By Kirk Wellum
Well I have never tried "live blogging" but since there is a break in the action here and I have access to a computer I thought I would report on what has happened thus far. The theme of this year's conference is "Worship" and so far today we heard a messages on "What is Worship?" by Joe Boot, "Worship in the Psalms" by Dr. David Barker, and "Choosing Congregational Music for Worship" by Roger Bergs. All the sessions have been stimulating and helpful and have reminded us of the significance of worship in the life of the Christian and the Christian church. While we are all aware that there is much confusion in this area, we have been reminded of the need to return to the Scriptures to discover what it means to worship God in spirit and truth.
One thing that has struck me in the whole discussion up to this point is the importance of biblical theology. The tendency to read the Scriptures a-historically while only paying lip service to the redemptive-historical structures that are built into the Scriptures results in some of the bizarre and all too common ideas that float around the evangelical church today. The balance between form and freedom, simplicity and profundity, and an awareness of sins alongside deep new covenant joy is illusive even when pursued with the best of intentions.
Another thing that has come up more than once is the rising biblical illiteracy in our day. Too many people who are sitting in church (not to mention those outside of it) just do not know the main contours of the biblical story. This means that we need to be concerned about proclaiming the truth at every point, whether it be in the sermon, prayer or song. Worship is something that is going to go on forever when in the new heavens and earth, the redeemed of the Lord, joyfully glorify him and enjoy him forever. What we do now should help get us ready for that great day.
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I am home now and unable to go in for the final sessions of the conference because of speaking commitments this weekend. But I wanted to report on Mark Dever's message on "Worship in the New Testament." Mark chose to expound Romans 12 as a key text that explains what NT worship is all about. He ably demonstrated that "worship" is not restricted to what is commonly thought of as worship today in many church circles. Worship according to the apostle Paul is a comprehensive category that embraces the entire life of the Christian. It is something that we do as those who have known the mercies of God in Jesus Christ. Accordingly Paul begins with what worship is and why we are to worship in Romans 12:1-2 before going on in the rest of the chapter to describe in detail how this works itself out in our lives. Mark's exposition set before us the big picture and helps us get at what is really important in debate (some would say "worship wars") that is going on all around us.
If I step back and assess all that I heard yesterday about worship it appears to me that when we talk the totality of the biblical revelation as it reaches its climax in Jesus Christ, we see that worship is transformed from being something that is strictly personal and religious, into something that is very practical and touches every part of our lives. It seems to me that one of the obvious implications of such a position is that what individual congregations do when they come together on the Lord's Day and other occasions depends on the unique makeup of the congregation and the gifts and abilities God has given them. This is not to suggest that anything goes. The Bible clearly gives us various elements that are to be a part of our corporate gatherings. But the Bible does not legislate details. There is room for individual expression from church to church. The danger of hearing how the experts "do worship" (a regrettable expression) and how they think it should be done is that a new orthodoxy can be laid down that goes beyond anything legislated in the Bible.
Of course, it doesn't have to be this way. It is very valuable to hear the thoughts of others. To see what they are doing and why. To study how Christians in the past have wrestled with these issues and the conclusions they have or have not reached. It is good to think about what we are doing and to be aware of the constant possibility of doing what we are doing simply because that is how it has always been done. But when we get to the heart of things, given the way the New Testament fulfills the Old on so many levels, we must allow room for our Christian brothers and sisters to praise and worship God within the boundaries of Scripture. In these last days, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has gone out into all the nations. Our response to that gospel, which afterall is what worship is all about, it as colored and varied as the glory of God revealed
in the natural realm. As we hear the Word, sing, pray, give, love, serve, and all the other things that are presented to us in the Scriptures we do so in a way that individually and corporately expresses the infinite glory and yet the personal immanence of the God who has told us to approach him each day as "Our Father in heaven." While many questions remain, and there is still lots to think about, if we grasp this much we are on the right track.
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