In some quarters we hear the cry for more worship in our churches, and less preaching. Many church members are asking pertinent questions in this respect. Why is so much modern preaching (even within conservative circles) apparently ineffective? Why do so many preachers lack verve and conviction, or, if they have these, why do so many ramble aimlessly in a discussion of social trends or content themselves with a neat moral essay?
The writer searched a number of dictionaries and found discussions of the form of worship and its history, but seldom was its meaning considered. The cry for more worship is revealing.
PURPOSE OF WORSHIP
What is worship? An exhaustive definition is probably impossible, but some vital elements should be noted. The word means to honor and recognize the ‘worth-ship’ of another. In Old English it was used in regard to the honor given to our fellowmen as well as to God. Worshiping God involves approaching him with the honor due to him as our Creator and Redeemer; and if it is to be acceptable, it must be performed in the way which accords with the revealed will of God. Inwardly, the worshiper experiences feelings of love, confidence, and submission; outwardly, he takes part in prayer, praise, and offerings.
When, through Jesus Christ, we worship our heavenly Father, we experience fellowship and communion with him. We are drawn closer to him to the end that his will becomes ours; we are transformed. In other words, in worship God speaks to man and man to God. That is why the Reformers laid such emphasis on the reading and exposition of Scripture and the singing of Psalms, through which the people heard the voice of God. Worship is essentially reciprocal, and only when this is realized does the house of God become a Bethel in actual fact. We may sum up the situation in two words—adoration and encounter. As we draw near to God in the way which he has appointed, he speaks to our hearts and lives; that is worship in the deepest and most practical sense. Dr. William Temple was certainly right when he said, “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” Over a century ago, Alexander Smith Paterson in his excellent analysis and explanation of “The Shorter Catechism” gave his famous definition of worship: “To worship God, is to make Him the supreme object of our esteem and delight, both in public, private, and secret.” Worship therefore is both relevant and dynamic.
CENTRALITY OF THE WORD
Dr. J. J. Van Oosterzee remarked that “Christianity is par excellence the religion of the Word.” As we ponder upon the elements of worship, it is natural to ask how they are produced and if man can worship independently of the Word. In view of the modern clamor—a clamor reflected in much modern church architecture with its pulpit to one side—we must ask and answer the vital question—just how important is preaching?
Scripture presents the exposition of the Word as an integral part of worship. The only preaching we find in the Bible is expository. And this is tremendously important in that it emphasizes the Godward side of worship—where God speaks and draws near to us in his grace. The New Testament shows and the experience of the Church confirms that wherever the Word is faithfully expounded, Christ the living Word draws near, so that the most important question that a person can ask himself after a service is, “Did I meet Christ today?” The sermon may have been orthodox, the service harmonious and sincere, but if the answer to that question be in the negative, then for that person at least the main thing was missed.
The all too current view of a service consisting of prayers, praise, readings (“preliminaries”—that dreadful word!) with preaching as a sort of intrusion or intellectual interlude is deadly. And the view that draws a sharp line of distinction between “the worship part of the service” and “the sermon” is not much better. We would repeat, therefore, and insist with our whole being that preaching is an integral part of worship. And the Word we preach is absolutely essential to all worship whether it be prayer or praise. The Scriptures provide the atmosphere, the framework, the foundation, the purpose, and vade mecum of all worship. They give the preacher authority. Recent writers have shown that there was a sense in which Calvin taught that the preached Word became God’s Word to the hearers. On John 10:4 Calvin says, “Though he speaks here of ministers, yet, instead of wishing that they should be heard He wishes that God should be heard speaking by them.” And on Heb. 2:11, “This ought to add no small reverence to the gospel, since we ought not so much to consider men as speaking to us, as Christ by His own mouth; for at the time when He promised to publish God’s name to men, He had ceased to be in the world; it was not however to no purpose that He claimed this office as His own; for He really performs it by His disciples” (compare Calvin’s Doctrine of the Word and Sacrament, by Ronald S. Wallace, chap. 7, for a helpful discussion of this point). Dr. Van Oosterzee reminds us that the pastor is “impelled and called to lead his flock, so far as possible as one whole, in the pasture of the Word.” He speaks the Word of God for the salvation of men. And he speaks with authority because he is proclaiming God’s Word and not his own. That is why only expository preaching is true preaching in the biblical sense. And such preaching is doctrinal, practical, devotional, and exhortative—it covers all the generally recognized types of preaching.
Basic to the uniqueness and authority of the Word in worship is its inspiration. What right has a man to speak so definitely about salvation and damnation? Why should I pay heed? The answer lies in the fact that all Scripture is “God-breathed” and therefore of supreme authority. It is precisely this point that sets Christians poles apart from pagan religions. Dr. William G. T. Shedd was right when he wrote, “Unless Christendom possesses a superior knowledge, it has no right to instruct heathendom; and unless the Christian clergy are endowed with the authority of a special revelation, and can bring credentials therefore, they have no right to speak to their fellow-men upon the subjects of human duty and destiny.” Shedd continued, “No sacred orator can be bold and commanding in his tone, if he believes or if he fears that there are fatal and irreconcilable inconsistencies in the written revelation.”
CLIMAX OF WORSHIP
Once we grant that the minister is conducting worship not only when praying and singing but also when preaching, we have answered the popular appeal for more worship. But we must do more. We must show that preaching is the climax of worship, for this is God speaking to his people. In the best sense this is the crisis of the service. It is his Word demanding a verdict in my life; this is the vision which calls for obedience. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” To meet with him and hear his voice is the climax of worship. Commenting on 2 Corinthians 3:6, “Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament,” Calvin declares, “Christ, through our instrumentality, illuminates the minds of men, renews their hearts, and, in short, regenerates them wholly. It is in consequence of there being such a connection and bond of union between Christ’s grace and man’s effort, that in many cases that is ascribed to the minister which belongs exclusively to the Lord. For in that case it is not the mere individual that is looked to, but the entire dispensation of the Gospel, which consists, on the one hand, in the secret influence of Christ, and, on the other, in man’s outward efforts.”
How unspeakably solemn then is the preacher’s position! What a privilege is his, and what a tremendous responsibility! No wonder Richard Baxter wrote: “It is no small matter to stand up in the face of a congregation, and deliver a message of salvation or damnation as from the living God, in the name of our Redeemer.” “How few ministers do preach with all their might; or speak about everlasting joy or torment in such a manner as may make men believe that they are in good sadness!
Preaching which wearies the hearers is more than a fault, it is a sin and defeats the whole purpose of worship. Instead of climax there is anticlimax, and the hearers go away unedified and potential nonchurchgoers. What would Baxter say about the “sermon” of so many modern pulpits, where so often there is not even a text! Or what would he say of the orthodox ministers who depart from exposition to indulge in sensational subjects, such as substituting for the Word a lecture on Romanism, “Christian Science,” or “Apartheid”?
When the Word is given its rightful place in worship and is faithfully preached, it will prove doctrinally satisfying and socially relevant. As the ageless Word, it will never be out of date. True preaching, like the Word proclaimed, is Christocentric and issues in that crucial encounter between Christ and the soul. Such is the climax, the crisis for which we must ever pray and strive, and which can never be experienced apart from the activity of the Holy Spirit breathing the Word into the hearts of preacher and hearers alike.
Let us by all means have more worship, and let us recognize preaching for what it is and give it its proper place.
Jacob J. Vellenga served on the National Board of Administration of the United Presbyterian Church from 1948–54. Since 1958 he has served the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. as Associate Executive. He holds the A.B. degree from Monmouth College, the B.D. from Pittsburgh-Xenia Seminary, Th.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and D.D. from Monmouth College, Illinois.
