This philosophy of worship comes to us from Christ Community Church in Leawood,KS. It is one of the best worded philosophies we have seen and wanted to share it with you.
At the very core of Christ Community Church is a passionate desire to be true worshipers of the Almighty Triune God in all of life. This is expressed clearly in our mission statement: We desire to be a caring family of multiplying disciples influencing our community and world for Jesus Christ. This is a mission of being…to be the people of God… “that everything we are, everything we do and everything we have would be invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response” to His person and His redemptive work recognized in creation through consummation (Os Guinness-The Call, p. 29).
We believe this to be the essence of biblical worship: That all of life would be lived with a worship quality before our audience of One (Colossians 3:17, 23).
We desire to encourage our congregation, both as individuals and as the gathered Body of Christ, to wholly love God, to fully follow Christ and to passionately embrace Christ’s global mission. Tethered to three biblical “greats”* there is no more compelling picture of obedient, God-glorifying, holistic worship!
Our corporate worship expression is meant to be the wonderful icing on the cake of a whole life of worship. When we come together we are first and foremost obeying God (obedience is the currency of worship) and adoring Him. He is the focus. Secondarily, by coming together, the body of Christ is edified, equipped and encouraged to fully embrace a lifestyle of worship.
We are open to a great diversity of forms and desire to obey the biblical mandate to express corporate worship in new and fresh ways (e.g. Psalm 33:3).
Worship: Three Theological Tethers
True Worship is God-centered (Rev 19:10, I Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 95:6-7, Psalm 100:2, Matthew 4:10).
True Worship embraces all of life as an act of worship (Romans 12:1-2, I Corinthians 6:19, Colossians 3:17, 23).
True worship enthusiastically embraces the coming together of the Body of Christ in united expressions of worship (Hebrews 10:24-25; Psalm 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1,149:1).
Worship: Corporate Implications
We worship before an audience of one. Our corporate worship will be authentic in its purpose and transparent in its presentation.
We will worship with an appreciation for both the old and new. We will be true and relevant within our culture. Corporate worship will involve multiple worship arts, implementing each with stylistic integrity. Our worship will be multi-dimensional and multi-cultural.
We view corporate worship as the “icing” of the “cake” of holistic worship. In our community gatherings we will be diligent in our desire to encourage, assist and equip the Body for a lifestyle of worship.
We will encourage increased lay participation in corporate worship expressions. We will not be dependent on one “lead worshiper.” We anticipate that a variety of musical groups will be used to lead in corporate worship.
All Forms of corporate worship expression should be diligently evaluated in light of the following questions:
Do they have deep theological richness?
Do they ignite the imagination and expand our biblical vision of the triune Godhead and His glorious kingdom?
Do the songs we sing have a radiant beauty of expression both lyrically and musically?
Do they have a profound sense of the Holy Spirit’s anointing?
All corporate worship expressions (teaching, singing, praying, the Lord’s Table, greeting) will be done in a way that is a fitting offering to the Lord. This demands excellence and preparation. We are committed to “undistracting excellence.” “We will try to sing and play and pray and preach in such a way that people’s attention will not be diverted from the substance by shoddy ministry or by excessive finesse, elegance or refinement. Natural, undistracting excellence will let the truth and beauty of God shine through.” (Piper…philosophy document)
*The great commandment in Matthew 22:37-39; the great invitation in Matthew 11:28-30; the great commission in Matthew 28:18-20
Resources Consulted: CCC Sermon Series: Getting Back to the Heart of Worship by Tom Nelson; Worship by the Book by D. A. Carson; Ancient Future Faith by Robert Webber; Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn; Engaging With God by David Peterson; CCC Blueprint by Tom Nelson; Worship Philosophy Documents from Bethlehem Baptist Church by John Piper; various other articles and essays.
Staff writer for ExperiencingWorship.com.