In response to the series I did on physical expressiveness in corporate worship, I received a follow-up question from the gentleman who originally asked the question. It was pretty extensive, but this was his closing query:
Bottom, Bottom, Lowest of Bottom Lines: Am I exegetically, theologically, homiletically accurate when I say, “God COMMANDS us to CLAP our hands!”? Or should it be softened to “God ENCOURAGES us to express our love and worship to Him using our bodies?” And then let people do what they’re comfortable with.
Great question. And I want to commend him for seeking to pinpoint as clearly as possible what God tells us in His Word and what He doesn’t tell us.
In a set of unpublished notes from a course he has taught, Iain Duguid suggests that three …
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This is my last post (for now) on the topic of bodily expression in corporate worship. Let me say again that in issues regarding our faith, physical expressiveness in corporate worship is an important but secondary issue. I have no problem worshiping God with a church that may be more enthusiastic or reserved than I’m used to, as long as they are proclaiming the same Gospel and glorying in the same Savior.
However, our culture tends to separate head and heart, doctrine and devotion. Some congregations sing profoundly biblical lyrics with no visible effect (which doesn’t always mean they aren’t affected). Other churches are enthusiastically expressive, but seem to be pursuing experiences more than God (which again isn’t always true). So that leads to a fourth suggestion to help a church …
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I’ve been talking about how to help a church grow in physical expression that draws attention to the greatness of God’s glory in Christ. After teaching on the appropriateness of that expression in worshipping God and the importance of the heart, I’d move on to:
3. Address the different reasons people might be reserved in their expression and teach on preferring others.
Some Christians are simply unaware of what the Bible teaches about physical responses to God. They don’t know that Scripture is filled with examples of exuberant, passionate worship (Psalm 150; Neh. 8:6; Rev. 5:11-14). Perhaps they’ve grown up in a church environment that elevated certain types of expressions and ignored others. Often simply understanding what the Bible says will …
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Last Friday I started to answer this question from a pastor:
“Exactly how, and how much should we encourage our people to follow the numerous commands throughout Scripture of bodily expression (as a natural outpouring of the heart)?”
I began by saying we must teach our people that physical expression is appropriate in biblical worship. We aren’t disembodied spirits. God intends that we use our whole beings to bring him praise ( Ps. 16:9Psalm 16:9
[9]Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being
rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
). But how and how much? We don’t simply tell people to “sing like they mean it,” or “jump higher for Jesus,” although in my early zeal to see God honored I crossed that line a few times. Commanding a physical response can produce artificial affection and actually end up being dishonoring to God. Nevertheless, it’s clear from Scripture …
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After the Together for the Gospel conference, I received a lengthy e-mail from a worship pastor in attendance who shared a current dilemma his pastoral team is facing. They have been “wrestling with how to best be obedient to Scripture in our corporate worship through song.” His church contains people who are “naturally NOT very expressive AT ALL” during that time. So he asks:
“Exactly how, and how much should we encourage our people to follow the numerous commands throughout Scripture of bodily expression (as a natural outpouring of the heart)?
First, I want to thank this pastor and his team for their humility in seeking to wrestle through this issue from a biblical perspective. His background and training have minimized physical expression, but he is realizing that although bodily expression …
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