Styles of Worship

Is this your idea of trying something new in Sunday worship?

A debate has raged for decades regarding the use of different types and styles of music in worship. This is commonly called the “worship wars.” It is an unfortunate reality that Christian churches spend so much time fighting over minutia while ignoring the true mission of the Church, which is spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Worship, as practiced in most Christian churches, follows the four-fold pattern of Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending. Not every church follows this outline every Sunday, but most do at some point and all of them use elements of this ordo (order, outline, pattern).

Consider this categorization of worship styles:

	Gathering	Word	Meal	Sending
Formal/Traditional	Prelude Opening Hymn Greeting	1st reading Psalm 2nd reading response Gospel homily or brief sermon	creed prayers of the people formal eucharist and responses	blessing closing hymn postlude
Blended	Opening songs Greeting	1-2 readings optional psalm or response sermon may be longer	creed is optional prayers of the people less formal eucharist abbreviated responses	blessing closing song(s)
Free, non-liturgical*	20-30 mins music oriented towards worship experience	Sermon text(s) extended teaching/preaching time	optional	extended closing music prayer

* This is something of a misnomer, as even so-called free worship has an ordo or pattern for a given community.

If we examine some characteristics of different styles of worship, we can see how newer styles of worship compare as a reaction against older forms of worship:

Traditional

Contemporary

Formal attitude Adherence to historical patterns (ordo) of worship, such as the Book of Common Prayer, the Roman Catholic mass, or those found in a denominational hymnal Fixed, published prayers and responses Precise, measured and considered language, actions, and ritual, usually written by groups of scholars Corporate inclusivity, focused on community as a whole Intentional public bible reading, including multiple parts of the bible, ordinarily following the lectionary. Seasonal focus guided by liturgical calendar Short homily, reflection on readings, brief sermons Communion is normative, with the use of ecumenically shared Eucharistic prayers and words of institution Music primarily drawn from denominational hymnal, traditional classical repertoire/literature, newer music drawn from contemporary art music or classical genres Worship leadership is indirect, often led by the musician(s) in a non-obvious way

Feel of spontaneity, informality. Focus on emotion, energy, and excitement. The experience is more important than following a historic ritual Avoidance of any existing pattern of worship (ordo) Preference towards extemporaneous prayer Rugged individualism, worship service is crafted for the community or according to a leader's vision, highly personalized and contextualized Focus on individuals and individual needs Texts are chosen to serve a theme. Multi-media elements are used and brought in from the surrounding, current culture Longer sermons or teaching times that take up a large portion of the service Less emphasis on communion, often optional. This depends on the denomination. Use of popular and current styles of music. Incorporates the sounds of popular music Soloists, individuals that lead worship, publicly visible

You can read some negative connotations into many of these characteristics. One person may say that formality equates to stuffiness. Another might feel that too much informality gives the appearance of low quality. For those of us who advocate blended worship, the idea is to draw from the best of both ends of the spectrum. Dr. Thomas Long likes to describe this as a "third way." Why pick one when you can have both?

Each of the various styles of worship can contain what most of us consider to be the essential elements. The more important question is, what works in your community and speaks the Gopel to those gathered in your place of worship? Through careful planning, prayer, and conversation with laity and leadership, inspiring worship can happen, regardless of style.

A good introductory guide to various worship styles and techniques can be found in Leading the Church's Song published by Augsburg Fortress.

Kevin Keele, 2006