Worship By Any Other Name…

| By Ben Simpson | Found in Communication | 8 Comments

When I was in high school my church began tinkering with longstanding terminology. The bulletin became the worship folder. The sanctuary became the worship center. The benediction became the closing song. Those in my circle wondered if these changes were necessary, and questioned whether they served any good purpose at all.

Now that I’ve served in church leadership, I know that terminology matters. It places emphasis on certain themes or highlights important values that you desire those you lead to hold dear. Words shape the culture, and a good, healthy ministry will also bring to the surface terms and phrases that best capture the spirit and the character of the people.

One recent change that has caught my attention, however, raises some important questions. One of my friends observed on his Twitter account that he had seen a church in his area designating their weekend gathering times as “experiences” rather than as worship or service times. He felt that this designation marked yet another slide of Christianity in our culture towards consumerism.

“Worship” connotes the placing of our glory aside for the sake of something greater. A “service” suggests that the gathering is marked by mutual self-giving, pointing ultimately to the gathering around the Lord’s table. But simply “experience”? What does that suggest?

I’ve been in discussions recently with church leaders who use this terminology, and the explanations I have heard thus far seem to fit well with the ethos of those ministries. It has been suggested that the ultimate goal of these leaders is to create space wherein each person present will have an experience of God that is transformative, and they complement this terminology with a strong emphasis on the fact that our entire lives should be worship. Worship isn’t confined to the gathering of the saints. That is one justification, and it makes sense.

But what do you think? Is “experience” a valid and helpful way to describe our gatherings? Or is there other terminology that is better, or more theologically robust?

  • http://www.twitter.com/lightenupgear Lighten Up Gear

    I always struggle to call my music ministry a worship ministry. Mainly because worship should occur throughout the worship service…from the reading of God's Word to giving an offering or receiving a message through our pastor. And as the phrase goes, "worship is a lifestyle, not an activity."

    To your point above, I could see how worship could be considered an experience for those who do not have a relationship with Jesus. But for those of us who are followers of Christ, it should be dubbed as worship because experience implies it's about us and not about God's glory and praise He deserves. Pretty sure Psalm 115 has that covered. ;)

  • http://www.adamlehman.us Adam Lehman

    We call our student ministry a gathering. I think it's simple. Maybe experience would be more appropriate for our church's Sunday morning hour and a half.

    Idk.

    Doesn't matter what we call it. It matters what we do. The verbs matter, not the nouns.

  • Matthew

    God made a big deal about names in the bible.

  • Matt V

    I think the backlash against “worship service” is that we’ve often created experiences where you can go sing a couple fast songs, a few slow songs and then leave without ever engaging the presence of God. New terminology becomes ripe when old terminology grows stale. I think a great description for an authentic worship experience would be “throne room encounter,” but if we’re going to start using words like that we better be sure we back them up spiritually.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/ScottMcClellan ScottMcClellan

    Personally, "experience" doesn't carry consumerist connotation for me. "Experience" makes me think of something active rather than passive, and it also suggests a two-way dynamic. In other words, yes, we're there to worship, but God is also there, present and active in our midst. We don't send Him a worshipful email that He responds to later; rather, the Spirit moves as we gather in praise. That's what a word like "experience" says to me.

  • http://www.valenciafamily.org/blog/2010/05/weekly-hit-list-20/ Weekly Hit List #20 | :: VFAM.COM ::

    [...] Guilt as charged – using your iPhone as your Bible during charge. SCL humorously chimes in. – “Worship by any other name…” from Collide [...]

  • http://www.anthologicalprolegomena.com Matthew J. Moore

    (part 4)

    …and please excuse the multiple errors – I was hastily writing around the primary focus of eating pizza. I probably do better with only 140 characters.

  • http://www.melissajohnsondesign.com melissa

    i think its a really good idea to change the terminology, because the old terms have been given a bad connotation with the new and younger generations. i think changing the terminology is a great way to make the young generation feel like its new and fresh, and people who don't go to church don't get intimidated by pre-determined thoughts by the words. its more inviting. and as far as the specific word "experience" goes i dont think i'd pick that to use to describe a service, we use the term "gathering," i think "experience" refers to more of the way the service is. i like "experience" for a description of how every part of the service comes together….the media, the technology, the lights, the arts, the sounds, etc. THAT to me is what makes it the "experience" (plus of course meeting with God.)