Worship and Culture

Introduction

There have been few sermons that Dwight and I have repeated. In the years that we have been preaching, the series we begin today is the only one we have repeated. This will be the third time we have done this series of lessons on worship. We last did this series in 1993. For those who have come to Park Avenue in the last four years this will be new. For those who were here four years ago, you will spend part of the time trying to remember. The intent of this series is to make us more aware of the impact of our worship assembly.

This congregation’s philosophy concerning worship has been and will continue to be a refusal to allow our assembly time to become stale and routine. We have entered into God’s throne room. There is nothing stale and routine about that no matter how many times you may enter. Our assembly should try to reflect that vibrancy and freshness. Our assembly should appeal to both intellect and emotions as we praise God. But finding that balance is difficult. This series is an effort to help us find that balance. It is designed to help us reaffirm that God is central to our assembly and it is intended to bring us near to God so that we can be bolstered in our daily walk.

Dallas Holm in 1981 wrote a song entitled “I Saw the Lord.” The words express something about what we are trying to accomplish in this series:

The place was white as snow, and pure as finest gold. It had the look of new; it had the look of old. I felt like I was home, but felt so far away. In fear I thought to leave, but felt the urge to stay. Then a silence fell like none I’d ever known. I stood among the moons. I stood there all alone. His face was like the sun; his eyes were like the sea His voice was like the thunder rolling through eternity. And I saw the Lord. He was high and lifted up and rightfully adored. And I saw the Lord and He saw me.

We have come into God’s throne room. A place in which we are welcomed and yet aware of how unholy we are. We not only see God but he sees us. Such an encounter is far from routine. Today we are going to look at the influence culture has on our assembly. Culture is the beliefs, forms, and traits which are peculiar to a group of people. If you have done any kind of traveling then you know that cultural distinctions are found all over. I was in Texas many years ago and asked for Bar-b-Que. Texas is a great place, but they don’t realize that bar-b-Que is pork not beef. That is a cultural distinction.

What we usually realize is that cultural distinctions do not define right and wrong. Eating with a fork or with chopsticks while culturally distinctive do not determine right and wrong. Driving on the right side or the left side of the street are distinctively culturally, but one is not better than another. On and on we could go, but you get the point. Today as we look at the influence of culture on our assembly, we must keep in mind that as beliefs, forms and traits change so our assembly time will change. But the overriding principle must be to keep God as the center and to strive to encourage and be encouraged.

Cultural Influences

What parts of our assembly are culturally dictated? God wants us to assemble. He wants us to have a corporate assembly to honor and praise him. The assembly is also for our benefit in which we are encouraged and strengthened in our walk with God. God wants us to sing, pray, learn, and take the Lord’s Supper. But he doesn’t tell us the forms these things are to take.

Let’s take singing. The idea of music has changed dramatically over the centuries. Few of us realize or think about the cultural influences upon our singing. We take for granted such things as four part harmony, song books, and song leaders. None of these things are found in scripture. God didn’t demand a song leader or four part harmony. But they are a part of our worship culture. Could we sing without four parts? Absolutely. Some would never know the difference. Do we have to have a song leader? I mean do we have to have a person come up here announce a song number, find a pitch, use hand motions. No. Someone has to begin a song, but a formal leader is not necessary. This is a cultural influence which we are very comfortable with.

What about prayer. Culturally we bow our heads. Kneeling is done by some. Buddy Arnold knelt at each prayer during chapel during my days at DLU. Some now are wanting us to lift up holy hands in prayer or worship. As you look through scripture there were a number of postures in prayer. Bowing, kneeling, and lifting hands were just some. Laying out completely on the ground was another. Some stood out of reverence. Our culture emphasize being more sedate in worship. Thus, we haven’t emphasized more demonstrative forms for prayer. Which is right?

What about preaching. The preaching done at Park Avenue has changed over the years. Culture is moving into a more visual form. Culture is less interested in long speeches. In some ways our preaching has reflected these cultural changes by dividing our sermons into shorter snippets which are easier to follow. 100 years ago, sermons were much longer. Boone Douthitt, a friend of the family for years, used to tell stories of preaching for 1-2 hours depending on the occasion. Culture then accepted such. We will not.

Times for our assembly are culturally dictated. Our culture is beginning to question the dividing of the day into two assembly times. Our current time structure comes more from a cultural distinction based on agriculture rather than our more modern society. It was also based on transportation. In some countries in which traveling is a monumental task, they have only one service on Sunday. Is it wrong to have two services? No. Would it be wrong to have only one? Culture has more to do with our decision than doctrine.

I could go on. I will save some comments for another sermon. Our assembly is to have God at the center. We bring, however, our own cultural thinking into the assembly and freely allow them to influence our assembly. What we must not forget is that our thinking while making us comfortable is not the final determining factor in acceptable worship. God must be at the center. And we must keep the entire congregation in mind as well.

Cultural Principles

So what are we to do? Cultural influences are part of our assembly. As culture changes so will the methods we use to make our assembly relevant.

Let me give you three principles to help guide our thinking concerning worship and the influence of culture. First, we must try to find balance between what is traditional and what is trendy. Dwight will discuss tradition next week, so let me focus briefly on the trendy. Part of our culture is that we are mesmerized by the latest trinket and do-dad. Worship must not become trendy. Much of the push for lifting hands and kneeling seems to fall into that category. While not wrong to do or participate in, we must be careful that we are not driven by emotions or a desire to knock folks off center. We must look at our motives behind the desire to try new methods. If you wish to kneel do so. If you wish to lift up hands do so. Trying to be relevant without being trendy is difficult. Part of what helps us maintain our balance is recognizing the centrality of God in our assembly and the importance of encouraging each other.

Second, methods change but God doesn’t. What we must guard against is believing that a particular method of worship is God ordained and must not be touched. When we consider a method to be above questioning then we have lost our balance. For instance our culture is more visually oriented. Projection systems can become an important tool to take advantage of such a cultural influence. But if we become fixed on a song book then we have allowed a method to determine our action rather than our actions to determine methods. But the key is to remember that God doesn’t change. When we enter God’s throne room he remains on the throne. We are there to worship. We are here to encourage. The methods we use in our assembly must not take the focus off of God nor deny the importance of one another.

Third, while culture influences us and our methods for worship, we must be on guard not to allow culture to drive us. We cannot separate ourselves from cultural influences. But we must remain on our guard not to allow culture to have the final word. When we allow too much culture into our assembly we can suddenly begin to look at what pleases us rather than pleasing God. The theme of this lesson has been that while culture influences us we must remain ever on guard that He remains on the throne and not our desires and wishes. This means that we should look at methods as tools to be used but that the end purpose must always be to honor God. Worship is not about pleasing ourselves. With worship must come the constant call to realign our lives with Christ. Rather than to justify our lives, worship calls us to question them.

When Paul said in Romans 12 not to be conformed to this world, he had in mind not allowing culture to have the final word. Instead we are to be transformed. This transformation comes from constantly being on our guard. When a congregation moves in the direction of using methods to appeal to outsiders, or methods to please ourselves then we have lost our direction and focus. We have conformed rather than be transformed. Worship is not and must never be about us, but about God and what he has done for us through Jesus. There is a natural tension in our assembly. The tension lies between us and our culture. Grounded as we are in this world the tension is to be in this world but not allow the thinking of this world to be in us. Worship reminds us not only of the tension but the direction we need to have. Our focus is to remain on God who gave his son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for us. This same Jesus calls us to question our lives and to align them with the intent of God. Where is your focus?

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