The Work of Worship
Evidently Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher extraordinaire, thought that his fellow Christians got the nature and responsibilities of worship all wrong. Essentially, he asserted that the typical Christian sauntering to the sanctuary was crippled by a misassumption about their role in the worship service, a role as passive sponge. The “work of worship” belonged to the preachers and song-leaders whose “job” was to leverage a deepening engagement in the passive congregant. The worshipper basically, mistakenly, saw themselves as an audience member, the worship leaders as the performers, and God as the prompter.
Kierkegaard reminded us that we might have it backwards.
He reminded his 19th century reading audience (SK died in 1855) that the gathered congregation sitting in the pews were the worship “performers,” the worship leaders were the “prompters,” and the primary audience was the Lord God! Obviously, he was not implying that God, the Creator of the Universe, is in any way a passive spectator in response to our worship offerings. Zephaniah tells us he rejoices over us with singing! (3:17) However, the corrective from Kierkegaard reminds us that a listening, responding, engaging Lord of the Universe is the focus of our worship work. As has been quipped, faithful worshippers seek to please the One who sits “front and center!”
The worship leaders—the preacher/teacher, song leader or musician—study, prepare, and practice to make sure that their worship “promptings” serve the worshippers. For instance, a music director or accompanist hitting the wrong note and changing tempos randomly would put up an obstacle in the worshipper’s eternal focus and concentration. The Bible teacher under-prepared could put up similar roadblocks to the congregation’s worshipful “work.”
And make no mistake about the “work” of worship. There is a significant work-like responsibility in the worship of the congregant. Much like you don’t call into your traditional workplace and explain that you’re not coming in to work tomorrow because you “don’t feel like it,” the work of the worship performer is to be done regardless of how one feels, regardless of attitude or circumstances.
The congregant is the worship “performer,” the worship leaders are the “prompters,” and God is the audience.
What might be the job description of the worship “performer,” the congregant sitting in the pew? To begin with the work of worship involves the active mental commitment to listen faithfully to the “promptings” of the worship leader. This would mean, among other things, to ponder faithfully, intelligently the lyrics of what is being sung. Can you faithfully assert the truth of the hymns’ assertion? If so, then sing aloud, faithfully committed to blending graciously, humbly, boldly with the choir made up of fellow congregants! During the sermon or Bible teaching of the “worship prompter,” the worship “performer” is called to the work of actively listening, even taking notes to remember what should be remembered, in order to forget what should be forgotten.
The worship “worker” holds on to the truths offered, the eternal perspective provided for their working week. As the Apostle Paul described the Bereans, who received his message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures for themselves to see if what he said was true (Acts 17: 10-12). The Christian worshipper is an active participant in the act of worship.
We want our audience, “The Lord God and Maker of the Universe,” to be pleased with our faithful performance.
It is the “work” of worship that makes possible the graces of moment-by-moment revival.
I would contend that Kierkegaard was correct in his critique of typical worship in the 19th century. It is a corrective just as necessary in the 21st.
Paul D. Patton, Ph.D., is a professor of communication and theater at Spring Arbor University in Michigan. He has graduate degrees in Guidance and Counseling, Religious Education, and Script and Screenwriting, and a doctorate in Communication with an emphasis in theater arts. He has been married to his wife Beth for over forty years and has three daughters (all actresses)—Jessica, Emily, and Grace, three sons-in-law, David, Joe, and Eric, and four grandsons, Caleb Rock, Logan Justice, Micah Blaze, and Miles Dean.