The Definition of Worship

Years ago, I read a definition of worship that to this day rings with clear and magnificent terms.(1) The definition comes from the famed archbishop William Temple:

"Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose—all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable."

The more I have thought of that definition, the more I am convinced that if worship is practiced with integrity in the community of God's people, potentially, worship may be the most powerful evangel for this postmodern culture of ours. It is imperative in planning the worship services that church leaders give careful attention to every element and make sure that the worship retains both integrity and purpose. People come to church generally "beaten down" by the world of deceit, distraction, and demand. There is an extraction of emotional and spiritual energy that brings them on "empty" into the community. The church's task is to so prepare during the week that it is collectively the instrument of replenishment and fresh energy of soul. Even being in the presence of fellow believers in worship is a restorer of spiritual hope. We so underestimate the power of a people in one mind and with one commitment. Even a prayer can so touch a hungry heart that it can rescue a sliding foot in a treacherous time.

A few years ago, two or three of my colleagues and I were in a country dominated for decades by Marxism. Before we began our meetings, we were invited to a dinner hosted by some common friends, all of whom were skeptics and, for all practical purposes, atheists. The evening was full of questions, posed principally by a notable theoretical physicist in the country. There were also others who represented different elements of power within that society. As the night wore on, we got the feeling that the questions had gone on long enough and that we were possibly going in circles.

At that point, I asked if we could have a word of prayer with them, for them, and for the country before we bade them good-bye. There was a silence of consternation, an obvious hesitancy, and then one said, "Of course." We did just that—we prayed. In this large dining room of historic import to them, with all the memories of secular power plastered within those walls, the prayer brought a sobering silence that we were all in the presence of someone greater than us. When we finished, every eye was moist and nothing was said. They hugged us and thanked us, with emotion written all over their faces. The next day when we met them, one of them said to me, "We did not go back to our rooms last night till it was early morning. In fact, I stayed in my hotel lobby most of the night talking further. Then I went back to my room and gave my life to Jesus Christ."

I firmly believe that it was the prayer that gave them a hint of the taste of what worship is all about. Their hearts had never experienced it.

Over the years I have discovered that praying with people can sometimes do more for them than preaching to them. Prayer draws the heart away from one's own dependence to leaning on the sovereign God. The burden is often lifted instantly. Prayer is only one aspect of worship, but one that is greatly neglected in the face of people who would be shocked to hear what prayer sounds like when the one praying knows how to touch the heart of God. To a person in need, pat answers don't change the mind; prayer does.

Ravi Zacharias is founder and president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.(1) Adapted from Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend (Thomas Nelson, 2007), ed. by Ravi Zacharias.

Edification and Entertainment - R. Cottrill

In our entertainment hungry age, there is a legitimate question as to whether some of what goes on in our churches, thinking of music in particular, is more geared to be entertaining and tickle the emotions than it is to be edifying. What’s the difference?

To Edify
Edification involves the building up, the strengthening and maturing of the individual. See Eph. 4:29, where “edification” translates the Greek word oikodome, and it has the sense of promoting Christian character: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” This will always be balanced with glorifying God. That is, there can be no true spiritual edification from something that dishonours the Lord (cf. Phil. 4:8).

Further, it should be noted that what ultimately builds us up may not, at least in the beginning, give us pleasure. Part of the edifying work of God is to discipline us when we go astray. The end result will be beneficial, but the process is hardly entertaining! “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives….Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:6, 11).

To Entertain
Entertainment is different. The word “entertain” means literally to hold–that is, to hold the attention, to fascinate. It is similar to the word “amuse,” which means to cause to stare. With entertainment, there is a focus on the performance and the performer’s skill, and on the personal pleasure received from it. These qualities may tend to put entertainment in conflict with edification (and with worship).

Some would argue that it is possible to do both, to edify while we entertain. Maybe. But the two will always be in competition. And the higher the entertainment value the more difficult it may be to derive edification from the experience. As concerns sacred music, we might ask: Will the glorifying of man detract from the glorifying of God? And what is the danger of mistaking personal enjoyment for spiritual benefit (cf. Ezek. 33:32).

Archibald Brown was a contemporary of Charles Spurgeon’s in the nineteenth century. But his observations here sound like they would fit many churches today. He wrote:

It is only the past few years that amusement has become the recognized instrument of our warfare and developed into a mission….The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church of Christ that part of her mission is to provide entertainment for people, with a view to winning them into the ranks. The human nature that lies in every heart has risen to the bait. Here now is an opportunity of gratifying the flesh and yet retaining a comfortable conscience. We can now please ourselves in order to do good to others.

Ouch! If the shoe fits…!