about the meaning we assume when using this language.
2. Jesus prophesied the end of 'building based religion'. So whatever our gatherings are, they mustn't "require" a permanent, purpose-built structure.
3. OT Worship and Pagan Worship all included Sacrifices, Altars, Priests and Temples ("holy/sacred places"). Jesus explicitly replaced all four himself. From Jesus onwards, sacrifices, altars, priests and temples are no longer necessary. In the worst case, revisiting any of these could tempt us to revert to OT or Pagan worship formats.
4. The weekly gatherings were primarily for edification. This was less vertical (worshipping God) and more horizontal (encouraging each other) than our modern gatherings.
5. Music + Singing were normal for gatherings, but also served the horizontal purposes (edification) more than vertical ones (OT worship was more vertical, less horizontal). e.g. A 'sacrifice of praise' (Hebrews 13.1-19) is more an encouragement to Christ-life living than a rousing worship moment.
6. Our gatherings should be less about worship and more to inspire worship during the week. Gatherings that produce "worshippers", not just include "worship". This doesn't mean we don't sing, but that when we sing (as with preaching, below in #7) we ensure that the outcome is courage in our hearts that Christ loves us, has set us free and calls us to a new way of living.
7. Sermons aren't a big deal in the NT. While teaching IS a big deal, sermons are a part of a tapestry of gifts and voices that together edify (put courage into) the church. This means to me that the primary focus of our "good or God" moment is to create an environment for the whole church to edify each other, and the "word of God" moment (sermon) is to make space for one of us to teach the church in such a way that we don't just "learn" something, but are truly edified. My heart is to do this, but I feel some of my content (and length!) may be inhibiting deeper edification.
8. If the focus for our worship/praise is edification, then the dynamic that is playing out with our youth is an absolute priority to consider. You've captured this so well and I think we should think/pray though it as much as we can. For instance, PRAISE, last week went off so well. It's not about just having "fun", but about being encouraged in our faith and the life that comes from it. In part, this relates to our size and culture. Many songs are written for auditoriums and full bands. We have grass/halls and bands of 2-3ppl. What songs can BEST edify our people in this environment? I think we already sense some of the songs accomplishing this best.
I will review this in more detail and consider some practical ways forward in the future, but anyone intrigued by the above is welcome to reach out and chat!