Mood, the Sixth So what is the correct posture to listen to someone speak about Jesus? What is the correct posture for congregational singing? What is the right posture for eating a meal with Christian brothers and sisters?
Perhaps we should lie on couches to take the Lord’s Supper. Jesus and the apostles did.
Perhaps we should climb into a tree to hear about Jesus. Zacchaeus did.
Maybe we should require our preachers to preach standing in a boat or on top of a mountain, as Jesus did.
Maybe we should move the pews further apart so we have room to prostrate ourselves before God. Maybe we should even leave a dancefloor, to properly celebrate the return of God to his people and the coming of the Kingdom and the good news of the Kingdom of heaven.
These ideas sound absurd, even terrifying to some, because we have in the Churches of Christ a clash with the ancient Near East culture, in which feelings are expressed physically. The Eastern people described in the Bible dance, clap, shout, sing, bow, prostrate themselves, and otherwise make their feelings a whole-body experience. They celebrate with everything they have.
But our cultural roots trace back to Northern Europe, Geneva and Scotland especially, and these are cultures that separate the emotions from the body, indeed, that often distrust the emotions. It’s the Westerners/Northern European who want a “rational” answer when none is really needed. Why not just act the way you feel, when what you feel is worship?
No First Century Jew would ask for a rational reason to dance or to lift his hands toward heaven. What is rational about feeling the love of God? What is rational about knowing that God has come to his throne, bringing good news of the salvation of the nations? What is rational about —
(Mat 22:37-38 ESV) 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.”
If I truly felt this kind of love for God, why would I need permission or book, chapter, and verse to maybe find pleasure in a praise song and just possibly smile — and even clap in the happiest parts?
But our culture demands a reason and a rationale. In fact, we’d really prefer to worship in response to a command rather than being asked to decide for ourselves how to respond to God’s salvation. We are truly an emotionally stunted people.
(Psa 149:1-5 ESV) Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! 2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! 3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. 5 Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.
What is the correct posture for playing with your grandchildren? Do we need book, chapter, and verse to know that it’s okay to get down on the floor and just enjoy the physicality of an 18-month old? Why do we imagine that God won’t get down on the floor with us?
The following psalm is quoted by Paul in Eph. 5:19 (yep, that Eph 5:19).
(Psa 108:1-3 ESV) My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! 2 Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 3 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.
“Sing and make melody” is verbatim the same in the Greek in both verses. Paul is obviously referring to this instrumental psalm — but the real point is deeper than that. Paul wants us to worship with all our hearts (Eph 5:19) or all our being (Psa 108:1). He’s calling for a level of passion that measures up to the greatness of God.
While we futz and fight over instrumental backgrounds to videos, Paul is telling us to put everything we have into it — just as David said.
Why does David declare that he will “awake the dawn” with music? Because he intends his worship to begin when he wakes up, and he’ll continue with his worship until he falls asleep that night. His worship will be from his entire being because he loves God with his entire being. It’s an all-day posture.
Therefore, David’s posture of worship before God is lying in bed, watching the sun rise over the eastern Judean wilderness, as he plays his lyre to God.
And this is the root of our number one favorite proof text about how to worship. My suggestion is that we obey it.
Mood, the Seventh
You’ve been invited to attend the assembly with your brothers and sisters, and one of the things you’re invited to do while there is to worship God. Therefore, how do you sacrifice while sitting in a pew?
There are lots of good answers. This is hardly the only one. But it’s worth considering.
What God wants is —
(Heb 10:24-25 ESV) 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
In other words, how can you encourage someone else (the voice is active)? One approach is to recognize that in your congregation there is a new spirit/Spirit of worship emerging. Members are slowly becoming more expressive. They are feeling free to feel the words, to truly mean the lyrics.
But only a few. Most of those present are, for reasons they don’t understand, trapped in a legalistic, culturally and emotionally stunted form of expression. They feel its wrongness in their cores, but don’t know how to escape. In fact, they worry that it might somehow be wrong to give into these Spirit-prompted impulses.
The church leaders are not going to shut down a little clapping or hands-raising, but neither are they going to push these new postures either. “Let the Spirit lead where it wills” would be a common attitude for a transitional church such as this one.
Therefore, lead your fellow members by expressing what you feel, by assuming whatever posture the Spirit wants to lead you toward, by encouraging others who need to feel permission by seeing an older, respected woman enjoying the freedom that God has given her. Let the Spirit lead through you.
Obviously, freedom can be abused, but you are not going to be the one abusing it. You are too godly and too Spirit-led for that to be an issue. (I just had to say it because there’s always a reader concerned that we be explicit about the dangers of abuse. Yes; they exist. No; I’m not worried about them because I know you and trust the Spirit.)
“Emotionally stunted”… best description I’ve heard in a long time. And, it’s probably all due to the “slippery slope.” “Take the shackles off of me so I can dance; I want to Praise You !”
Let’s face it … the more fundamental contrast here is between those who believe the covenant between God and man is based upon a set of rules (a legal point of view) and those who believe the covenant is based upon God’s grace towards man.
Jesus said the only thing that matters, as far as worship is concerned, is “spirit and truth.” That omits any consideration of form, posture, time, place.
That evidence is hard to accept if you believe we are justified by doing everything the “right” way.
Amen David,
and that is why in our worship and prayers at home or at a tree stump in the woods has been to many of us far more satisfying, feeling, and real than that at church.
Things are changing to a far more feeling and trusting God in our hearts in our churches and I thank God for it, bout time.
I remember once in our CoC in Ohio that we were going to have a wedding on a Saturday and wanted to have a piano in the building for the wedding. This caused a very large outcry because an instrument in the building on any day was forbidden even if no worship service was occuring.
Seems to me that King David stripped down to his skivvies and danced with all his might when he ark was brought into the city. His celebration offended his wife.
When will we ever learn that worship is from the heart and not about postures and positions.
“at a tree stump in the woods” you are not talking about a Totem-Pole are you John 🙂
Yes, I remember that because of Mount Sinai the Israelite nation had been turned over to worship the starry host. After the elders “fired” God, He warned them that the kings would rob them and destroy them and He would not hear their cries. David had sinned beyond redemption so rather than let him be killed, God gave him an old Jebusite High place because he was too fearful to return to Gibeon to inquire of God. We are told that “God gave them kings in His anger and took them away in His anger.” They would be used to carry out the captivity and death sentence imposed because they ROSE UP TO PLAY.
Stephen got murdered, in part, for denying that God had commanded any of the Civil-Military-Clergy complex not abandoned to worship of the Astrial deities: Sabazianism as Jews confess. Christ in the prophets called them robbers and parasites.
Stephen said that:
1. God promised David a Tent on Mount Zion
2. BUT, Solomon built God a HOUSE on Mount Moriah were God had “already provided.” Solomon spent more time building pagan shrines.
3. HOWEVER, God does not dwell in houses built by human hands nor is He worshipped by the WORKS of human hands. Worship is in the PLACE of the human spirit
The Spirit OF Christ said that God had not COMMANDED sacrifices or burnt offerings when He rescued them by pure Grace. Isaiah 1 and Jeremiah 7 come to mind.
Because faithful Michal chided David for going naked with the camp-following girls, like any Oriental Tyrant, David made certain that any of Michal’s seed of Saul were exterminated and one was offered up for human sacrifice. Saving one cripple non-threat does not justify David who is the EARTHLY TYPE of which Jesus is the Godly ANTITYPE.
If you want to be picky there is not a jot or tittle of real evidence that David ever ruled as a “pattern” NOR that Solomon’s version of a temple ever existed. Strange, because the same PATTERN temple still exists enough to prove that it existed by the same Masonic Architect at Tyre.
Not strange since the Spirit OF Christ warned about the record of the “LYING PEN OF THE SCRIBES” about the Temple. On the other hand we have some very positive warnings and even a command against “vocal or instrumental rejoicing” or “rhetoric” for the synagogue which was a WORD OF GOD ONLY assembly. Paul uses “synagogue” words for “gathering, assembling or coming together.” Neither synagogue nor ekklesia was permitted to “make up their own material for discussion.”
Funny, after reading this, I so desperately want to invoke a Mr. Spock reference.
Chris,
“Fascinating.”
Skip wrote,
The argument I grew up with was “The building isn’t holy, but we can make it unholy.” Even as a 6th grader, that one was obviously a rationalization for treating the building as holy ground, contrary to our preached theology. The Baptists called their buildings “sanctuaries,” meaning holy places, and our preachers made sure we knew that was sin, sin, sin! The building is a mere expedient and not “holy,” we ranted. Which was inconvenient for keeping pianos out of the building on a Saturday. And so we rationalized.
Price,
Here’s the song you allude to —
I don’t really like this arrangement at all — although I think it’s the Mary Mary original. Much better, to me, is Mandisa’s version —
This is the Mary Mary version but the liturgical dance team is an all-male group from Haiti — which breaks the stereotypes.
There’s something about krumping for Jesus out of abject poverty that touches me.
A natural conclusion to draw from this series is the acceptability of praise dance or liturgical dance for worship. (I think the evidence is very persuasive.) But it’s normally middle school or high school girls who do the dancing (and they can be quite effective in expressing their love for Jesus through dance.) But I never thought I’d see male, Haitian krumping for Jesus.
(Readers not familiar with krumping need to visit YouTube to learn.)
Christ in Habakkuk 2 outlawed all of the performances and said that “God is in His holy temple (me) let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Paul allowed that “God is still a consuming fire”.
I love African Male Harmony, peanuts and my recliner since “body worship has driven me and others outside the camp to REST and LEARN of Jesus by invitation since He paid it all.” Great dance but Jesus asks “could you not tarry with me for one hour?” We have 168 hours in a week:
Hebrews 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with REVERENCE and godly fear:
Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Jesus said the kingdom does not come with observation: that means Religious Rituals.
SHAKING THE KINGDOM ONE LAST TIME THE LATIN IS: Mŏvĕo , to represent a by DANCING (gesticulating) “et fila SONATA movit,” struck, Ov. M. 10, 89: “citharam [guitar] cum voce,” : “tympana,” [clanging brass] to DISTURB: “novis Helicona cantibus” [sorcery] a. To excite, occasion, cause, promote, produce; to begin, commence, undertake: “exercitatione sudor movetur,” “nominis controversiam,” “movere ac moliri aliquid,” to undertake any thing that excites disturbance
That defines the LADED BURDEN or the SELF-PLEASURE Paul outlawed in Romans 15 so we can use one mind and one mouth to speak that which is written for our learning. That was Christ’s ONE PIECE PATTERN from the wilderness onward for the godly people not abandoned to worship the starry host: Apollyon and Dionysus worship happened as PLAY at Mount Sinai.
Of the SALTIO We find, from the earliest times, that the worship of Apollo [Abaddon, Apollyon] mimetic dancing Apollo is the Leader of the Muses in Revelation and Christ says that God did not command the Civil-Military-Clergy complex abandoned to STAR WORSHIP.
Ken,
I’ve placed you on moderation. I’ve allowed plenty of readers to comment who agree with you. Well, I think they agree with you but I have a lot of trouble following your words and so I’m not really sure. And that’s the reason for the moderation. Unless I find your writing easy to follow, it won’t be posted. I can’t ask the readers to make sense of this for you. It’s your job to write clearly enough to be understood.
I think Ken makes far more sense than those who suppose our assemblies should have another aim than exciting people to clap and dance. I suggest a good dose of 1 Corinthians 14:26 if anyone really wants to please GOD in our assemblies. The apostle is not urging his readers to sing “praise choruses” when they meet together. He’s not saying their meetings were for showing off emotionally, but he clearly states that the purpose SHOULD BE to encourage and edify OTHER PEOPLE. At their assemblies, early Christians learned of the needs of others and arranged to help meet those NEEDS.
Did the trouble start when we decided to make our assemblies “worship services”? Worship is how we LIVE each day, not how we show off our ability to seem “spiritual” in the sight of onlookers. Serving God is serving His PEOPLE who have needs, and sharing our faith in HIM, not our feelings about Him. No apostolic teaching would cause anyone to sing praise choruses rather than anthems and meaningful songs in assemblies aimed at edifying all who are present. For good reason we call those who promote “praise choruses” as being Pentecostals rather than Disciples of the Lord Jesus.
My first sentence didn’t turn out right at all! I wrote, “I think Ken makes far more sense than those who suppose our assemblies should have another aim than exciting people to clap and dance.” He is pointing out that apostolic teaching is that assembles SHOULD HAVE another aim than exciting people to clap and dance and “feel good.” But the sentence didn’t convey my thought at all! Sorry.
Ray … doesn’t your “criticism” of “praise choruses” presume that no one is lifted up by such music. And how can you say that confidently? I recognize you may not be. Sometimes, I’m not. But I do not presume that no one is “built up” by such music.
Jesus’ teaching suggests that form is not what’s important, but rather the spirit and truth of the worshipper, which is something none of us is capable of judging accurately. For only God knows the heart of a man.
Every time a sermon is preached about Jesus being whipped and tortured, made to walk carrying the cross and death from suffering I look at my wife and she, as my mother used to also, have tears running down their cheeks. Some of the other women do too.
Was it wrong for them to do that for any to see that looked?
Ray,
I don’t agree that worship is how we live each day for two reasons: 1) Worship is throughout the Bible and is defined as proskuneo which means “kissing the hand”. This is akin to a dog licking the masters hand in loyalty. The command and call from scriptures is for us to praise and glorify God in worship. The Jews fell prostrate in the OT. The Christians also worshipped by praise in the NT. When Moses went to Pharaoh to explain why the Jews needed to be free, he always gave the reason that they needed to go into the desert and worship. The Psalms are replete with examples of worship. 2) Romans 12 says that sacrifice is an “Act of worship” not worship itself. True worship that falls before the Lord and gives praise ultimately we lead us to sacrifice and service.
For too long the CoC mistakenly believed that service = worship and therefore simply ran around trying to do good deeds. A serious study on worship is required if we ever hope to replicate what the 1st century church experienced.
Skip,
Are you suggesting that you have completed a serious study upon worship during the NT times? Do you have some conclusions to share with us about the actions of worship in the very early church? I ask these questions because I have not found clear statements describing how they accomplished their worship. It seems to me that Paul would have described his life as a worship to the Lord, in the concept he would never cease from worship at any time. Similar to praying without ceasing. I am not sure that we should consider the 1st century church to be our example to be followed unless we were certain that they performed with perfection. I believe that many here on the blog have been trying to convey the message that it is an attitude of worship that we should have continually, rather than a specified time and place. The non-Christians should be able to identify us by our visible life, rather than seeing us attend a gathering of a group that lives just like they do.
Larry, I have indeed done a study on worship. It is prevalent in scripture. I am not a N.T. Christian in the sense that I ignore all O.T. scriptures on the topic. Worship is private and corporate offerings of praise to God. In Revelation the saints worship 24-7. We must take the whole Bible injunction to praise. We err when we think every thing we do must be evaluated based on how non-Christians see us behaving.
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
Acts 13:2
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Acts 24:11
You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
Acts 24:14
However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way