| 20-minute test for 'worship' | | Date Created: Nov 16, 2006, 10:29 AM |
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[A guest blog from my friend & colleague Steve Walton. I heard him talking about this and asked if he'd like to blog it. -Conrad]
I've formulated a test for a service or church meeting to test whether it's likely to be Christian: are any of the three members of the Trinity named in the first twenty minutes?
Why this test? Well, it arose from my experience of a number of services over the last couple of years. The move to hand over the first chunk of the meeting or service to the musicians means that their choice of songs becomes critical.
And there are now lots of songs around addressed only to 'you' or which speak only of 'God'. In many of them it's quite unclear who this 'you' or 'God' is, other than being pretty great or reasonably loving. In other words, there is no evidence that these songs are addressing the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who sends his Holy Spirit to indwell his people. Many of them could be sung by Jews, Muslims or (even more scarily) by Buddhists or Hindus without objection. And that means the event, whatever else it is, is not explicitly Christian up to that point.
I have no objection to some songs addressed to 'you' or to 'God', providing it's clear who this one being addressed is. Some clear reference to the way we are brought to God only through the death and resurrection of Jesus and by the Spirit's action in our lives would make it clear - but that's what's missing in so many of these songs.
Of course, if you use a good Christian liturgy, such songs can be placed in an explicitly trinitarian liturgical context. But then, I'm an Anglican priest, and I would say that, wouldn't I?
- Steve Walton |
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