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PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

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There has usually been a relationship between what a church taught and what it practiced<br />

in worship. By this I mean that most main-line denominational high-churches gravitated to a<br />

liturgical expression of worship. Also, most Baptist churches gravitated to congregational type<br />

of worship.<br />

Historically, churches with deeper commitment to doctrine have tended toward less<br />

outward emotional experiences in their worship. These churches tend to emphasize thinking,<br />

rationality, insight and acting on what is known. On the other hand, those churches that have a<br />

deeper commitment to experiential Christianity such as found in holiness, soul-winning and<br />

pentecostal churches have tended to gravitate toward worship experiences that reflected feeling,<br />

sensitivity and intuitive experience. When this happens, it is difficult to determine if scripture is<br />

used to verify experience, or if experience is verified by scripture? However, both become<br />

foundational to the church's mission.<br />

10. No one type of worship service meets all the needs of all of its members. The<br />

seeker-service may meet evangelistic needs, but people may leave not having felt the presence of<br />

the Lord, nor has God touched them. Also, contemporary worship may get people involved in<br />

worshipful expressions, but they go away hungry because they were not fed the Word of God.<br />

11. Some believers begin at one experience and gravitate throughout life from one<br />

worship experience to another. While this process is not a scriptural exhortation, nor is it<br />

normative; it may represent some who are caught up in what experientialism or experimentation<br />

have done to some Christians. When a believer gravitates from one worship experience to<br />

another, it is not necessarily growth in grace, but it is growth in experience. It is probably not<br />

healthy for a person to continually change his worship experience. However, when a new<br />

worship experience makes Christ more real in their life, I am not against changing one's worship<br />

experience. But, when a person is motivated by love, it is easy to see how they constantly go<br />

deeper in his perspective, and go from one worship experience to another. A person may begin<br />

in The Evangelistic Church and sensing his shallowness of doctrine, gravitate to The Bible<br />

Expositional Church. Next, sensing a shallowness of feeling, gravitate to The Renewal Church.<br />

As his love is renewed, he feels a desire for closer harmony with other believers, hence he<br />

gravitates to The Body Life Church. This person always wanting to go deeper, begins looking<br />

for the next experience and finds a deeper warmth with God in The Liturgical Church whereby in<br />

silence, meditation, and deep awe; he worships God. Could this person finally end up in a<br />

Congregational Church becoming completely involved in the local Body of Christ? However,<br />

the Bible calls this type of person immature, " . . . children tossed to and fro . . ." (Ephesians<br />

4:14).<br />

Let's be slow to criticize those who change their worship experience. Christ may become<br />

more real to him, even though his experience reflects some aspects of emotional immaturity.<br />

12. Some worshippers are converted within one worship experience and remain there<br />

throughout their lives. Those who open their heart to God and the teaching of their church,<br />

usually have the type of conversion experience that is suggested or expected by their church.<br />

Those who are converted in Renewal Churches, tend to have a deeply emotional conversion

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