PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

The pastors told me they had not changed their doctrine, they were Baptists, supported the
cooperative program and didn't believe in the miraculous gift. But their worship style was the
issue.
Renewal churches can be found among Presbyterians, Episcopal, Roman Catholic,
Pentecostal and the rapidly emerging independent churches. Theology is not the dividing line,
hence doctrine is not the glue that holds them together. They may preach "power theology,"
"prosperity theology," pentecostalism or in some cases old-fashioned liberalism. Whatever their
thrust, most of them are evangelical in doctrine.
The emphasis in these churches is on personal renewal in fellowship with God. This style
of worship is not found in the formal services of a liturgical church, but in the intense experience
of pouring out personal love for God.
Whereas formal liturgy emphasizes one way worship toward God, i.e. giving worship to
God that is due him, worship in a Renewal Church focuses on two-way communication between
the person and God. Worshipers must get something out of worship. It must be stimulating,
uplifting, and exhilarating. They like worship, and it affirms them. When they go home, they
feel good about what they have done.
THE BODY LIFE CHURCH
The glue that holds this church together is the relationships that are formed in the small
groups or cells that make up the Body. It is in the small groups that pastoral care happens and
people grow spiritually. A Body-life church has a lot of hugging going on and places value on
transparency-being open and honest and caring in their groups. They confess faults to one
another, are accountable to one another and pray for one another.
Body-life churches do the other things that normal churches do, such as preach, sing,
teach and worship God. But they prize highly the quality of life they receive form relationships.
In a given session they might testify, share burdens, pray for a hurting brother and share a
blessing or an answer to prayer. It is "the Body ministering to the Body."
A Body-life church is not a pulpit-dominated church where everyone looks to the pastor
for ministry. Instead, a Body-life church congregation looks to one another for support, help and
ministry. It focuses on koinonia or fellowship within the Body.
Just as in the other cases, Body-life churches are found in Baptist, Evangelical Free,
Independent or Pentecostal churches. The influence of koinonia crosses denominational lines. It
is not a church style that is taught in most seminaries, however. Pastors learn it from one
another, from conferences, from seminars or as they intern under a Body-Life Church pastor.
THE LITURGICAL CHURCH
The traditional formality of this worship style was described earlier in this chapter. In
some churches, the style of worship has not changed since the denomination's founding, and
people sing the same hymns that were sung by their grandparents. They feel that worship is