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The
Glorification of God or the Indulgence of Self?
By
David G. Kuhtenia
July 17, 2000
The Issue
There are some aspects of corporate Pentecostal
worship that have bugged me ever since my days of Youth Camps.
For example, a worship service or an altar service starts out with real
wonder and appreciation for Jesus Christ. As
it continues, however, it seems that the focus shifts onto people trying to
ensure that their personal experience achieves some sort of experiential
threshold. For those who are
naturally more expressive, this may be making sure that they are louder and
rowdier than anyone else in the building. For
those who are less expressive, this may be making sure that they cry or at least
feel a smidgen of the supernatural. Ultimately,
as these decisions are made, the focus and momentum seems to switch from awe and
adoration to a “get my blessing” fix. I have observed on several occasions,
for example, that when the music stopped, there was an almost embarrassing
quiet that lasted until the next song cranked up and the action started again.
I wonder if this is what happened in the days of the Apostles?
So, what constitutes successful corporate worship¾Is it what I achieve personally, or is it something bigger than myself?
The Value of Corporate Worship
Without question, any one who has ever experienced
the move of the Holy Spirit would never doubt the power of worship when the
church comes together. This should
be no surprise as we are specifically directed to come together as a body of
believers (“And let us consider one
another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so
much the more, as ye see the day approaching” Hebrews 10:24-25), and to
worship together (“Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord” Colossians 3:16). Without
question, this experience of coming together and worshipping is one of the most
precious times of strengthening that we have. Each of us can undoubtedly recall
a period of low spiritual energy, or a trying time when our participation in a
Spirit-led worship service brought everything back into proper focus as the
Spirit washed over our most inward person.
For me, Sunday night altar services added immeasurable strength to my
spiritual walk during my undergraduate years at college.
It seems obvious then, that the overall object of
this worship time together should be to glorify and exalt the one who is “…called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). This is
clearly achieved in many ways, as demonstrated in many of the songs that we sing
(e.g. How Great Thou Art, Lift Your
Praises to the Lord, etc.).
Worship and Free Expression
One of the hallmarks of 20th century North
American Pentecostalism is the embracing of demonstrable worship.
This hallmark can so define us that it is often stated in a near-boastful
fashion, as in “We may seem sort of scary at first, but just stick around long
enough and you’ll realize that all we are doing is worshipping God with
complete freedom!” Indeed, over the years many a good saint has testified that
“You all were so very strange at first, but the Spirit was so strong here that
once I got over that hurdle I was able to truly find Jesus.”
If fact, this attribute of demonstrative worship
sometimes seems to take precedent over everything else.
Have you ever heard the admonition “I thought this was a Pentecostal
church! Let’s show the world that
we really love Jesus!”
The obvious implication, of course, is that the crowd should somehow
move, shake, or do something to show
that they are sincere worshipers. Such
encouragement is normally followed by a sufficiently danceable song, so that
those so inclined can get up and demonstrate that, yes indeed, they love Jesus
because (look!), they can prove it with their actions.
This mindset indicates that God must have a decibel meter or motion
detector that is used to judge the worthiness of our worship.
Not loud enough, or not enough kinetic energy out there?
Then it’s not good enough!
Free Expression and Limits
Clearly, there is scriptural precedent for downright
loud and seemingly crazy church services. The
description in Acts of “And suddenly
there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2) does not exactly describe a
little prim and proper meeting! In addition, the Old Testament provides principles such as “…
shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1) and “Sing
unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in
truth.” (Psalm 33:3-4).
Still, with every freedom, there always seem to be a
corresponding limit (or balance) that is consistent with the underlying
principle. For example, we are
instructed “But if any provide not for
his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and
is worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8). We are also told to “Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:19-20). A balance must clearly be struck in the freedom to choose our
vocations and provide for our families, but not to get caught up in materialism.
This concept of limits also seems to apply to our
worship. Consider one of the
principles stated in 1 Corinthians 14:12-26.
In the context of spiritual gifts, strict limits are placed on the use of
tongues and interpretations during a church service because “…if the whole
church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not
understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of
your mind? But if an unbeliever or
someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will
be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the
secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God,
exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a
hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All
of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians
14:23-26, NIV).
The underlying principle is clear¾we
must put aside our own self interest when coming together in order to strengthen
the church and accomplish a higher purpose.
Remember, the above passage is preceded by Paul saying “If
you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those
who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does
not know what you are saying? You
may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to
instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians
14:16-19, NIV).
So
then, our time of worship is not only for our own personal edification, but also
that the church is edified and sinners come to God.
Remember the result in the action of the early church: “Now
when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and
to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts
2:37). If we desire (and we should)
that our services be more “Apostolic,” perhaps one criterion should be,
“Did any of our guests ask this same question?”
If we spend more time explaining our style to our guests than what they
need to do to meet Jesus Christ one-on-one, then maybe we are not being
Apostolic after all.
Lawful, but Expedient?
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with praising God
and really letting go emotionally. The
case of the just-healed man “… leaping
up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and
leaping, and praising God” (Acts 3:8) is one example of this.
If you have been unable to walk since birth and God heals you, go for it!
Keep in mind, however, that some things are
permissible, but not always wise. ““Everything
is permissible”-- but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is
permissible"-- but not everything is constructive.
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others…So whether you
eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of
God-- even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my
own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians
10:23-24, 31-33, NIV)
Is there anything wrong if in letting go emotionally,
I become a distraction to the service such that the attention of visitors is
diverted and they miss the point and think we are out of our minds?
Scripture states, “Yes.” On
the other hand, is there anything wrong with sitting back and merely observing
as the Spirit moves across the congregation such that visitors see that it seems
to be okay to ignore the move of God in the congregation? Again, scripture
states, “Yes.”
Examine Our Motives
So what is appropriate when we come together and
worship as a body? While it would
obviously be ignorant to try and set up any sort of strict rules stating, “you
can do this, but not that” in the physical sense, we can still apply Biblical
principles to our worship:
·
Does this
song glorify God, or is it me-centered?
·
Is my
emotional/physical response to the Spirit edifying myself to the detriment of
the service, or is it following the leading of the Spirit in unity with my
fellow worshipers?
·
Am I
dragging down the service by not getting involved in the leading of the Spirit
because I am just too tired or disinterested at the moment?
·
Are
visitors routinely saying “Tell me more?” or “Are you all in your right
mind?”
·
Do we act
“Pentecostal” because we simply feel the need to exercise our freedom to do
so, or is this where the Spirit is leading the congregation?
While these are obviously crude approximations to the
aforementioned principles, they do
show that in everything we do, “He must
increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
If our physical style is just that, a style without
the underlying unity that brings glory to God and not ourselves, we may be
putting unnecessary barriers in the way of the very people that God was trying
to reach in our services. Surely,
if the Spirit moves the congregation in a certain direction, we must follow
it. On the other hand, if we try to
move the Spirit in our pre-determined definition of what good worship should
be, then little may actually be accomplished for the glory of God.
The Conclusion of the Matter
We are called to have an emotional and physical
freedom in our responsibility to worship God with all that is within us when we
come together as commanded. All of
our actions, however, must have the overall goal not of “What brings me the
most?” but rather, “What brings glory to Jesus Christ in the congregation
and shows this glory to those who do not know Him?”
As is best said by scripture - “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye
are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And
whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:15-17).
ninetyandnine.com
ã
2000, David G. Kuhtenia
--------
David
Kuhtenia is the North American Coordinator for Campus Ministry International
by evening, and is a way-too-frequent flying consulting engineer by day.
He, his wife Michelle, and their pooch Jasmine live in the Columbus, Ohio
area, where the grass grows longer with the extra attention you give to it,
demanding still more attention. This
may explain why Adam willfully bit off more than he could chew in the garden.
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