Performance Vs Worship

The Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) likened worship to drama or theatre. He was critical of many of the churches of his day for redefining the rolls in worship. It was his observation that in the worship of many churches God was the prompter, the liturgical leaders (musicians, choirs, readers, preachers, and celebrants) were the actors in the drama and congregation had become the audience. Kierkegaard believed this assignment of rolls was wrong. In his opinion the liturgical leaders were the prompters, the congregation with the liturgical leaders were the actors, and God was the audience. All of us are participants and have a part in worship.

One of the burning questions in many churches today relates closely to what Kierkegaard was talking about. It’s expressed in a different way but it’s the same question. It’s the question of performance verse worship. In looking at church web pages I have noticed that Kierkegaard’s thoughts on worship are often lifted up by churches offering traditional worship. The implication is that traditional worship is never performance but contemporary worship is either performance or dangerously close.

But it is possible for traditional worship to become performance. It is sometimes a fine line between the two. It’s possible for the choir anthem to be a performance. It’s possible for the hand bell choir selection to become a performance. Even the scripture reading or the preaching can become a performance.

Paul Baloche has some helpful things to say about this issue. He is talking about contemporary worship but what he says also applies to traditional worship. He says there is always an element of performance in all worship which is not entirely bad. According to Baloche what is most important is the posture of your heart. The purpose of the praise band and the praise band leader is to “encourage and lead others” to worship. He goes on to say “God is my audience. I am just singing to God.” He sounds a little bit like Kierkegaard.

Baloche says it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between true worship and performance. The reason is that worship is a matter of the heart and is “better felt than telt.”

My personal feeling is that we should not be so sensitive about the word “performance”. Rather our greater concern should be who is the audience?

Thoughts on Worship

One of the great dividers in the church today is worship style. The division is so great that a recent book on the subject was titled “Worship Wars”. People often have strong emotions about the style of worship they prefer and it has become a very sensitive issue in many churches.
Reed City UMC is the first church I have served that offers two styles of worship. Personally I enjoy both services. For most of my ministry I have worked with traditional services but in my last appointment we had what I would call a “blended traditional” service. It may sound strange to some but I am equally committed to both styles of worship here at Reed City UMC.