Editorial

The cross, the center of worship

On the purpose of worship.

J. David Newman is the editor of Ministry.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has managed to avoid, to a large degree, the experimentation with new forms of worship which took place in the 1950s and 1960s in other church bodies, both Protestant and Roman Catholic," wrote Dr. Raymond Holmes in 1984.1

What a difference a few years make! Now experimentation is the order of the day, and celebration-style worship is being discussed by almost everyone. It is not my purpose in this editorial to say whether this is good or bad. Pronouncements by church authorities will not reverse the trend.

Rather, I want to say that we need to grasp the opportunity granted us to study again the purpose of worship. How have Adventists worshiped in the past? How do we decide what is appropriate worship music? What is worship, anyway? Do the ways our brains function have any bearing on how we worship? How do various cultural and ethnic groups worship?

While we cannot answer all these questions in detail, we hope that this special issue of Ministry will help stir your creative juices and cause you to reevaluate your worship service.

The dramatic scenes presented in Revelation 4 and 5 reveal what is foundational in worship. We see God the Father sitting in all His splendor and majesty upon the throne. He is surrounded by "flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder" (Rev. 4:5).* The 24 elders and the four living creatures surround Him, the living creatures constantly crying "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come" (verse 8).

The 24 elders prostrate themselves and lay their crowns before the Creator of the universe. Like the living creatures, they offer the Lord a doxology. The scene emphasizes the transcendence of God--His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.

Then the focus shifts from God the Father to God the Son, who is represented as a bleeding lamb. Now the living creatures and elders prostrate themselves before the Lamb and offer a combined doxology. The countless hosts of angels are just as eager to offer their praise. The scene is completed as every living creature in the universe adds its chorus of praise to God the Father and God the Son.

Revelation 5 ends with this powerful statement: "The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshipped" (verse 14).

So the imperative to worship is clear in Scripture. But what should our worship center around?

In his Sing a New Song Raymond Holmes stresses that the Adventist worship service ought to illustrate three distinctive Adventist doctrines: "the Sabbath, the heavenly ministry of Christ, and the second advent of Christ." 2 While the unique doctrines of Adventism do have their place, we must be careful lest we replace the cross as the fulcrum on which worship rests. While Jesus' ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is important, it would have no significance if He had not died for us. Without the cross the Second Coming would be a hollow mockery, and without the cross, why would anyone want to keep the Sabbath?

Paul was one of the greatest missionaries this world has ever seen. He was learned in all the wisdom of his day. He could hold his own in any debate and match wits with the greatest scholars of his day. His letter to the Romans stands without peer in its penetrating insights into the plan of salvation.

Yet with all Paul's learning and sophistication, he told the people of Corinth: "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). Ellen White reminds us that ''the sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster.'' 3 And to under stand rightly every truth in the Bible, they "must be studied in the light which streams from the cross of Calvary." 4

Worship is not entertainment, although it must be intensely interesting. Worship is not fellowship, although relationships must be nurtured. Worship is not listening to a speaker expounding the Scriptures, although the Scriptures must be explained. Worship is not liturgy, although there must be order and form.

Worship is simply unworthy and sinful human beings thanking and praising God that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8), and that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1).

"Christ crucified--talk it, pray it, sing it, and it will break and win hearts. This is the power and wisdom of God to gather souls for Christ." 5 This is what worship is all about.

1 C. Raymond Holmes, Sing a New Song
(Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University
Press, 1984), p. 3.

2 Ibid., p. 16.

3 Ellen G. White, Sons and Daughters of God,
p. 221.

4 Ibid.

5 ____, Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 67.

J. David Newman is the editor of Ministry.

October 1991

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More Articles In This Issue

O come, let us worship!

Seven basic principles that define Christian worship as a moment of mystery and meaning.

Enthusiasm in early Adventist worship

Our spiritual ancestors had livelier services than many of us would be comfortable with today.

Authentic Adventist worship

Authentic Adventist worship must carefully maintain a balance between proclamation and acclamation, both rooted in faithfulness to God's Word.

Worship renewal in the Seventh-day Adventist Church

What we need is a reformation in worship that will kindle a desire to experience the presence of the transcendent God and accept His purposes.

Music and worship

Praise and participation, not performance, must characterize worship music.

Don't forget the bridge

As it has in the past, worship still serves African-American Christians as the bridge that traverses troubled waters.

More than half a brain

Our services tend to appeal to left-brained thinkers, leaving the right-brained out in the cold. If we designed them for both, everyone would be happier.

Selling change

How to bring about change in your church without losing your members.

101 ideas for better worship services

The following suggestions are designed to add life and vigor to worship services.

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