http://www.reformedworship.org/magazine/article.cfm?article_id=1221&id=68
"Authentic worship" is one of the buzz phrases of the emerging church movement. Tired of churches that seem dead, like the congregants are just going through the motions, people of the emerging culture are looking for something true, for something real, for something authentic. (They often achieve authenticity with props and staging, but I'll go into that in greater detail in my upcoming review of Dan Kimball's book on the Emerging Church.)
So my interest was piqued when, in my study on justice, I came across this article, in a Reformed magazine no less. The author addresses what Biblically authentic worship is. It doesn't have anything to do with incense and stained glass as the Catholics and Emergents might propose, nor does it focus on the congregational reading of creeds or worship taking place in a specific order as many Reformed churches hold. Rather, the only Biblically mandated marker for authentic worship is justice. Yuppers, that's what I said. The J word. And you know what, I think Nicholas might be right on the money on this one.
What follows are the thesis paragraphs from the article:
"Everybody believes that some worship lacks authenticity. Some people believe that the use of set prayers deprives worship of authenticity; the prayers must be prayers that the Spirit leads us to pray spontaneously. Some believe that having an ordained woman lead the service deprives the worship of authenticity. Some believe that the minister’s failure to hold certain theological views deprives it of authenticity. Some believe that worship without “enthusiasm” is deprived of authenticity. And so forth. Perhaps some of these views about the conditions of authenticity are implied by Scripture; none is explicitly taught there.
Scripture does explicitly teach that if worshipers fail to practice justice in their everyday lives, then their worship lacks authenticity. What I mean by worship lacking authenticity is that God finds it offensive."
Woa, Nelly! The man doesn't pull any punches, does he?
I would think, if they were going for "authentic" in the sense of emulating the early worshippers, then they would stop the megachurch movement, get away from even going to a separate church site entirely. Believers met in one another's home and kept things small, intimate and personal.
ReplyDeletethat's exactly why house churches often get lumped into the emergent group, even if they don't agree with emergents philosophically or (non)doctrinally.
ReplyDeletebut this is america and americans like to do things on a grand scale, so my impression is that there are also big churches going emergent, but they hang sheets up and make smaller spaces to make things feel smaller and closer. dorks *cough* um, most of the ones doing this are coming out of the seeker sensitive movement and have a hard time not thinking on a grand scale.
I have to take a stronger view of today's church than the article presented. I get the sense that a majority of "worshippers" today feel that as long as they pay tithes and go to church they are meeting all requirements. The justice that God wants is forgotten as they drive past the poor and needy to worship in grand temples and, in actuality,lift themselves up by worship. (I actually believe that in a lot of siyuations, folks really worship the worship, rather than God, but that's another sermon.
ReplyDeleteIn the modern day teaching of the gospel of grace, christians are being taught that justice to the needy isn't necessary any more, we are saved and therefore have no responsibilities; they are resting on Jesus. Judgement still awaits. Charles
i think that's exactly right, though I hadn't thought of it in those terms before.
ReplyDelete... let me know when you write that sermon. i'd be very interested in reading it.