PUTTING AN END TO WORSHIP WARS - Elmer Towns

transcultural and trans-temporal. While some feel a liturgical service is dead, others feel
invigorated because they know they are obeying God who "seeketh such to worship Him."
Liturgical worshipers do not worship for a feeling. They center all glory, praise and
worship on God. He is the focus of the worship service. The people are not there to evangelize,
to learn, to fellowship or to be renewed. They worship in obedience to God.
THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF THE PEOPLE
This is the church where the people want preaching that speaks to them. They want
sermons that are devotional and motivational, yet also include some teaching, renewal and
worship. The pastor is a shepherd who is one of them and has arisen from them. It is a "low
church," in that authority is with the people, rather then being a "high church," where authority is
situated at denominational headquarters away from the people.
Early Church Growth authorities called this a Baptist church, because it described
churches that were responsible for the entire life of the church; they were self-governing, selfpropagating
and self-supporting. However, the present name is The Congregational Church
which identifies many churches that do not have the name "Baptist." A Congregation Church is
where the people are more responsible for the church than the pastor or the denomination. It is a
church where the people do the work of ministry in Sunday School, training programs, camps,
VBS and the like. One of the main gifts of the pastor is to organize the people for ministry,
rather than doing ministry for them.
BIBLICAL BASIS
These six types of worship (also called six paradigms of Church Growth) represent six
basic functions or principles God had mandated for the church to carry out the ministry. By
separating these six functions as dominant characteristics of a church, each model is better
understood.
The Evangelistic Church carries out the prescriptive mandate "Go make disciples of all
nations" (Matt. 28:19). The Evangelistic Church also is reflected by the descriptive work of the
Thessalonians, "From you sounded out the Word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place. Your faith to God--Word is spread abroad" (I Thess. 1:8).
The Bible Expositional Church fulfills the prescriptive command of Paul, "Preach the
Word" (II Tim. 4:2). The Jerusalem church is described, "They continued steadfast in the
apostle's teaching" (Acts 2:42 NKJV).
The Renewal Church takes as prescriptive direction, "Tarry . . . until ye be endued with
power from on high" (Luke 24:49), and what happens is the theological description of revival,
"Time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).
The Body Life Church fulfills the prescriptive command of "The body edifying itself," as
Paul said. "The whole body fitly joined together . . . every joint supplieth, according to the
working in the measure of every part . . . edifies itself in love" (Eph. 4:16).